Although the number of terrorist attacks in the United States declined by nearly half in the 2000s, the lethality and long-term impact of al-Qaida’s attacks on September 11, 2001 were extraordinary. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and thousands more were injured on the day of the attacks.
Al-Qaida’s attacks notwithstanding, the 2000s saw a decline in the number of formal perpetrator organizations who were attributed responsibility for terrorist attacks.
Although the organizational size, structure, and cohesion varied, more than 30 named groups were responsible for attacks in the 1990s, compared to just eight in the 2000s.
Other Islamist attacks during the 2000s were primarily carried out by assailants who were not formally affiliated with particular perpetrator organizations. These include Nidal Hasan’s 2009 attack at Fort Hood in Texas, in which 13 people were killed and more than 30 others were injured. Although lethal terrorist attacks motivated by Christian, anti-abortion ideology and anti- Semitic ideology also took place in the 2000s, there were far fewer than had occurred in the 1990s.
The number of attacks by left-wing extremists increased 80 percent in the 2000s.
These attacks were nearly all motivated by environmentalism and carried out by perpetrators affiliated with ALF and ELF. All of these attacks were intended to cause property damage and intimidation; none were lethal. The number of attacks motivated by right- wing extremism declined by 40 percent between the 1990s and the 2000s, and included attacks carried out by perpetrators motivated by white supremacy and neo-Nazi ideology, as well as anti-Semitism, anti-immigration, and anti-abortion beliefs, and opposition to progressive social policies.
In comparison to the 2000s, there was a sharp increase in the proportion of attacks carried out by right-wing extremists (from 6% to 35%) and religious extremists (from 9% to 53%) in the United States.
Instead, attacks between 2010 and 2016 were typically carried out by individual perpetrators ...
Al-Qaida’s attacks notwithstanding, the 2000s saw a decline in the number of formal perpetrator organizations who were attributed responsibility for terrorist attacks.
Although the organizational size, structure, and cohesion varied, more than 30 named groups were responsible for attacks in the 1990s, compared to just eight in the 2000s.
Other Islamist attacks during the 2000s were primarily carried out by assailants who were not formally affiliated with particular perpetrator organizations. These include Nidal Hasan’s 2009 attack at Fort Hood in Texas, in which 13 people were killed and more than 30 others were injured. Although lethal terrorist attacks motivated by Christian, anti-abortion ideology and anti- Semitic ideology also took place in the 2000s, there were far fewer than had occurred in the 1990s.
The number of attacks by left-wing extremists increased 80 percent in the 2000s.
These attacks were nearly all motivated by environmentalism and carried out by perpetrators affiliated with ALF and ELF. All of these attacks were intended to cause property damage and intimidation; none were lethal. The number of attacks motivated by right- wing extremism declined by 40 percent between the 1990s and the 2000s, and included attacks carried out by perpetrators motivated by white supremacy and neo-Nazi ideology, as well as anti-Semitism, anti-immigration, and anti-abortion beliefs, and opposition to progressive social policies.
In comparison to the 2000s, there was a sharp increase in the proportion of attacks carried out by right-wing extremists (from 6% to 35%) and religious extremists (from 9% to 53%) in the United States.
Instead, attacks between 2010 and 2016 were typically carried out by individual perpetrators ...