Analysis & Commentary
Al Qaeda’s Big Fat Iranian Wedding
The Bush administration waged what it called a Global War on Terrorism. Yet against Iran, the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism, no serious actions were ever taken. President Obama is waging what he calls a “war against al Qaeda and its affiliates.”
Shabaab Abandons Western City as Ethiopian Troops Advance
As Ethiopian forces continue to press their offensive in Somalia, Shabaab forces have relinquished control of a key southern city that has been under the terror group's control for three years.
As Syria Crackdown Intensifies, Debate Rages Over U.S. Options
“What [the Obama administration] wants to see in Syria is a peaceful political solution," said Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
Assad@axisofevil.com…
In the fall of 2007 Israel reportedly hacked into Syria’s air defense systems and disabled them, as a prelude to bombing a nuclear facility in the Syrian desert. This vaunted cyber exploit, it turns out, might not merit its spectacular reputation.
Cavuto
Oil Prices Soar as Iran Halts Shipments to France, U.K.
AQAP Notes Death of Local Commander
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a statement that noted the death of Tariq al Dhahab, the commander who took control of Rada'a in Baydah province last month.
Antinuclear Assassinations
On January 11 in Tehran, two men on a motorcycle attached a magnetic bomb to the car carrying Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan. Seconds later, the car exploded, killing both Roshan and his driver.
Fox Business
Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies discusses sanctions on Iran and how it could cause a rise in U.S. oil prices.
The John Batchelor Show
US announces a 'surge' of military trainers to Afghanistan.
International Law and the Hamas-Fatah Doha Deal
Setting aside its strategic implications for the prospects of sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians, it poses significant legal challenges for the PLO, Israel and the international community, something that has received scant attention in the media to date.
Enacting Sanctions on Iran Isn’t Enough
Sheryl Saperia, the Canadian policy director of the Washington, D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says Canada should be making a serious effort, now more than ever, to ensure that sanctions work.
First the Ahmadi, Then Everybody Else
Their crime? These Muslims have the temerity to suggest that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, an Indian who died in 1908, was the promised Mahdi — the redeemer of Islam — and not one of the false prophets about whom Mohammed had warned.
Al Qaeda ‘Operates in Afghanistan Under the Flag of the Islamic Emirate’: Taliban Spokesman
A Taliban spokesman who identified himself as an "Authorized Correspondent by the Media Committee of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" said that the Taliban will not renounce al Qaeda
The Pakistan Problem Isn’t Just The Government. It’s The People
Since the Taliban resurgence began gaining force in 2005, a common refrain in the West has been that Pakistan must “do more” to rein in the jihadis who are drawing support from bases in the borderlands of Balochistan and Waziristan.
Taking Stock
Iran's oil exports and the effect of sanctions.
Foreign Policy Experts Urge President Obama to Take Immediate Action in Syria
Fifty-six foreign policy experts and former U.S. government officials signed an open letter today urging President Obama to act more assertively to stop the Assad regime’s continuing atrocities against Syrian civilians.
Swift Says Ready to Implement Sanctions on Iran Institutions
Iran would be the first country to be cut off by Swift, according to Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington policy group, who has advised the Obama administration and congressional offices on SWIFT and other sanctions measures.
Rutherford
Developments in Syria and Iran.
EU Pays Price for Oil Sanctions on Iran: John Kemp
In an influential report on the "Oil Market Impact of Sanctions Against the Central Bank of Iran", which has circulated widely in Washington and European capitals, sanctions advocates Mark Dubowitz and Reuel Marc Gerecht of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies...
