France Confirms Death of Senior AQIM Commander Abou Zeid
French President François Hollande issued a statement confirming the death of Abdel Mejid Abou Zeid, a top al Qaeda commander who served as the deputy to Yahya Abu Hammam, the head of al Q...
Chad
Confusion Reigns in Confirming Deaths of Senior AQIM Leaders in Mali
By LWJ Staff The fate of fugitive al Qaeda affiliate Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the mastermind of the deadly terrorist assault against an Algerian gas plant in January, remains uncerta...
Op-eds
Chadian Forces Claim Raid Killed Top Algerian Jihadist Mokhtar Belmokhtar
By LWJ Staff Chadian military forces in Mali claimed to have killed fugitive al Qaeda affiliate Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the...
Op-eds
Emir of Ansar Dine Added to US, UN’s Terrorist Lists
Both the United States and the United Nations have added Iyad ag Ghali, the emir of the Mali-based, al Qaeda-linked Ansar Dine, to their lists of global terrorists. Ghali was instrumental in the...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda’s Plan for Libya Highlighted in Congressional Report
An unclassified report published in August highlights al Qaeda's strategy for building a fully operational network in Libya. The report ("Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile") was prepared by the f...
Op-eds
Saudi Arabia Is Arming the Syrian Opposition
What could possibly go wrong?
Op-eds
As The West Lets Down Its Guard
The United States is now following Europe’s precedent of cutting military spending in the name of shoring up its economy.
Op-eds
Sudan’s Elections: What Now?
With all but the cynically duplicitous, willfully blind, or invincibly ignorant acknowledging that the elections in Sudan last week were more of a farce than a demonstration of the Sudanese peopl...
Op-eds
Sudan: Looming Crises, Strategic Opportunities
While international attention remains riveted on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the western Darfur region – it has been less than two weeks since an Antonov transport belonging to the S...
Op-eds
The War on Terrorism in Africa: Assessment and Prospects
The end of one year and the beginning of another is a good time both to take stock of where we have been and to look ahead at the paths we are likely to take and the battles which we will have to...
Op-eds
Milestone in Partnership to Counter Terrorism in the Sahel
By Dr. J. Peter Pham Last Saturday, military personnel from the Unites States and thirteen African and European countries wrapped up a joint military exercise in the Malian capi...
Op-eds
Khartoum’s Partners in Beijing
Last week, some 200 baton-wielding policemen prevented Mia Farrow and members "Dream for Darfur" group from holding a rally near the site of Cambodia's "killing fields" to urge the People�...
Op-eds
Securing Africa
On February 6, 2007, President George W. Bush launched a major evolution in American military posture when he formally announced that he had directed the Pentagon to establish a new unified...
Op-eds
Jihadi Regime
As Americans debate whhich presidential candidate is best to confront the jihadists or at least preempt their offensives worldwide, the latter almost seized a key African country for the forthcom...
Op-eds
The Battle for Libya: Implications for Africa
As battle lines crisscross between the rebels marching west to overthrow him and loyal military units taking the offensive against rebel-held towns in the eastern Libya, Colonel Muammar al-Qadhaf...
Op-eds
Côte d’Ivoire Crisis: Some Lessons to Be Learned
In my review last week of Africa's likely top flash points for 2011, I expressed my concern that The year that was supposed to be Côte d'Ivoire's "ann...
Op-eds
Iran’s Global Terrorist Reach
The United States became painfully aware of the threat posed by global jihadism after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Until that day, Iranian-backed terrorist networks, such as Hezbolla...
Op-eds
Turkey’s Return to Africa
In the end, neither the superabundant expressions of support voiced by donor nations for the ramshackle “Transitional Federal Government” (TFG) of Somalia nor that regime’s corr...
Op-eds
Kid Kabila and Congo’s Joyless Jubilee
Last week, the United Nations Security Council rescheduled for mid-May a planned fact-finding mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Officially, the trip was cancelled because of the...
Op-eds
Emerging West African Terror-Drug Nexus Poses Major Security Threat
Over the course of the last month, the foiled attempt by would-be "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a Detroit-bound passenger flight on Christmas Day has underscored the dan...