Central Asia

September 1, 2021 | Richard Goldberg, Matthew Zweig, Saeed Ghasseminejad

Biden, Congress Should Not Give the Taliban and al-Qaeda a Seaport

Iranian officials announced last week that Tehran would continue to allow road and rail commercial shipping between Afghanistan and Iran’s Chabahar Port following Kabul’s fall to the Taliban. This development...

August 27, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

What We Know—and Don’t Know—About ISIS-K

The group has claimed responsibility for the bombing outside the Kabul airport.

June 25, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

The Situation in Afghanistan Is Much Worse Than You Realize

The U.S. military is downplaying the Taliban’s gains, and the U.S. and U.N. are pretending there is a viable peace process.

June 18, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

What Happened at the Biden-Putin Summit? Not Much.

The two discussed Afghanistan, cyberattacks, and more.

June 4, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Al-Qaeda Is Still in Afghanistan, and It’s Fighting for Victory

The problem with Joe Biden’s ‘over the horizon’ strategy for fighting terrorism.

April 23, 2021 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Why the Russia-China Alignment Is So Worrisome

A new report also looks at demographics and points to concerning trends in jihadist hotbeds.

February 16, 2021 | Dr. Brenda Shaffer |

More than Just Friends? New Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan Agreement on Joint Energy Production in the Caspian Sea

On January 21, 2021 the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan signed an intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for joint development of the newly named Dostluq (friendship in Azerbaijani...

January 14, 2021 | Tony Badran |

Lebanon

October 14, 2020 | Alireza Nader |

Corruption, Not Sanctions, Is Causing Medicine Shortages in Iran

Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, says that new sanctions on 18 Iranian banks are part of a deliberate U.S. effort to cause shortages of food and medicine. It’s a claim that the Tehran regime has...

July 27, 2020 | Bill Roggio |

Taliban again promotes its Badakhshan training camp

In a video released yesterday on Voice of Jihad, the Taliban celebrated its “newly graduated martyrs and Mujahideen from [the] Abu Ubaidah Ibn Jarrah Training Center.” This camp is known to...

July 1, 2020 | Dr. Brenda Shaffer, Svante Cornell

US International Religious Freedom Efforts Should Not Promote Islamic Extremism

The Trump Administration has elevated the promotion of international religious freedom to a major component of U.S. foreign policy. President Donald Trump issued an executive order devoting additional...

June 24, 2020 | Dr. Brenda Shaffer |

Post Covid-19: Challenges and Opportunities for the CAMCA Region

Epidemics are not new to the CAMCA region and historical accounts document many of them. In Genghis Khan’s main code of laws, Yasa, public health infractions, such as polluting or urinating in rivers,...

April 22, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Germany Disrupts ISIS Plot Targeting U.S. Military

Let's look at how ISIS has recruited a base of supporters from Central Asian states such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

April 20, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Arrests in Germany highlight reach of Islamic State’s Central Asian network

Last week, German authorities announced the arrests of four alleged Islamic State members. The suspects — identified as Azizjon B., Muhammadali G., Farhodshoh K. and Sunatullokh K. — are accused of...

April 6, 2020 |

FDD Announces Research Series on COVID-19

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (Washington DC, April 6, 2020) – The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) announced a new series of research products focused on COVID-19. The research is designed to help...

March 3, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn, Bill Roggio

Analysis: Taliban leader declares victory after U.S. agrees to withdrawal deal

Shortly after the Trump administration signed its accord with the Taliban on Feb. 29, Taliban leader Haibatullah Akhundzada declared “victory” on behalf “of the entire Muslim and Mujahid nation.”...

February 27, 2020 | Toby Dershowitz, Talia Katz

Torture TV

The Case for Sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s State-Run Media

September 19, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

The Trump Administration’s Afghanistan Policy

July 31, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

UN Security Council continues to report on al Qaeda-Taliban alliance

Al Qaeda’s training camps in pre-9/11 Afghanistan. The group was never uprooted from the country and remains closely allied with the Taliban to this day. Since July 2018, the UN Security Council has published...

July 30, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

UN: Islamic State replaced leader in Afghanistan after visit from central leadership

The Islamic State’s central leadership replaced their top man in Afghanistan after a meeting earlier this year, according to a recent report submitted t...