Muammar Gaddafi

February 6, 2024 | Emanuele Ottolenghi |

Tyrants and expendable migrants: Dictators play with people’s lives to gain leverage

Illegal immigration through the U.S.-Mexican border is at an all-time high, straining public resources and fueling political tension in the United States. Much of what moves migrants to undertake the...

August 28, 2023 | |

Libya’s Prime Minister Fires Top Diplomat for Meeting With Israeli Counterpart

Libya’s prime minister fired his top diplomat on August 28 for meeting with her Israeli counterpart last week. News of the meeting had earlier set off protests in several cities...

November 2, 2021 | Anthony Ruggiero, Andrea Stricker

The Lasting Legacy of A.Q. Khan

His network sold substantial nuclear equipment and assistance to Iran, Libya, and North Korea and contributed to lasting security crises.

April 28, 2021 | Clifford D. May |

The death of an African warrior

With a bit of history, a few memories, and some lessons

October 7, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

The Failures of Operation Enduring Freedom

The chief aim in late 2001 should have been the swift destruction of al-Qaeda. That didn’t happen.

June 7, 2020 | Tony Badran |

Bringing the Middle East Back Home

The American Orientalist Class attempts to paint a fantasy Middle Eastern landscape on the American canvas

May 4, 2020 | Thomas Joscelyn |

Analysis: The Islamic State’s ideological campaign against al-Qaeda

On April 29, the Islamic State’s “province” (wilayah) in Yemen released a lengthy video that is intended to undermine al-Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy within the jihadists’ ranks. The 50-plus...

September 20, 2019 | Bill Roggio |

U.S. kills 8 Islamic State fighters in Libya airstrike

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March 14, 2019 | Thomas Joscelyn |

AQIM official calls for sharia governance in Algeria

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March 28, 2018 | Benjamin Weinthal |

Exclusive: German Company Fires Employee in Jordan for Defending Israel

The German Corporation for International Cooperation in Amman fired an employee for her pro-Israel comments on a Facebook page in December. The former employee, who asked not to be...

February 21, 2018 | Thomas Joscelyn

Not So Fast

On January 19, the Pentagon released its new National Defense Strategy. The second paragraph of the 14-page declassified summary painted a dire picture. “Today, we are emerging from a perio...

August 16, 2017 | Clifford D. May |

In search of a grand U.S. strategy

Richard Nixon’s rapprochement with China, the end of the Cold War, President Obama’s outreach to “the Muslim world,” the growth of the (largely American-funded) United Nat...

May 23, 2017 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

The Manchester Attack Shows How Terrorists Learn

Yesterday’s terrorist attack that struck at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Britain’s Manchester Arena—leaving 22 people dead and 59 injured, by the ...

April 3, 2017 | Boris Zilberman |

Russia’s Charm Offensive in North Africa

With the world’s attention focused on the question of Russian influence in the United States and the European Union, the Kremlin is quietly making inroads in anot...

February 23, 2017 | 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...

December 8, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

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...

November 30, 2016 | Oren Kessler

Egypt’s Unlikely Ardor for Trump

More than three weeks after the election, the American public remains divided...

November 10, 2016 | Daveed Gartenstein-Ross

How Will Jihadist Strategy Evolve as the Islamic State Declines?

Co-written by Colin Clarke Jihadist strategy has always been dynamic and opportunistic. Milita...

June 22, 2016 | John Cappello |

Reconsidering safe zones in Syria

The situation in Syria remains bleak, with no end in sight to its five-year civil war. President Bashar Assad’s forces and their Russian and Iranian backers continue to lay waste to rebel-h...

May 25, 2016 | Clifford D. May |

National security policies of the next commander-in-chief

“National security” is a highfalutin phrase for a problem that can be stated quite simply: We have enemies. What do we do about them? Since this is a matter of life and death, it&rsqu...