There can be little doubt that Yemen plays a key role in the US-led war on al-Qaeda’s terrorist network, but it is a role that the Arab country would have preferred not to take on. Indeed, had it not been for al-Qaeda’s attack on the... MORE

"Possibilities for the Third World War would have greatly increased if we had not taken South Yemen into our hands." These words of former Soviet Defense Minister Marshall Ustinov were repeated constantly throughout the 1970s by Soviet military consultants in Aden, underscoring the importance of... MORE

Colonel Ali Abdullah Salih became president of North Yemen in 1978 and then of the Republic of Yemen after unification of the North with the former Marxist South in 1990. From 1978 through the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Salih sought to gain leverage for his... MORE

For centuries, tribal politics in Yemen have been driven by one simple concept: loyalty is sold to the highest bidder. While both Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government have used this principle to their advantage, it is al-Qaeda that has been the high bidder in... MORE

Pakistan’s month long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorists, believed to be sheltered by a sub-clan of the powerful Wazir tribe that inhabits the area along Afghanistan’s border in South Waziristan, has reached a stalemate, and there has still been no public announcement indicating the capture of... MORE

In the 1980's the CIA commenced a vast covert operation to arm the anti-Soviet Mujahideen factions in Afghanistan as a means of turning the Soviet Fortieth Expeditionary Army's invasion of this Central Asian country into a Vietnam-style quagmire. In forging this dangerous new transnational holy... MORE

However paradoxical it may sound, the recent terrorist acts in Uzbekistan were not a complete surprise, either to average citizens in the republic or to political analysts. The horrific economic situation in the republic, the extreme level of corruption exhibited by the state apparatus, the... MORE

Salafi-Jihadists recently posted a recording by the Islamist Arab fighter Abu-Omar Al-Seif on the Chechen website www.qoqaz.com. The recording called for more assistance from Muslims to the Mujahideen in Chechnya in preparation for escalating violence following the election of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message... MORE

Dear Readers: Jamestown presents this special issue on Maritime Terrorism in an on-going effort to address future threats in the War on Terror. Given al-Qaeda’s explicit goal of targeting centers of world commerce, the vulnerability of many international seaports and waterways presents a grave challenge... MORE

Translated by Jamestown Staff Translator's Introduction The following translation written by the anonymous author "The Brother of Him that Obeys God" was published in the April 17 issue of the online military magazine Mu'askar al-Battar (Al-Battar Training Camp). As stated in a editorial in the... MORE