Introduction On July 1, 2004, the so-called Shipping and Port Facility Safety Code (SPSC) is due to come into the effect. The initiative obliges all states engaged in ocean-going trade to institute minimum standards of security at their harbor facilities and to similarly certify vessels... MORE

Much of the world's economy depends on the security of shipping that passes through a narrow body of water in Southeast Asia known as the Strait of Malacca. Situated between the coastline of Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to the East and the Indonesian island of... MORE

Afghanistan and Pakistan The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 did not come as a surprise to the Iranian intelligence community, primarily because they had been engaged in their own covert war against the Taliban and its international Islamist allies for many years. Indeed, under... MORE

Introduction Security in southern Thailand has been brought into sharp focus during the past five months as armed attacks have swept across the four Malay Muslim provinces of Pattani Narithiwat, Yala and Satun. In January, Islamic radicals carried out a series of near simultaneous attacks... MORE

Kazakhstan has taken on an increasingly active role in the war on terrorism since its initial declaration of support after 9/11, promoting regional security and developing more effective means to protect its energy infrastructure and civilian population from possible terrorist attacks. Kazakhstan's perception of the... MORE

Although President Salih condemned American military action against insurgents in Fallujah, saying that terror must be fought with persuasion and dialogue rather than anti-personnel bombs (al-Motamar 2004), he welcomed the new U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), based in Djibouti. Yemen has been... MORE

The soldiers believed they came that spring to free a part of the Middle East from the tyranny of terrorists and evil men. What amazed them was the warm welcome from Shi’ite Muslims in the south and the Capital. The victors confidently sent in their... MORE

Ansar al-Islam is often touted as the Kurdish constituency of al-Qaeda. It has been grabbing the headlines from its inception in September 2001. Reports have traced its influence from Afghanistan to Italy. How much of the exploits attributed to Ansar al-Islam is fact or fiction... MORE

The Islamist campaign in Afghanistan may be undercut by the announcement of a split in the leadership of the radical Hezb-e-Islami party. Ten members of the group’s senior leadership met in May with Afghanistan’s interim President Hamid Karzai in Kabul and publicly announced their rejection... MORE

Translator’s note: In light of the recent attacks in the Saudi city of Khobar, the Jamestown Foundation presents the following letter entitled “To All Desiring Jihad in the Lands of the Arab Peninsula.” Attributed to Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin, the text appeared in issue 10 of... MORE