I recently wrote a book review for the site The Mantle, a “forum for the next generation of leaders to be heard.” Here is a bit about the review to whet your appetite: “For the first time, the American National Security Strategy will focus on homegrown extremists ‘radicalized’ on American soil. The focus represents a […]
This past Sunday a video was released by a Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda in which Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born Muslim cleric, called for the killing of U.S. civilians. Al-Awlaki has become a main al-Qaeda recruiter and U.S. intelligence has linked him to the 9/11 hijackers, Nidal Hasan (the alleged Fort Hood shooter), and the Christmas […]
In order to understand current events related to terrorism as well as possible, it is essential to explore all aspects of the topic, such as influential Islamist philosophers, the history, background, and structure of a variety of terrorist organizations, and terrorist tactics and strategies. Let’s start with an overview of suicide terrorism, arguably the most […]
Allow me to make this clear: There is nothing to fear from nuclear proliferation. This might sound insane coming from the mouth (or hands) of a counter-terrorism analyst, but the facts speak for themselves.
Once portrayed as an economic and cultural concern, the ebb and flow of peoples across borders is being recast as a threat towards national security and survival. There are many motivations that may entice a political party, individual, or government to portray migration in a security-oriented context. Conversely, there are many reasons why one might seek to avoid the securitization of this particular field.
The problem for candidates that are elected on these types of knee-jerk reactionary issues, as President Obama is indeed discovering, is that it is nearly impossible to deliver on pledges once made.
Mustafa Abul-Yazeed, al-Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan, threatened the United States in recent days, claiming that if the terrorist organization were to acquire Pakistani nuclear devices, they would immediately be used against American targets.
Obama travels to the Middle East, and Osama releases a new audio message. Indeed, this is no coincidence.
New York, NY — The Democratic Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee last night lashed out at former Vice President Dick Cheney for bearing “false witness” and “straying from the truth” in recent comments about U.S. treatment of foreign detainees. Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, speaking to the Foreign Policy Association in New York […]
Mas Selamat bin Kastari, a high ranking leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, is in Malay custody. He was recaptured more than a year after he escaped, pantsless, through the bathroom window of the Whitley Road Detention Center in Singapore. His recapture has resulted in much celebration among the Malaysian and Singaporean security industries, though it has […]
Terrorism is not a Clash of Civilizations, but a Clash of Time Samuel Huntington forever changed the face of international political discourse when he published The Clash of Civilizations. It redefined the world not along political boundaries or geographic features, but along the delicate fault-lines of civilization and culture. In his 1993 article, he writes: […]
To describe the two-term Presidency of George W. Bush as ‘conventional’ is like calling Hurricane Katrina a ‘light drizzle’. While passions remain high on both faces of the political coin, it is impossible to properly understand his actions and legacy so close to his tenure in office. As time goes on, and the Obama administration […]
Israeli authorities successfully diffused a ‘massive’ car-bomb in the northern city of Haifa on Saturday evening. Over 100 kilograms of explosives were found, more than five times the amount necessary to level a municipal bus or truck. The automobile was parked outside a mall, and appears to have targeted civilian shoppers as they entered or […]
American law enforcement expects, and often receives, an extremely high level of cooperation from various Muslim communities throughout the United States. Iranians, Iraqis, Saudis, Egyptians; most are well integrated within their local communities and establishments. As a result, the threat of domestic terrorism is often lower in the US than in other western nations with […]
Over the past week, two new polls have been released which paint an interesting picture of opinions and attitudes within the Muslim World. First, a New York Times poll asked Muslims all over the world whether they felt as if they were ‘thriving’, ‘struggling’, or ‘suffering’. Out of 14 countries (ten predominately Muslim nations and […]