Terrorism has been an issue of concern in the United States since well before the September 11th attacks.  The need for an information base led to the development of several institutes and research organizations that provide information for a readership ranging from the curious to municipal planners of mega-cities.  The effective distribution of this information is now well established on the Internet, and both public and private sources boast information spanning the spectrum from academia to practice. 

Interested parties can access libraries of research documentation, study the historical profiles of famous terrorists and events, acquire the tools to develop local preparedness, and register for training, among many other topics.  The following is a very-partial list of what awaits those wishing to expand their knowledge of this disturbing reality to which we have been exposed.

A great place to start would be the Terrorism Research Center at http://www.terrorism.com.  This site offers a chance for experts to submit analyses and commentary on issues relating to global terrorism, and for readers to respond to these essays.  A reference section offers statistics on past events, historical data, and most interestingly, profiles on terrorist organizations and individuals.  Also profiled are several of the counter-terrorist organizations.  These listings include known activities, key players, and significant events.  A well-developed section on information warfare provides research driven articles on Information Assurance, Information Warfare, Information Terrorism, Information Security, and Critical Infrastructure Protection.  Finally, a bookstore offers relevant publications and a direct search link for Amazon.com.

The Emergency Research and Response Institute, at www.emergency.com, offers several chronologies of region-specific terrorism.  One particular chronology for the United States starts with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and continues through the latest news released.  There are several graphical resources that display interesting depictions like common explosive devices (including a diagram of a Unabomber mail-bomb).  There is a life history of Osama bin Laden that is astoundingly comprehensive.   Several general interest articles are offered which educate the reader in personal terrorism preparedness.

Several websites have been created to honor or depict individual terrorism events.  One such site, created and maintained by CNN, is called ‘Oklahoma City Tragedy’, and is at http://www.cnn.com/US/OKC/index.html.  Readers can access online movies (one shows the implosion of the Murrah building), read stories about the victims and survivors, and investigate the response and recovery to the terrible tragedy.  There is a detailed study on the case of Timothy McVeigh as well.  Other sites detail the Olympic Park Bombing (http://www.cnn.com/US/9607/27/olympic.bomb.main/index.html), the Dhahran Bombing (http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/1996/saudi.special/index.html), and many others.

The National Domestic Preparedness Office (NDPO) of the FBI is the best “one-stop shopping” site for state and local emergency planners.  This website, www.ndpo.gov, is touted as being ‘a clearinghouse for state, local and federal weapons of mass destruction information and assistance.’  In addition to numerous fact sheets and training courses, they publish ‘The Beacon’, which is a monthly newsletter that ‘provides a forum for the federal government and the first response community to provide insight into Weapons of Mass Destruction issues, makes announcements, and disseminates information.’ 

The US Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has a similar site that helps to enhance the capacity of state and local first responders to respond to incidents of terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction.  This site, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/, details training and technical assistance, grants for equipment, exercise development and support, state-based needs assessments, and a library of pertinent information.

These are just a few of the dozens of sites currently offering up-to-date information on terrorism.  A list of several others of interest is listed below:

¨ The Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness – www.esdp.org
¨ The Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies – www.hopkins-biodefense.org
¨ The Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the prevention of terrorism – www.okcterrorisminstitute.com 
¨ The US State Department International Counterterrorism Policy - www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/index.html
¨ The Center for Democracy and Technology - www.cdt.org/policy/terrorism/
¨ The International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals - www.securitynet.net/