Lone Wolves No More
The tactics used by British terrorist Khalid Masood in his horrifying attack...
Daveed Gartenstein-Ross
Political Instability in Africa Could Lead to ISIS Resurgence
The Islamic State has faced significant defeats in Africa over the past year but political instability across the northern and western regions could offer a ripe breeding ground for the terrorist...
Op-eds
Despite Recent Losses, Islamic State Still Threatens North and West Africa, FDD Study Finds
(Washington, D.C., Feb. 20 2017) – The decline of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria may paradoxically help the group in Africa, particularly as state and non-state actors shift resources...
Press Releases
Were the 7 nations identified in Donald Trump’s travel ban named by Barack Obama as terror hotbeds?
Two days after President Donald Trump temporarily banned certain groups of people from entering the United States, his chief of staff, Reince Priebus, defended the executive order by directing at...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda is back
Don't call it a comeback. Al Qaeda, the group responsible for the worst terrorist attack in United States history, never really left. Instead, while news media coverage inordinately focused...
Op-eds
Terrorists, Insurgents, Something Else? Clarifying and Classifying the “Generational Challenge”
Co-written by Jacob Zenn. The Trump administration’s ...
Op-eds
ISIL’s Virtual Planners: A Critical Terrorist Innovation
On December 19, Anis Amri plowed a hijacked truck through the Christm...
Op-eds
Trump Wants to Shake Up the World Order? Here’s Where He Should Start
The specifics have often fluctuated, but the core of Donald Trump’s foreign policy vision has remained steady. He believes, as the Brookings Institution’s Thomas Wright has noted, &ld...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda Assessment Off the Mark
Throughout his two terms in office, President Barack Obama faced an array of challenges from both al Qaeda and ISIS. In an interview with The Cipher Brief, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Seni...
Op-eds
How Will Jihadist Strategy Evolve as the Islamic State Declines?
Co-written by Colin Clarke Jihadist strategy has always been dynamic and opportunistic. Milita...
Op-eds
Pentagon Walks Back Promise to Attack ISIS Capital ASAP
Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s claim last week that the assault on Raqqa, the capital of the so-called Islamic State, was “within weeks” was a surprise to the commanders plannin...
Op-eds
Iraq’s Grim Prospects Post ISIL
Co-written by Sterling Jensen. In the coming months, and possibly weeks, the Iraqi Security Forces, with the help of a diverse group of fighters spanning the Iraqi politic...
Op-eds
Maggie Hassan says ISIS advertises lax U.S. gun laws
As gun policy takes a central role in New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race, Democrat Maggie Hassan is warning that terrorists are trying to exploit federal laws to obtain firearms. ......
Op-eds
Underestimating al Qaeda
The United States and its allies are consumed by their battle with ISIS, but to many terrorism experts, al Qaeda remains a serious force to be reckoned with, one that is actually increasing i...
Op-eds
Limited Options
The Cipher Brief: What is your assessment of al Shabaab’s current capabilities? Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: Al Shabaab’s current cap...
Op-eds
A grim anniversary: 15 years after 9/11, the war against radical Islamist terrorism is not good
Imagine it's 15 years ago, immediately after the 9/11 attacks. You are told that in September 2016, a couple of major counterterrorism victories would be just around the corner. These impend...
Op-eds
No Panacea for Radicalization
The case of Aaron Driver, the 24-year-old Muslim convert killed by police before he could carry out a terrorist attack against a major urban centre, has again focused public attention on Canada&r...
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...
Op-eds
Rebranding Terror
On July 28, Abu Muhammad al-Julani, heretofore the emir of al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, ...
Op-eds
Boko Haram’s Doomed Marriage To The Islamic State
Co-written by Jacob Zenn. When the Nigerian jihadist group popularly known as Boko Haram publicly pl...