Terrorism Research Center

The TRC was founded in 1996 by Matthew Devost, Brian Houghton, and Neal Pollard to establish an organization with a specific focus on terrorism and emerging international security issues like information warfare.

The TRC web site (which operated at www.terrorism.com since 1996 and then also mirrored at www.homelandsecurity.com starting in 2000) was the top search engine result for “terrorism” and other security keywords for over a decade.

[5][6] After the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the formation of the Department of Homeland Security, the Terrorism Early Warning Group program was migrated to DHS and expanded to cover 56 high threat urban areas.

The TRC developed the renowned Mirror Image training program in 2001 to allow military, intelligence, security and first responder personnel to better understand the international terrorist threat.

[7] Participants were subjected to an intense immersion program where they were trained to think and act like the adversary and adopt their tactics, techniques, and procedures.

[10] The project explained these unique needs and gaps, and provided a foundation for homeland security planning for pediatric victims of terrorism.

Popular speakers from the lecture series included Brian Michael Jenkins, Rohan Gunaratna, and Hekmat Karzai.