The Naval Air Station Pensacola Shooter Shows That Al-Qaeda Is Still a Significant Threat
We now know that Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani was working for AQAP.
Fort Cavazos
Why We Should Grow the Active Duty Army
The Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2021 budget proposal released this week seeks a modest increase in active duty Army end strength. Since the proposed topline for the defense budget fails to...
Op-eds
Muslims in America
One of the most striking features of the British cemetery at Gallipoli is the attention given to honoring the diversity of the dead. Final farewells from loved ones carved upon stone plaques line...
Op-eds
What it’s like to be a Muslim in the CIA
It was the day after the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. I was working as a CIA analyst. I sat in a room with the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, along with several other a...
Op-eds
Jihadists Under Investigation
The system was blinking red for months prior to the June 12 terrorist attack in Orlando. Since early 2015, the FBI has repeatedly warned the American public that the threat of violent attacks is...
Op-eds
The Orlando Shooter’s Desire for ‘Martyrdom’
After each jihadist attack in the West, our society rehearses the same ritualistic debate over what the terrorists' motivations really are. It is true that "radicalization," as it is often d...
Op-eds
The Long War Continues
In many ways, the reaction to the horrific attacks in Paris has been familiar. There were the expressions of solidarity: flowers at French embassies; social media avatars changed from silly selfi...
Op-eds
Violent Extremist vs. Holy Warrior
Is Barack Hussein Obama wrong to avoid appending “Islamic,” “Muslim,” “Islamist,” or even “jihadist” to the terrorism that has struck the West with...
Op-eds
They Have a Strategy
During a press conference on August 28, Barack Obama had a rare moment of candor. “We don’t have a strategy yet,” the president said in response to a question about the prospect...
Op-eds
The Limitations of al Qaeda’s New English Webzine
Al Qaeda announced this weekend the forthcoming publication of a new Englis...
Policy Briefs
Major Hasan’s ‘Martyrdom’
At Fort Hood, Texas, on November 5, 2009, 13 American military men and women were killed and more than 30 wounded by a man who proudly regarded himself as a “...
Op-eds
Self-Radicalization Chic
The president has described the Boston terrorists as “self-radicalized,” and his voice is but one in a great chorus insisting that we face a major threat from Americans gone bad, almo...
Op-eds
The Challenges of Gun Control: Denying Firearms to Terrorists
Co-authored by Daniel Trombly Following several tragic mass shootings, the U.S. is embroiled in a debate about gun control. The central question for many involved in this d...
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
Engaging Fundamentalists
Given the growing strength and electoral triumphs of fundamentalists in the Middle East, many in Washington fear that the administration just can’t handle Islamists. Egypt’s Muslim Br...
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
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
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
Stay Out of Syria
A response to Clifford D. May.
Op-eds
From ‘Rule of Law’ to ‘Hit List’: NY Times Lauds Obama at War
“The president accepts as a fact that a certain amount of screw-ups are going to happen, and to him, that calls for a more judicious process.” Well, that’s certainly a...