Extremist Islam and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan and Iraq
Recent conflicts have highlighted how religion and identity are central to security issues. The question remains as to what extent individual conflict zones are facets of a wider, transnational war which pits the ‘West’ against al Qaeda?
It Is a Civil War Within Islam: Not Global Terrorism
Washington cannot unilaterally deal with the mayhem that the Islamic civil war has unleashed. The U.S. must enlist allies in multilateral responses to jihadist threats. Often, events can only be influenced at the margins. At times, the most prudent policy may be to do nothing at all.
Leaving Without Losing: The War on Terror After Iraq and Afghanistan
Just as intervening in Afghanistan and Iraq did not lead the United States to victory, neither will withdrawing from these countries. Although the U.S. is likely to endure negative consequences from its disengagement, withdrawal need not mean defeat.
Review – An Enemy We Created
van Linschoten and Kuehn’s detailed accounts of the early development of the international jihadists and the Taliban is a wide ranging and useful addition to post 9/11 literature.
Is the War on Terror Over?
Young Muslim activists have received a new standard for challenging the old order, and a new form of protest, one that discredits terrorism as the easy and ineffective path.
Grinding Terrorist Networks Down in 2012
The nature of the terror threat is shifting and the question that has not been properly answered is whether we are seeing a threat that is finally in decline or continues to ascend.
Al Qaeda in 2012
Al Qaeda no longer poses a serious international threat, due to key developments in the strategic, political and public realms after 9/11 which have severely limited its capacity to conduct international terrorism.
Terrorism Outlook for 2012
The global terrorist threat is diversifying. After embracing al Qaeda tactics and ideology, more local groups seek to emulate al Qaeda. Groups are planning domestic and international operations to cause mass casualties.
Memogate Reveals Pakistan’s Hand
Memogate reveals that Pakistan’s politics is as dysfunctional as ever. American policymakers and pundits have become so vehement about Pakistan’s failure to cooperate on counterterrorism that more pressing problems in the country have been overlooked.
Is al Qaeda on the Wrong Side of History?
The Arab Spring’s impact on the Global Jihad Movement is ironic. Al Qaeda, its associated groups and home-grown cells are no longer the agents of change. In the eyes of the people, this most powerful grouping of violent entities remains marginalized.
