Terrorism is violence or the threat of violence, coordinated by a group of people, typically performed in order to coerce or antagonize a national government.
It is the policy of government of the United States of America not to negotiate with terrorist groups, because first, there is no absolute guarantee that the terrorists will follow through upon their side of the bargain once their demands are met, and second, other terrorist groups might learn of it and it will be, as President David Palmer stated in Day 3, "open season" for kidnappings and murder of Americans everywhere.
Terrorist cells
A terrorist cell, such as Second Wave or the Dawn Brigade, is a band of terrorists that operate together. To ensure security and enhance effectiveness, many times a terrorist cell is divided into fairly independent sub-cells.
Sleeper cells
A sleeper cell is a terrorist cell that is hidden in the United States, or other country, that stays quiet until "activated", usually by a code spoken, as on Day 3 when President David Palmer was forced to say, "The sky is falling" on television. Another example is a group of coded e-mails sent to the cell, as in Trojan Horse.
Acts of terrorism
Day 1
During Day 1, Senator David Palmer was almost killed on several occasions, with the assassins being stopped by CTU. Senator Palmer was visiting LA on the day of the California Presidential Primary and was a target for assassination by a terrorist group. Main Terrorist: Victor Drazen
Day 2
A nuclear weapon was almost detonated inside Los Angeles during Day 2. The bomb was disposed of in the Mojave Desert outside the city of Los Angeles shortly before it detonated. Had the original plan succeeded, the entire city would have been wiped out. Main Terrorist; Syed Ali
Day 3
The events of Day 3 involved several vials of a deadly virus being released in the city. The remaining vials were found; however, hundreds of people were killed when the virus was released in several locations. Main Terrorist; Stephen Saunders
Day 4
The events of Day 4 included the derailing of a commuter train, the kidnapping of the Secretary of Defense inside Los Angeles, the detonation of an EMP device in the city and a missile strike on Air Force One. A Nuclear Warhead on a missle was also launched at Los Angeles. Main Terrorist: Habib Marwan
Day 5
The events of Day 5 have included the assassination of former President David Palmer, the hostage takeover of Ontario Airport, the theft of Sentox nerve gas and its subsequent release in a shopping mall, the threatened release in an area hospital, and the successful release of the gas in CTU Los Angeles, resulting in the deaths of 40% of CTU personnel. Main Terrorist: Vladimir Bierko
Day 6
The events of Day 6 and the 11 weeks prior consisted of a series of suicide bombings in public places throughout the United States. A suitcase nuclear device has been detonated on United States soil in Valencia, California. There were 4 more suitcase nukes, but none of them were detonated. The second nuke was disarmed by CTU. The third nuke was placed on a drone and was being flown to its target in San Francisco, but CTU found where the pilot was and managed to crash land it at an industrial park on the bay. The last 2 nukes were found and secured by CTU. Main Terrorist: Abu Fayed
Day 7
The events of Day 7 included foreign as well as domestic terrorists using a device to hack into the U.S. infrastructure, using key members of the government to infiltrate agencies that go as far as law enforcement, all in an effort to dismantle a foreign policy allowing U.S. military forces to invade the African nation of Sangala in exchange for developing a chemical weapon used to blackmail the President into allowing a major U.S. defense contractor more power in the Armed Forces. When this failed, other private military contractors who oversaw the manufacturing of the Prion variant decided to upgrade thier timetable in their plan to use terror to gain a more active role in the U.S. military affairs. Main Terrorist: Benjamen Juma