Combating Terrorism Center
Cognitive Combat
China, Russia, and Iran’s Information War Against Americans
Monographs
Shabaab responds to FDD’s Long War Journal study on its suicide bombings
Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s branch in East Africa, responded to FDD’s Long War Journal’s recent study on its suicide bombings through an article published on its Shahada News Agency. While...
Op-eds
PGMs: Iran’s Precision-Guided Munitions Project in the Shadow of a Nuclear Deal
Memos
Helping Iran fail in Iraq
Hours after the failed Nov. 7 assassination attempt on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi, pro-Iran militias in Iraq claimed responsibility but denied that Tehran had ordered the attack. Not only...
Op-eds
Joint raid targeted al Qaeda members in Taliban stronghold, U.S. and Afghan officials say
Taliban sites posted this photo from the aftermath of a joint U.S.-Afghan raid in Musa Qala. Late yesterday, U.S. and Afghan forces targeted al Qaeda members in Musa Qala, a Taliban-controlled district...
Op-eds
Lone Wolves No More
The tactics used by British terrorist Khalid Masood in his horrifying attack...
Op-eds
The Final Obama Scandal
Co-written by Stephen F. Hayes. Less than 24 hours before the official end of the Obama presidency, while White House staffers were pulling pictures off the walls and cle...
Op-eds
The New Bin Laden Documents
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released 98 additional items from Osama bin Laden's compound today. If the ODNI has its way, then these files will be th...
Op-eds
Top Intel Official: Al Qaeda Worked on WMD in Iran
Al Qaeda operatives based in Iran worked on chemical and biological weapons, according to a letter written to Osama bin Laden that is described in a new book by a top former U.S. intelligence off...
Op-eds
Not a Conspiracy
In May, the London Review of Books published a 10,000-word exposé by veteran investigative journalist Seymour Hersh on the killing of Osama bin Laden. It was widely read online, receiving...
Op-eds
Analysis: Osama bin Laden’s Documents Pertaining to Abu Anas al Libi Should be Released
A senior al Qaeda operative known as Abu Anas al Libi has died in the US as he was awaiting trial. Al Libi was ca...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda’s Nigeria Franchise
When Hillary Clinton tweeted her support for the more than 200 Nigerian girls held by the extremist group Boko Haram, she probably did not expect that her tenure as secretary of state would soon...
Op-eds
Selectively Citing Osama Bin Laden
During his counterterrorism speech on Thursday, President Obama defended the use of drones by ...
Op-eds
Exploiting Osama Bin Laden’s Files
Top U.S. intelligence officials revealed new details about the exploitation of Osama bin Laden’s extensive archive during a House Intelligence Committee hearing on Thursday. The officials r...
Op-eds
John Brennan and the Bin Laden Files
During a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center on April 30, 2012, John Brennan, President Obama’s nominee to head the CIA, discussed “The Ethics and Efficacy of the U.S. Pres...
Op-eds
Interrogate Brennan
President Obama’s nominee for CIA director, John Brennan, has been one of the president’s closest advisers over the last four years. So it should come as no surprise that O...
Op-eds
The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Al Qaeda, and Epistemology
Yesterday I was quoted in a Spencer Ackerman article over at Wired, saying, “We don’t know...
Op-eds
Osama bin Laden on the Muslim Brotherhood
One of the chief beneficiaries of the Arab Spring thus far has been the Muslim Brotherhood, which has gained power in Egypt and elsewhere. This did not escape Osama bin Laden's attention pri...
Op-eds
Analysis: Spinning Iran and al Qaeda, Part 2
Editor's note: Part 1 of this series was published on May 5, 2012. In a recently released report on Osa...