Latest Terrorism Focus Articles
Hybrid Force: The UN’s Peacekeeping Gamble in Darfur
A close examination of the terms of the Darfur peacekeeping mission approved by UN Security Council Resolution 1769 offers little confidence that the mission will be any more successful than the current African Union deployment. The resolution approves a force of 26,000 men, including the... MORE
Niger’s Uranium Industry Threatened by Rebels
As the focus of U.S. justifications for its invasion of Iraq and the subsequent "yellowcake" political scandal, both the African country of Niger and its considerable uranium reserves have become well known since 2002. While claims that Niger was supplying uranium to an Iraqi nuclear... MORE
Abu Yahya al-Libi: Al-Qaeda’s Theological Enforcer – Part 1
In the rising generation of post-9/11 al-Qaeda leaders, Abu Yahya al-Libi seems to be assuming the unique position of insurgent-theologian. Since escaping from U.S. detention at Bagram air base in Afghanistan in July 2005—with three other al-Qaeda fighters, one of whom, Faruq al-Iraqi, has since... MORE
The Many Faces of the PKK
Kurdish guerrillas have fought Turkish forces for almost a quarter of a century. Focusing attention solely on the approximately 5,500 Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters, however, obscures the full dimension of the problems and threats faced by Turkey (Today's Zaman, June 28). An examination of... MORE
Mauritania’s Vulnerability to al-Qaeda Influence
The al-Qaeda order in the Maghreb region of North Africa appears to be re-energizing, as evident in the broader drumbeat of terrorist attacks that have diversified in regional reach. The recent arrests of three Mauritanians and three Moroccans in Mauritania raises serious concerns about al-Qaeda's... MORE
The CHP’s Role in Pushing Turkey toward a Cross-Border Operation
The attacks by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that have resumed since the summer of 2004 have left behind an unprecedented number of casualties. In the face of the deteriorating situation in its struggle against the PKK, the Turkish military has, on a number of... MORE
Foreign Fighters Face Obstacles Joining the Somali Jihad
After their defeat in December 2006, Somalia's Islamic Courts Union (ICU) vowed to launch an Iraqi style insurgency against the invading Ethiopian forces. Al-Qaeda leaders supported their intentions. Both Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri issued statements calling on Muslims to help their Islamic brethren... MORE
Massoud Barzani Conducting Dangerous Games in Northern Iraq
With the Turkish army massing on the border of northern Iraq, the hard-won gains of Iraq's Kurdish nationalists now face a serious threat. Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the president of Kurdistan since 2005, has adopted a provocative stance... MORE
Is Zawahiri Striving for Islamist Unity in Preparation for New Attack?
When Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said he had a "gut feeling" that the United States faces an increased chance of a domestic terrorist attack in the months ahead, he brought into sharp relief the fact that al-Qaeda has been working since 2001 to prepare... MORE
Firefight in Iraq Exposes Presence of Turkish Al-Qaeda Operatives
The northward moves by Kurdish rebels into Turkey in recent weeks and their bombings of Turkish military and civilian targets have been reported extensively, as have the consequent threats by the Turkish military to move into Iraq to bring about a halt to the Kurdistan... MORE