The Benghazi Report
Co-authored by Stephen F. Hayes After a long day on November 13, 2013, Speaker of the House John Boehner walked down the marble hallways of the Longworth House Office Building t...
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
No Fun in the Caliphate. Just the End of the World
It’s a tyrannical theocracy, crucifixions and decapitations are routine, women are shrouded and intimidated, the grim religious police are all over the place. It’s your Islamic...
Op-eds
Sandstorm
The great medieval historian Ibn Khaldun centered his understanding of history on asabiyya, which is perhaps best translated as esprit de corps mixed with the will to power. In his maste...
Op-eds
Thank You for Bombing
Washington says its air war on the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Sy...
Op-eds
Islamist Foreign Fighters Returning Home and the Threat to Europe
Chairman Rohrabacher, Ranking Member Keating and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by Islamist foreign fighters returning home to Europe....
Legislative Testimonies
Islamist Foreign Fighters Returning Home and the Threat to Europe
Chairman Rohrabacher, Ranking Member Keating and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by Islamist foreign fighters returning home to Europe....
Op-eds
The Islamic State’s Vulnerability
As the U.S. military joins with its allies and temporarily-aligned enemies to fulfill President Obama’s promise to “...
Op-eds
Why Al Qaeda Released An American Hostage
Earlier today, the news broke that Peter Theo Curtis, an American who had been held hostage in Syria since 2012, has been released by his captors. Coming just days after another American hostage,...
Op-eds
Syria Spillover: The Growing Threat of Terrorism and Sectarianism in the Middle East
Chairman Menendez, Ranking Member Corker, and distinguished members of the committee, on behalf of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies,it is a...
Legislative Testimonies
Ansar al Sharia Ally A Key Figure in Benghazi Security Failures
A key figure in the security failures surrounding the September 11, 2012, terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya is fighting alongside members of Ansar al Sharia, which is one of the terrori...
Op-eds
Zawahiri’s Revenge
The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham -- which has now rebranded itself "the Islamic State" (IS) -- is trying to position itself as the new leader of the global jihadist movement. After being...
Op-eds
The Jihadist Governance Dilemma
Co-authored by Amichai Magen After making astounding territorial gains in its war against the Iraqi government, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – which has refash...
Op-eds
Do We Have To Destroy Radical Islamism In Order To Save Islam?
Is "Islamic democracy" a contradiction in terms, a big fat oxymoron? Years ago, a sympathetic French scholar wrote that Islam was inherently "totalitarian," and Bernard Lewis, when asked by Presi...
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia Moves Against the Muslim Brotherhood
Saudi Arabia escalated its campaign against the Muslim Brotherhood today by including the organization on a controversial new list of terrorist movements. This new step comes in the wake of a sim...
Policy Briefs
Al Qaeda’s Expansion in Egypt Implications for U.S. Homeland Security
Chairman King, Ranking Member Higgins, members of the committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss al Qaeda’s presence in Egypt. The uprisings throughou...
Legislative Testimonies
Know Your Enemy
In the summer of 2008, Barack Obama, senator and presidential candidate, toured the war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq. Obama had endeared himself to the antiwar left by denouncing President Bush’s d...
Op-eds
Leader of Group Linked to Al-Qaeda Held in Lebanon: Sources
A Saudi militant who allegedly leads a group linked to al Qaeda which operates throughout the Middle East has been arrested by military authorities in Lebanon, according to ...
Op-eds
Political, Economic, and Security Situation in Africa
Watch the hearing here. Chairman Kaine, Ranking Member Risch...
Legislative Testimonies
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades and the Attack on Iran’s Embassy in Beirut
By David Barnett The Abdullah Azzam Brigades (AAB), an al Qaeda-linked group, announced today that its Hussein bin Ali Battalion was responsible for the double suicide attack on...
Policy Briefs
A Well-Deserved Terrorist Designation
The State Department announced today that Boko Haram, a prolific terrorist and insurgency group based in...