Perceptions of the “Arab Spring” Within the Salafi-Jihadi Movement
Co-authored by Tara Vassefi “The popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have not only shaken the foundation of the authoritarian order in the...
Anwar al-Awlaki
US Drone Strike Near Yemeni Capital Kills AQAP Commander, 2 Fighters
In a strike near the Yemeni capital of Sana'a last night, US drones killed an al Qaeda commander involved in the attack on the US Embassy in Sana'a in 2008, along with two fighters. The...
Op-eds
Should the Fort Hood Attack be Classified as an Act of Terrorism?
The question of whether the Fort Hood attack carried out by Nidal Hasan should be classified as an act of terrorism is in the news. As ABC News...
Op-eds
US Drones Kill 4 AQAP Fighters in Yemen
US drones killed four al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a strike in southern Yemen, in the second such attack in the country in four days. The unmanned Predators or Reapers f...
Op-eds
AQAP’s Top Sharia Official Killed in Recent Drone Strike
The US killed al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's senior sharia, or Islamic law, official in a drone strike in early October, according to a Yemeni journalist who is closely connected to the...
Op-eds
AQAP Leader, 8 Fighters Killed in US Drone Strike in Yemen
US drones conducted their first strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in southern Yemen in two weeks, killing nine members, including one described by the Yemeni military as a "dangero...
Op-eds
US Drone Strike Kills 4 al Qaeda ‘Militants’ in Southern Yemen
US drones conducted their first strike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in southern Yemen in nearly a month, killing four "militants." The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired se...
Op-eds
6 ‘Islamist Militants’ Killed in US Drone Strike in Yemen
US drones struck yet again in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout today, killing six "Islamist militants" in a strike on a compound. Today's strike is the fourth in Yemen in eight day...
Op-eds
US Drone Strike Kills AQAP Operative Involved in Limburg Tanker Attack
A wanted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula operative who was involved in the 2002 bombing of a French oil tanker was killed in a drone strike on Friday. And today, the US launched another strike...
Op-eds
US Drone Strike Kills Saudi ‘Militant’ in Yemen
The US killed two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a drone strike in Yemen yesterday. The strike, which reportedly killed a Saudi jihadist, is the first in Yemen more than three week...
Op-eds
The Anti-Social Network: How al-Qaeda Survives
Co-authored by Adam Elkus Terrorism watchers are engaged in a heated debate about the strength of al-Qaeda, the central leadership of which is believed to be in Pakistan. Defens...
Op-eds
Nidal Hasan’s “Fairly Benign” Correspondence with Anwar al Awlaki
When Nidal Hasan carried out his notorious massacre at Fort Hood in November 2009, it was quickly revealed that he had previously exchanged between ten and twenty emails with the extremist imam A...
Op-eds
US Drone Strike Kills 5 AQAP Fighters in Eastern Yemen
The US killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters in a drone airstrike in eastern Yemen. The strike is the first in Yemen in more than a month. The unmanned Predators or Reap...
Op-eds
NCTC Director: ‘We Remain at War with al Qaeda’
During testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security on July 25, National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) director Matthew Olsen testified that while al Qaeda's central leadership...
Op-eds
Webster Commission Gets 2004 Madrid Train Bombings Wrong
Last week, I wrote about the Webster Commission's final report on the Nov. 5, 2009 Fort Hood shootings....
Op-eds
Terrorism, Economics, and the London Olympics
On July 25, I spoke on a panel at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies on the topic of Combating Olympic Terrorism (video of which can be found...
Op-eds
Missed Clues Before Fort Hood Shootings
In the wake of the November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shootings, Steve Hayes and I wrote about the FBI’s and Defense Department’s...
Op-eds
4 AQAP Fighters Killed in Drone Strike in Southern Yemen
The US killed four people, including two al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters, in a drone airstrike in southern Yemen. The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missiles at a vehicle...
Op-eds
US Drones Kill AQAP Commander, 2 Fighters in Southern Yemen
US drones killed an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula commander and two fighters in an airstrike near the southern port city of Aden today. The remotely piloted Predators or the more hea...
Op-eds
US Drone Strike Kills 9 AQAP Fighters in Yemen
The US launched an airstrike against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters who have fled the two major strongholds in southern Yemen. The unmanned Predators or Reapers fired missile...