Why the United States Should Pay More Attention to the War in Mali
The ongoing civil war in Mali—where a jihadist group is poised to seize power—is spilling over into Nigeria, with ominous humanitarian consequences.
Sahara
Ayman al-Zawahiri defends 9/11 hijackings in anniversary address
Ayman al-Zawahiri defends the 9/11 hijackings in a video released on the 18th anniversary of al-Qaeda’s most devastating attack. The production, released by al-Qaeda’s As Sahab propaganda arm, is titled...
Op-eds
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi appears in first video in nearly five years
Op-eds
Africa’s Jihadist Frontiers
Episode 9
Foreign Podicy
Black lives in Africa
No nation in Africa is receiving more attention right now than Wakanda. And why not since, as Anthony Lane writes in The New Yorker, Wakanda is “a model of serenity,” that also is &ld...
Op-eds
Will the Next Arab Revolt Be in Algeria?
A remarkable series of barely noticed counterterrorism operations, labor strikes, and social protests in Algeria in January showed that the North African country may be facing a year of upheaval....
Op-eds
Holy Wars
Not Muslims against infidels – Muslims against Muslims.
Op-eds
US Adds Senior AQIM Commander to Terrorist List
The US added the head of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb's operations in the Sahel region of North Africa to the list of global terrorists yesterday. Yahya Abu Hammam, whose real na...
Op-eds
Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and Al Qaeda’s Senior Leadership
With recent events in Mali and Algeria, there is a notable uptick in interest in Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). One question commentators are asking is what the relationship is between A...
Op-eds
Dictators and Dissidents
Support the latter, bet on the former.
Op-eds
Into Africa
Al Qaeda and its affiliates are gaining a foothold.
Op-eds
Pakistani Jihadists Reported in Northern Mali
Over the past two months, Tuareg rebels, backed by Islamist terror groups such as Ansar al Dine, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, have seized cont...
Op-eds
Be Wise on Kosovo
Over the past few months a number of Western leaders, including senior United States figures, have lent their support to separating the province of Kosovo from the Republic of Serbia, based on th...
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
Thinking about Terrorism and Other Security Challenges in Africa
In last week's column, surveying developments in the former Somalia, Sudan, the Maghreb and Sahel, Nigeria and West Africa, and the rest of the continent, I concluded that "Through the c...
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
Moroccan Exceptionalism?
I recently spent nearly two weeks in North Africa, arriving just before popular demonstrations drove Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from power and leaving just after the protesters occupi...
Op-eds
When Crime Does Pay
In my annual survey of African "hot spots" back in January, I noted that "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) seems to be stirring again as well as getting more involved in illicit trafficking...
Op-eds
Why Morocco Must Stay
After a nineteen year UN presence in the Western Sahara, the Security Council is about to follow Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's recommendation and vote to extend the mandate of the United N...
Op-eds
Mali, A New Haven For Al Qaeda
PARIS, France - The Sahel - this vast semi-arid region of North Africa south of the Sahara desert - is viewed by some experts as a "second Afghanistan." This might be a stretch, but it is true th...