The Unchanging CIA
Technology and spies go well together.
War on terror
The Shape of Al Shabaab’s Post-Kismayo Attacks
In late September, African Union (AU) forces surrounded the port city of Kismayo on Somalia’s southern coast. The AU troops stood on the threshold of capturing the city from the al Qaeda-af...
Op-eds
Perceptions of the “Arab Spring” Within the Salafi-Jihadi Movement
Co-authored by Tara Vassefi “The popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen and Bahrain have not only shaken the foundation of the authoritarian order in the...
Op-eds
Seven Foreign Policy Priorities for Obama’s Second Term
In his second term, President Obama will inherit -- from his first term -- a long list of national security and foreign policy challenges. If he were asking my advice (unlikely so long as pigs ar...
Op-eds
SFC Speer’s Killer Leaves Gitmo
Omar Khadr has been sent from Guantanamo to Canada, after returning from the jihad in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Khadr is slated to stay in custody for the time being. It is difficult to think of...
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
Is Nigeria the Next Front in the War on Terror?
The country's sectarian violence is getting out of control.
Op-eds
Syed Zabiuddin Ansari, and India’s Role in Prosecuting the Global War on Terrorism
The 10 Islamist terrorists who committed the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks killed 164 innocent people with guns, grenades and bombs. Nine of the killers died during their rampage. The 10th, Ajmal...
Op-eds
Missile Defense Is For Wimps
When it comes to national security, there’s no time like mañana.
Op-eds
The Foggiest War
We don’t know our enemy. What’s worse: We don’t want to.
Op-eds
Al Qaeda’s Big Fat Iranian Wedding
America’s top spy says the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism and the world’s most infamous terrorist organization are married
Op-eds
Fixing Afghanistan was a Noble Project that Became a Noble Failure
This was a bad week for Afghanistan optimists. First, the British media leaked a c...
Op-eds
The Death of al Qaeda: Fawaz Gerges Edition
Few forms of writing are consistently less satisfying than “five myths” pieces. The genre, by its nature, tends toward shallow analysis and the propagation of conventional wisdom unde...
Op-eds
The Real Rules of Detention
Earlier this week, Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) responded...
Op-eds
War-Power Paranoia
Zero. If you’re keeping score, that would be the number of American citizens assassinated so far by President Obama. Oddly enough, it turns out to be the same number of our countrymen kille...
Op-eds
Early Warnings Ignored
September 11: A Decade Later
Op-eds
How the NYPD Gets Jihad Right
In a world of wishful thinkers, Commissioner Kelly is a realist.
Op-eds
Et Tu, Yoo?
I’m disheartened to find my friend John Yoo lending his voice to the bogus claim that opposition to U.S. intervention in Libya’s civil war makes one an “isolationist.” And...
Op-eds
Bin Laden’s Legacy: Why We’re Still Losing the War on Terror
In the decade since 9/11, the United States has grown weaker: It has been bogged down by costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It has spent billions of dollars on security to protect air travel an...
Op-eds
‘Representing’ Al-Qaeda
Bravely entering the lion’s den — delivering a speech in praise of left-wing, “pro bono” lawyering to a group of left-wing, pro bono lawyers — Attorney General Eric...