The Latest - Afghanistan
The Grand Strategy of Al Qaeda: How the Enemy Learns
Eleven years into this war, we still do not adequately understand the Enemy. AQAM is moving from a kinetic strategy of Guevarist insurgency to a Maoist strategy that incorporates an indirect and non-kinetic approach. more...
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 and other transport, as well as the homeland more generally. more...
The Afghanistan-Pakistan Theater: Militant Islam, Security & Stability
What is the optimal strategy for the United States and its allies to pursue in Afghanistan? Observers across the political spectrum agree that military operations alone are not enough to secure Afghanistan against a powerful insurgency linked to global jihadism. There is increasing consensus as well that Pakistan - a refuge for important al-Qaeda figures, and also under attack by insurgents who identify themselves as Taliban - is deeply involved in this conflict. more...
Fixing Our Pakistan Problem
A deadly suicide bombing hit India's embassy in Kabul on July 7, 2008. After the U.S. learned that the attack may have implicated rogue elements of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI), American strategic planners decided that the U.S. needed to deliver a stern warning to Pakistan. more...
The War of Ideas
From Afghanistan and Iraq to Europe and the U.S., we are engaged in one of the most heated wars of all time. In this incisive book, terrorism expert Walid Phares shows that the most important battle of all is taking place in the hearts and minds of people across the world. This is the War of Ideas, where ideology is the most powerful weapon. Phares looks at the two opposing camps, one standing for democracy and human rights, the other rejecting the global community and calling for jihad against the West. He reveals the strategies of both sides, explaining how new technology and the jihadists' media savvy have raised the stakes in the conflict. And most urgently, he warns that we are in danger of losing the war, for while debate and theorizing rarely lead to action, ideas and deeds are inextricably linked for the forces of jihad. more...
Experts
President
Senior Fellow
Director, Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization
Senior Fellow and Editor of The Long War Journal
Senior Fellow and Executive Director, Center for Law & Counterterrorism