A group of security heavyweights in the US has issued what it labels an “Open Letter from Former Defense, Intelligence, Homeland Security, and Cyber Officials Calling for National Security Review of Congressional Tech Legislation.” These wise custodians of the national interest employ their...
Throughout the Sahel, international borders are porous, poverty rates are high, and there is a history of violent conflict making social fabrics acutely fragile.
The human need for connection leads young people to be especially vulnerable to extremist groups who promise deep connection, comradeship, brotherhood and belonging. Even a cursory glance at recent books on extremism makes clear the kinds of emotions that most scholars and policymakers see as...
As aspiring global powers, both Russia and China are trying to upgrade their roles on the global stage and carve out their respective spheres of influence. On September 11, Russia launched one of the largest military exercises since 1981. Vostok 2018 (East 2018) took place in the Far East of...
Information, as powerful as it is, belongs to everyone and can help in individual self-determination. At the center of any WikiLeaks discussion lies Julian Assange, the platform’s founder who has been embroiled in scandals and accusations of misogyny, amongst all else. Lesser known is the...
Whatever Donald Trump says or does in Brussels, it will not be the end of NATO. As the NATO summit in Brussels started its second day in disarray, what used to be an eventless and business-as-usual reconfirmation of unity and strength of the Atlantic alliance has turned into a power play between...
It was only a matter of time before the US was going to challenge Pakistan for its support for terrorist groups across the border in Afghanistan and India. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money laundering watchdog, decided during its plenary session in February to put Pakistan...
As Jakarta becomes the latest victim of terror, security forces are finding it increasingly difficult to identify patterns behind attacks. Indonesia has been hit by a suspected suicide bombing, the deadliest since January 2016. The attack occurred on May 24 near the densely-populated Kampung...
In Afghanistan, opportunity is not equally distributed among all citizens. Afghanistan’s history is marked with the persistent struggle faced by the ethnic communities due to the country’s geostrategic significance and multi-ethnic divisions. Every historic change — from the expansion of...
These attacks should be stopped, and ending them requires us to take part. First of all, as fellow human beings we are saddened and all torn up by the tragedy that occurred in the heart of London on March 22. The motive behind this mindless act carried out by Khalid Masood remains vague. His...
The recent ban on in-flight electronics can be construed as a deliberate step to discourage Muslims from traveling to the US. On February 8, 2017, my wife and I arrived in Casablanca, Morocco. Just like outside many international airports around the world, we were greeted with hand-made signs in...
The Kenyan government continues the legal fight to close Dadaab—the largest refugee camp in the world. Claims by the Kenyan government that the Dadaab refugee camp on the border with Somalia has become a recruiting ground for terrorists have been behind the push to shut down the camp....
Short of a full military victory by one side or the other, there is no prospect of Syria being stitched back together soon. When it started in 2011, the Syrian protest movement against the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria was entirely domestic and mostly peaceful. I was there and observed...
The coming year may well prove to be the bloodiest yet in Turkey. The figures for terrorist attacks and those killed in Turkey as a result in 2016 are staggering as the death toll reaches 300 with seemingly no respite from the relentless killings in sight. In the early hours of 2017, the...
Internal conflicts and external interests have created the conditions for violence in Turkey. In the last 18 months or so, there have been around 30 terrorist attacks in Turkey, killing over 1,000 people. From a country that was seen as having determined the perfect balance between Islam,...
