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 Continue Reading
Terrorist Groups
Nigeria’s Terrorism Problem
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
The Future of al-Qaida
Here’s a link to an article I wrote on May 10 for Praeger Security International. The title is “The Future of al-Qaida Without Bin Laden“.
The Future AQ Threat
My thoughts on the future threat of al-Qaida include three kinds of potential motivations for attacking the U.S. in some major way in the coming months. 1) There is the oft-cited concern about retaliation, avenging the death of bin Laden. A group or even an individual somewhere is already thinking Continue Reading
Bin Laden’s Death
Bin Laden’s Death and the Implications for Jihadism By Scott Stewart U.S. President Barack Obama appeared in a hastily arranged televised address the night of May 1, 2011, to inform the world that U.S. counterterrorism forces had located and killed Osama bin Laden. The operation, which reportedly happened in the Continue Reading
Can Al Qaeda Survive the Revolts in the Middle East?
Great commentary by Bruce Riedel. “As the Arab world undergoes the most profound changes it has seen in over a half century, and the first-ever democratic revolutions in its history, al Qaeda has been caught off guard like everyone else. Now it is trying to regain its footing by looking Continue Reading
The U.K. Terror Plot: The Latest Sign of Al Qaeda’s Global Jihad
Nice brief commentary by Bruce Riedel “The arrest of a dozen men in four cities in England and Wales Monday for allegedly planning al Qaeda-inspired terror attacks is fueling anew the deep concern among European and U.S. intelligence services that al Qaeda is determined to strike this winter. Sweden has Continue Reading
Debates and Divisions within Al-Qaida
Self Inflicted Wounds Here is an excellent example of the kind of research that definitely improves our understanding of al Qaida. “ Self Inflicted Wounds: Debates and Divisions within al-Qaida and its Periphery†was released earlier this week and is edited by Assaf Moghadam and Brian Fishman, two of my Continue Reading
Seth Jones on Tribes in Afghanistan
Foreign Affairs May/June 2010 REVIEW ESSAY http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66350/seth-g-jones/it-takes-the-villages It Takes the Villages Bringing Change From Below in Afghanistan Seth G. Jones SETH G. JONES is a Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation and the author of In the Graveyard of Empires: America’s War in Afghanistan. In 2009, he served as Continue Reading
Missile Strike Kills Senior Al-Qaeda Operative
Good news, if its true Missile Strike Kills Senior Al-Qaeda Operative, U.S. Says