# Terrorism - it's gone way down, hasn't it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 20, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252 "2018-07-20T03:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/1 "2018-07-20T03:34:06Z")
I remember in the year leading up to Trump’s election, there were seemingly constant terror attacks in Europe. (There were also several shootings in America by Islamic fundamentalists, though the degree to which they were actually part of any organized terror group is debatable.) Trump campaigned heavily on “making America safe” and he brought up these attacks in Europe again and again to make a point of how supposedly vulnerable America was to ISIS. He kept saying “we’re going to bomb the shit out of ISIS,” the first time I’ve ever heard anyone running for political office use that kind of language. Indeed, the _one_ positive thing I heard about Trump from people who otherwise disliked him, was that his national defense team was very good. I know that there’s been rather…high turnover…in that department, although Mattis - who seems well respected across the board - has been constant and generally avoided the spotlight. I cannot remember the last time I saw a news story about a major terror attack, whether by Islamic terrorists or any other kind of terrorists. (I’m excluding mass shootings that are not part of an organized movement.) Has the American military been more, or less, effective in cracking down on these groups, during the time Trump has been president? I’m not implying that Trump is directly responsible for any progress in this department; there are of course other parties involved. Various European countries; Russia; Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern nations which are either waging their own battle on terrorism or sponsoring it, depending on who you ask; there are the national armies of Afghanistan and Iraq which America tried to equip and train (although I’ve heard only bad things about their combat ability from American military officers who were sent there to try to get them squared away.) But am I correct in my overall impression that terrorism seems to have decreased significantly? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/2 "2018-07-20T04:09:11Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I cannot remember the last time I saw a news story about a major terror attack, whether by Islamic terrorists or any other kind of terrorists. (I’m excluding mass shootings that are not part of an organized movement.) Has the American military been more, or less, effective in cracking down on these groups, during the time Trump has been president? I think you’re prolly not looking hard enough and/or not looking in the right places. I mean, your view seems very America-centric; do terrorist attacks in other countries count? [Pakistan mourns 149 dead in country’s second deadliest terror attack](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44847295) - 16 July 2018 ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/3 "2018-07-20T05:03:11Z")
The news cycle is focused on other news. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/4 "2018-07-20T08:25:24Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > I think you’re prolly not looking hard enough and/or not looking in the right places. I mean, your view seems very America-centric; do terrorist attacks in other countries count? > > [Pakistan mourns 149 dead in country’s second deadliest terror attack](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44847295) - 16 July 2018 That wave was the first attack in months. Its been on a downwaed spiral for aboiut 2 years now, this last attack has caused more casulaties than every civil and miitary combined for about 18 months. The OP is right, but don’t attribute it to Trump or his team. Security Forces have gotten a lot better at catching terrorists and their fascilitators before they actually reach their targets. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/5 "2018-07-20T11:37:06Z")
Chances are that much in the way of organised support from outside for “lone wolves” in western Europe, at least, has diminished as IS has lost ground in Syria. Intelligence is still picking up individuals working themselves up to various insane projects (there have been several cases going through the courts recently in the UK), so one can never rule out someone running amok with a vehicle and a knife, or maybe some home-made explosives, but increasingly they are looking like very lone wolves indeed. Which is not to say someone, somewhere else in the world will not be in a position to wreak substantial havoc in their chosen cause, depending on local circumstances But Trump’s presence in the White House has nothing to do with the collapse of IS in Syria or our own local intelligence agencies’ ability to catch on to disaffected individuals early enough to stop them in their tracks. Plus of course, the thing about suicide bombers is that they don’t exactly become more experienced and wily. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/6 "2018-07-20T12:10:45Z")
Most successful terror attacks are typically of the “lone wolf” variety. As Security forces don’t pick up on them. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/7 "2018-07-20T12:59:03Z")
Yemen, South Sudan, North Korea … I like **jasg’s** answer … the news is full of Trumpisms, and no room for terrorism … It’s _really really_ nasty living in Yemen these days, the Saudi’s are out for their own special form of revenge … Wahhabism at it’s finest … they’re putting that $108 billion in advanced weapons systems the USA sold them to good use … I don’t know why most of the major news outlets aren’t reporting on this, NPR is about the only place I’ve found who will report regularly on this human tragedy, perhaps because the Saudis are rich and ABC/BBC/DW/NHK aren’t … there doesn’t have to be a secret conspiracy to protect folks who spend lavishly, no manner how vicious they are … Remember about 15 or 20 years ago we had the campaign to “Save Darfur”? … that was big in our local high schools here … turns out the problem wasn’t Khartoum, it was Darfur all this time … cut them folks loose and it’s a blood bath there now … NBC/BBC/DW/NHK ain’t going to report how badly they misled us … if they admit they lied then, they’ll have to admit they’re lying now … North Korea … 'nough said … I’m sure I’ll get flamed for posting this here, but the Trump Presidency has been good for The West … we don’t have to listen to how rape is being used as a weapon of war by our allies … thank God the Russians have intervened in Syria or I could add that to my list … Alternately … the terrorists are currently pooling their resources for One Big Job … maybe think about cancelling your trip to Paris … one decent size dose of Polomium in the water supply … ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/8 "2018-07-20T14:57:17Z")
Even during the Age of Terror, attacks in the US have waxed and waned. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/terrorism-its-gone-way-down-hasnt-it/818252/9 "2018-07-20T15:20:59Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > But am I correct in my overall impression that terrorism seems to have decreased significantly? Seems to be the case. [https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/terrorism-attacks-decline-worldwide-second-year-state-department-says-n784421](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/terrorism-attacks-decline-worldwide-second-year-state-department-says-n784421) > [@](#): > > Terrorist attacks and deaths were on the decline worldwide for the second year in a row in 2016, according to a report issued by the U.S. State Department on Wednesday. > > However, ISIS was the largest perpetrator of attacks in the world last year, the report added. > > The Country Reports on Terrorism is a congressionally mandated analysis released annually by the State Department. > > The newest report shows that year-over-year terror attacks were down nine 9 percent and deaths caused by terrorist attacks decreased 13 percent. > > The cause for the overall decrease stems from fewer attacks being carried out in Afghanistan, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan and Yemen, although an uptick was noted in some countries including Iraq, Somalia and Turkey.