Thanks in no small part to ISIS’ uncanny (not to mention highly suspicious) film editing capabilities, the global war on terror is back in the limelight this year as the black flag-waving, marauding militants have served notice that not only did the death of Osama Bin Laden not spell the beginning of the end for the jihadist cause, but in fact, the world has entered a new era in which the advent of the “lone wolf” attack effectively means Islamic State-inspired terror can strike anywhere, anytime.
Or at least that’s the narrative, and if the events that have transpired in Turkey [3] and Syria [4] over the last several weeks prove anything, it’s that the terror narrative is just as effective today as it was 13 years ago when it comes to justifying the aggressive pursuit of narrow political and/or geopolitical agendas that might otherwise prove to be decisively unpopular.
And so, as the US gets set to justify another invasion of a sovereign country by claiming that the war on terror demands it, we bring you the following map from BofAML which purports to show every terrorist attack worldwide perpetrated since 2000.
Some "highlights" from 2013 include:
- 9,814 total attacks
- Nearly 18,000 people killed
- Attacks highly concentrated
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