Global Terrorism Analysis ( 1970-2016 )

The purpose of this paper is to inform. The biggest terrorist act of all time will be global thermo nuclear war. The reality is that this threat is controlled by a select few, who might not be as ethical or mentally fit as they praise or portray themselves to be. Currently, M.A.D. or mutually assured destruction is perhaps the best deterrent to all out nuclear war.

We are closer now than ever to losing everything gained. Five known destroyers of humanity are circling around like buzzards looking for their carcass. Biological, chemical, nuclear, climate, asteroid / meteor are on the agendas. In essence we have all the reasons to stop the "MADNESS" and yet, find hope in playing the odds and ultimately spinning our demise.

"A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once." Shakespeare

In the last ten years since 2006 there have been a total of 91,101 acts of reported terrorism worldwide. In retrospect, this accounts to more terrorism acts in the last ten years than in the previous 35 years combined ( 1970-2005 ), which accounted to around 79,996 terrorist acts. In short, there is more terrorism now than before.

* 1993 Incomplete Dataset ( only about 15% of all cases ) = Should be about 5,727; missing around 4,980 records.

The four regions with the highest level of terrorism ( in order ) are the Middle East, South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. These regions might be experiencing political, religious, social changes, or any combination there of. If left unchecked, what ends up occurring, is the formation of a terrorist state. These states end up being cruel, unjust, inhumane, and barbaric places where knowledge, freedom, and free will are distant memories.

As of 1970, this is the list of the top 20 countries with the highest terror activities in order of terrorist events. A spiral staircase of destruction and misery for most of the cases. It is no surprise that the top country would be Iraq, since it is and has been a war torn zone for the last few decades.

The most common type of terrorist attacks in the last 45+ years globally is bombing. Using crude and rudimentary devices, terrorists have exploited this niche to cause the most harm possible to people. As a result, there are more maiming, property damage, and social scarring. Fear is what terrorist want to instill in the population. From fear, comes obedience, which in turn forms blind followers who end up doing anything asked of them without question of the morality, ethical, or consequences of such acts.

A list of attack tactics used by terrorists include:

• Explosives ( 87,066 )
• Firearms ( 55,487 )
• Incendiary ( 10,537 )
• Melee ( 3,363 )
• Chemical ( 294 )
• Sabotage Equipment ( 130 )
• Vehicle ( 119 )
• Other ( 105 )
• Fake Weapons ( 37 )
• Biological ( 35 )
• Radiological ( 13 )

The top 10 nationalities that have suffered the consequences of terrorist attacks in the last 45+ years. Every nationality on the planet has suffered a loss to terrorism at one time or another. Terrorism is not defined as a war between two sides but; the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political / social aims.

Some other countries on the list and the number of victims of terrorism over the last few decades include:

A who is who historical list of documented terrorist activities committed by groups, organizations, and/or nationalities. Some groups have long disbanded, others have formed parties and now belong to the democracies of the world. Many of these terrorist groups were formed under dictatorial / oppressed regimes - where a democratic choice was unavailable. Having said that, terror is not the solution for change. In Europe, two terrorist organizations that have disbanded and are now in the political stage would be the Ireland ( IRA ), and Spain's ( ETA ). They have left terror behind, and embraced democracy - which makes them subject to the will of the people.

Other groups who have committed atrocities / terrorist acts in the name of their beliefs ( Political, Social, Religious ) include:

The list is incomplete, as there are more than 3400 organization, group, and/or nationalities who have committed at one time or another a defined terrorist activity.

The top list of usually targeted victims of terrorist activities is hard to break down in a way that would make sense, as normally terrorism is a senseless act without long term goals / views. Private citizens normally suffer the brunt force of these organizations, and in an attempt to validate their terror, they also go after military, police, business, and government organizations.

The disruption of normal activities, is part of the terrorists playbook. Other common targets by terrorists include the following:

A further breakdown of targets that terrorists have attacked in the past 45+ years:
Target ( # Recorded Acts )

An aggregate list of number of people killed and in which country from 1970-2016. In essence the backyard for terrorist activities. Although this can quickly expand to other surrounding countries, or become a global issue. To die as a tourist in a foreign country that has nothing to do with the terrorist organization is the crazy behind the madness - of terrorism.

As a human species, we struggle to survive any obstacle thrown at us. This is not different after a terrorist attack. These people are left to dwell in the nightmare of terrorism. The pain suffered by friends and family who have lost their loved ones to terrorism, and those that survive maimed ( physically and psychologically ) and are forced to adapt to their new state. The cruelty of terrorism exposed in two fold - killed and wounded.

The Database of Terror

The list and details of recorded terrorist activities around the globe 1970-2016 used in this report.

A mad world and apparently becoming more insane as time passes. In the last 2 decades their has been a massive surge in terrorism whether it be state sponsored, radical organizations, or just crazy individuals - the inevitable truth is the system is failing. If we were to grade based on past performance alone - we would receive an "F" --- for failure. To put it bluntly we seem to be leaning towards "self destruction". Forget about the other usual suspects that could wipe us out like an ELA ( Extinction Level Event ), famine, virus, world war, mother nature, and others; we seem to be doing just fine on our own. Within the next hundred or two hundred years, weapons of mass destruction will probably be in the arsenal of any one of these terrorist organizations, and do you want to gamble on the chance they will not be crazy enough to use them? That would be mad, and one step closer to a doomsday event.

In conclusion, this database is highly likely to be incomplete for many reasons. Even so, if offers a glimpse of the madness that is terrorism and those people behind it. Death, destruction, and wasted resources a recipe for disaster. The database used for this document is included in the table above. It can be downloaded from Global Terrorism Database on Kaggle.

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