The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base (TKB) was an online portal containing information on terrorist incidents, leaders, groups, and related court cases.
"Terrorism Knowledge Base: A Eulogy (2004-2008)", by Brian K. Houghton
/ref> It was active from September 2004 to March 2008 and is now defunct, but the group profiles that were included in the knowledge base are now hosted by the . The TKB was sponsored by the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism
The Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) is a non-profit organization founded in response to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Supported by Department of Homeland Security and other government grant funds, it conducted research ...
(MIPT), a non-profit organization funded by the United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
.
The TKB contained historical information on terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
dating back to 1968, with over 29,000 incident profiles, 900 group profiles, and 1,200 leader biographies. The TKB contained several features to analyze terrorism data, including graphing tools, interactive maps, and statistical summaries.
Incident databases
The TKB contains two separate terrorist incident databases, the RAND Terrorism Chronology 1968–1997 and the RAND Terrorism Incident database (1998–Present). While the former component tracked international incidents, the latter database includes both domestic and international attacks. The RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
is a global think tank founded in 1946 by the United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
.
Group and leader profiles
In addition to incident databases, the TKB contains information on several hundred terrorist groups and leaders. DFI International
DFI (Diamond Flower Inc) is a Taiwanese industrial computer company with headquarters in Taipei. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells industrial motherboard, industrial PCs, System-on-Module, industrial displays, and ODM/OEM services. ...
, a consulting firm based in Washington DC, is responsible for these group and leader profiles. Group profiles include information about group ideology, founding philosophy, current goals, as well as basic “quick facts” such as member strength and funding sources. Leader profiles contain information about the membership and role of key terrorist leaders, as well as the individual’s history and current whereabouts.
Legal database and documents
The TKB also contains several hundred case profiles from the American Terrorism Study. Directed by Dr. Brent Smith (University of Arkansas
The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...
) and Dr. Kelly Damphousse, the ATS is a database of individuals and groups indicted by the United States government as the result of an official FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
terrorism investigation. Case profiles contain a synopsis of the indictment as well as scanned copies of public record documents relating to the court proceedings.
Other tools
The TKB also includes an interactive map with satellite imagery and overlay capabilities, allowing users to plot terrorist incidents as well as key infrastructure such as roads, pipelines, and natural resources. Other features include a graphing program known as the "incident analysis wizard," interactive tables, an advanced search tool, and terrorism related news items.
See also
* Global Terrorism Database
The Global Terrorism Database (GTD) is a database of terrorist incidents from 1970 onward. As of May 2021, the list extended through 2019 recording over 200,000 incidents, although data from 1993 is excluded. The database is maintained by the Na ...
* Global Terrorism Index
The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) is a report published annually by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), and was developed by IT entrepreneur and IEP's founder Steve Killelea. The index provides a comprehensive summary of the key global t ...
* Patterns of Global Terrorism
''Patterns of Global Terrorism'' was a report published each year on or before April 30 by the United States Department of State. It has since been renamed Country Reports on Terrorism. The Secretary of State is required by Congress to produce ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Archive of TKB's organization profiles, hosted by START
* Houghton, Brian K. (2008). Terrorism Knowledge Base: A Eulogy (2004-2008. ''Perspectives on Terrorism,'' 2(7). Retrieved from http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/article/view/43/html
* Maret, Susan. (2006). Review, National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) Knowledgebase. ''The Charleston Advisor,'' 8(2).
Counterterrorism in the United States
Terrorism databases
Government databases in the United States
United States Department of Homeland Security