Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
PAGAD: A Case Study of Radical Islam in South Africa
The threat of Islamic terrorism to the Republic of South Africa (RSA) is surprisingly real. Aside from the possibility of an al-Qaeda strike against U.S. and other Western interests in the country, there are a number of indigenous Islamic networks that have the potential to... MORE
Evaluating the Effectiveness of French Counter-Terrorism
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
Afghan Parliamentary Elections: Immense Challenges Amidst a Renewed Taliban Insurgency
Afghanistan’s parliamentary and provincial elections, scheduled for September 18, are unlikely to alleviate the country’s worsening problems. In a sign that the elections might in fact worsen the growing Taliban insurgency, a bomb attack on a police bus in Kandahar, on the first day of... MORE
Reassessing the July 21 London Bombings
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
Abu Mus’ab al-Suri and the Third Generation of Salafi-Jihadists
The decimation of the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood in 1982 had many long-term implications, the most pernicious of which was the emergence of a particularly extreme form of Syrian Salafism. At the center of this is Mustafa Setmariam Nasar, better known as Abu Musab al-Suri (the... MORE
The History of Political and Militant Islam in Syria
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
Syria: A Haven for Terrorists?
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
Editor’s Note on Syria Special Issue
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
North and West Africa: The Global War on Terror and Regional Collaboration
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
Securing the Northern Front: Canada and the War on Terror, Part II
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