This year's calendar is available both in print and online
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) today announced the release of its 2008 counterterrorism calendar. The popular calendar is now available in print and via NCTC's website at www.nctc.gov in both a downloadable PDF and an online, interactive version.
NCTC has published a "daily planner" print version of its counterterrorism calendar since 2005. This year's calendar is the largest ever, with 160 pages of information on known terrorist groups, individual terrorists, and technical information on topics such as biological and chemical threats. New features this year include pages on Anthrax, al-Qa'ida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Radicalization: Myth and Reality, VX Nerve Agent, Toxic Industrial Chemicals, Kongra-Gel (KGK), a significantly expanded index, and more.
The interactive online version of the calendar provides the public with user-friendly access to the same information, with the addition of locator maps, photographs, and lists of helpful links specific to each threat area. A special feature of the site is an interactive counterterrorism timeline which allows users to explore key dates, including the anniversaries of terrorism-related incidents dating as far back as 1950. Each month of the timeline also provides a "Terrorist Profile" and a "This Day in History" highlight with accompanying photographs.
Key U.S. and other national holidays, as well as Christian, Islamic, and Jewish holidays are also noted. Each day shows both the Gregorian date and the equivalent Islamic calendar (Hijra) date.
NCTC spokesperson, Leslie Jewell , said, "The NCTC 'daily planner' version of the calendar is a prized resource for law enforcement and national security personnel, providing easy access to terrorist profiles and information on terrorist groups. The calendar also provides invaluable first-responder information on biological threats, chemical agents, medical symptoms of nerve agent exposure, and more. Our new, interactive calendar provides easier, broader access to this information, and should serve as a valuable research tool for emergency services providers, government personnel, and the general public."
The unclassified counterterrorism calendar originated within the Intelligence Community as a wall calendar during the 1990s, and transformed into a daily planner in 2003. It has been published by NCTC both in print and in an online PDF since 2005. Due to continually rising demand, approximately 40,000 copies of the print version of the 2008 calendar were published this year. The interactive online version went live in the summer of 2007 and has been fully updated for 2008.
SOURCE National Counterterrorism Center
