This website offers information resources and commentary about terrorism, counterterrorism, organized crime, influence warfare, WMD proliferation and other interests in the field of security studies.

WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION AND TERRORISM
Edited by
James J.F. Forest and Russell D. Howard

Second Edition
(New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012)
821 Pages. ISBN-13: 9780078026225

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ToC-WMD2

Preface

More information is available on the website http://www.wmdterror.net

The Praeger Security International book series on Terrorists, Insurgents and other Armed Groups is now in its third year of publication. Recent volumes  have included the Army of God, PKK, ETIM, Phinehas Priesthood and PLO.

We are accepting proposals for new manuscripts. Please see the following web page for more details:  http://www.teachingterror.net/PSI/

Please see the following web page for information on submitting articles to the journal Perspectives on Terrorism.

http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot/about/submissions#onlineSubmissions

I’ve taken on a new role as Associate Editor of this journal. If you have something you’d like to submit for consideration, please let me know.

Here are two recent perspectives on the increasing Boko Haram-related violence in northern Nigeria:

1. The Economist (Jan. 14 2012 issue): http://www.economist.com/node/21542764

1. an Op-Ed that I co-authored (Jan. 12 2012): http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0112/Nigeria-s-Boko-Haram-attacks-are-misunderstood-as-regional-Islamist-threat

I’ve also just completed a monograph on Boko Haram, for Joint Special Operations University Press, currently under final review. Quite a terrorism hotspot these days . . .

See page 7 of the attached conference report from the threat convergence summit in Zurich

Zurich Conference Final Report

http://www.uml.edu/News/stories/2011-12/Forest-Influence-Warfare.aspx

Here is a link to the recent special issue of the journal Perspectives on Terrorism, which addresses Terrorism in Africa.

http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/index.php/pot

CONTENTS
Terrorism and Political Violence in Africa: Contemporary Trends in a Shifting Terrain
James J.F. Forest, Jennifer Giroux

Terrorism in Liberation Struggles: Interrogating the Engagement Tactics of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta
Ibaba Samuel Ibaba

‘Forcing the Horse to Drink or Making it Realise its Thirst’? Understanding the Enactment of Anti-Terrorism Legislation (ATL) in Nigeria
Isaac Terwase Sampson, Freedom C. Onuoha

Opportunity Costs or Costly Opportunities? The Arab Spring, Osama Bin Laden, and Al-Qaeda’s African Affiliates
Alex S. Wilner

Al-Qaeda’s Influence in Sub-Saharan Africa: Myths, Realities and Possibilities
James J.F. Forest

From Theory to Practice: Exploring the Organised Crime-Terror Nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa
Annette Hübschle

The Paradox of Terrorism, Armed Conflict and Natural Resources in Africa: an Analysis of Cabinda in Angola
Victor Ojakorotu

You can also download the entire issue (in PDF) at the following link:
http://www.terrorismanalysts.com/pt/articles/issues/PTv5i3.pdf

Just published a piece in the Netherlands-based NATO journal Atlantic Perspective. Here’s a link to the issue: http://www.atlcom.nl/upload/AP_2011_nr__6.pdf

Ungoverned Territories: Engaging local nongovernmental entities in U.S. security strategy

State weakness has become a prime concern for U.S. national security, and so-called ‘ungoverned territories’ are central to this concern. However, we need to differentiate between different kinds of ungoverned territories, and give special attention to zones of competing governance – places that are governed by entities other than the forces of an established nation-state – and the hierarchy of loyalties within them. This article describes key characteristics of these areas, and offers implications organized around three activities: research (more refined analysis and clarity of terms are needed), policy (improving state legitimacy may be more important than addressing weaknesses in capacity or will), and strategy (we must consider alternatives to our state-centric strategies for tackling non-state security threats).

Click here for the complete article

So, Anwar al-Awlaki was targeted and reportedly killed by a drone this morning. Samir Khan, another American-born AQAP member (and allegedly the principal editor and architect behind the popular online magazine INSPIRE) may also have been killed in the attack. If this morning’s media accounts are accurate, this is a significant blow to the English-speaking segment of AQAP and the broader al-Qaida network. It’s also a good indication of the quality of intelligence we’re getting in Yemen, and how we have improved our own capabilities to find and eliminate high value targets like this.

One question that comes to mind is whether or not someone within AQAP (or AQ generally) may have had a role in this incident. Even before the demise of bin Laden earlier this year, we have been observing various AQ members trying to position themselves for power and influence within the network. From this viewpoint, it is entirely possible that someone may have seen al-Awlaki as a rival, a threat to their power within the network because of his increasing popularity, and chose to provide information about his whereabouts. Whenever we see this kind of competition for leadership of a terrorist organization, it usually coincides with an increase in violence and attacks, including the kinds of violence in which organizational rivals try to eliminate each other. Just a thought.

Overall, this is a good, symbolic victory in the long struggle against AQ. This is not really a huge hit to al-Qaida’s operational capabilities, but it is definitely important in terms of eliminating a popular source of radicalization. He was especially popular among Western jihadists because of the way he communicated the al-Qaida ideology in plain English. But it is important to remember that those messages are still out there on the Internet, and will likely be a source of inspiration for future al-Qaida wanna-bes. These could also inspire a revenge attack, as some members or supporters of the al-Qaida network will be angry that we targeted and killed a Muslim cleric who did not shoot or bomb anyone himself.

In the long run, though, al-Qaida will cease to be a threat. No terrorist organization of any kind has been around forever. Their attacks have already alienated an overwhelming majority of the Muslim world, which is al-Qaida’s primary audience. They’re constantly appealing for support, and trying to justify their actions to the Muslim world, but at the same time al-Qaida attacks over the last decade have killed 8 Muslims for every 1 non-Muslim. That kind of hypocrisy undermines their ability to sustain the movement over the long term – regardless of how charismatic their ideological messengers are or the language they speak.

– James Forest

Nigeria’s Terrorism Problem, by Alex Thurston
Why the suicide bombing of the U.N. compound in Abuja isn’t just a lone incident — and why it could spark an ugly religious war in Africa’s most populous country.
Read more on Foreign Policy