Over the last decade, French counter-terrorism strategy has been recognized as one of the most effective in Europe. The French system emerged from painful experience—unlike other European countries France has faced the deadly threat of Islamic terrorism on its soil since the 1980s. A number... MORE

The apparent attempted suicide bombings in London on July 21, exactly two weeks after the attacks that left over 50 dead, provided the Metropolitan Police, in commissioner Ian Blair’s words, with its “greatest operational challenge since the Second World War.” The attacks, which the authorities... MORE

The rise of political Islam in Syria can be traced to the 1940s, when a Muslim group called al-Gharra entered parliament, creating an Islamic Bloc to oppose the secular and civilian regime of President Shukri al-Quwatli. In 1944, its leaders presented a long list of... MORE

Are Syrian officials aiding the underground mujahideen railroad to Iraq? The many strong opinions on the matter reflect the different views of Syria’s future, its relations with neighbors, Iraq and Lebanon, and to jihadist and moderate Islamism. Certainly, we need to look at the totality... MORE

Syria is an enigmatic country. Ruled by a Ba’athist regime whose top leadership is drawn from a minority religious sect, Syria must contend with the enmity of the West and Islamists alike. This special issue presents a variety of perspectives on this important and controversial... MORE

Terrorism is not new to North and West Africa. The region as a whole has been affected by a range of ethno-nationalist and religious conflicts, a number of which have been accompanied by highly destructive campaigns of terrorism. The civilian carnage wrought by the Armed... MORE

This is the second in a two part series on Canada and the war on terror. The information provided by Ahmed Ressam since his arrest in December 1999, sentenced yesterday to 22 years in federal prison for plotting to bomb the baggage area of the... MORE

Few events have provoked such contradictory assessments as this month’s bomb attacks in London. Until recently, the majority of research on terrorism since 9/11 has focused on militants who may have had experience fighting in Afghanistan, thus linking them directly to al-Qaeda. But, the attacks... MORE