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Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
Lashkar-e-Toiba: New Threats Posed by an Old Organization
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT – Army of the Pure) is the most well-organized and powerful Islamic militant organization in Pakistan. Designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department and banned by the Pakistan government after the September 11 attacks, and notorious for its suicide attacks in... MORE
The Struggle Within Islam: Albanian Muslims Reject Extremism
I first heard the term "Wahhabi"--referring to the ultrafundamentalist Islamic sect that is the state dispensation in Saudi Arabia--in a Yugoslav context, in 1989. Specifically, Wahhabism was compared with Stalinist Communism, a parallel that seemed immediately appropriate. But little did I imagine that as a... MORE
Post-Election Terrorist Trends in Iraq
Half-heartedly trumpeted as a potential breakthrough against the insurgency, the Iraqi elections – in the short-term at least – seem to have made the security difficulties even more intractable. Indeed, any wishful thinking by American military and political planners in Iraq and their local allies... MORE
The U.S. Agricultural System: A Target for al-Qaeda?
Last December, the departing Secretary of Health and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, used his farewell address to highlight the vulnerability of the U.S. agricultural sector to a biological terrorist strike, remarking: "For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not [targeted]... MORE
The Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat: A Dossier
The Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC) is currently engaged in a violent jihadist insurgency against the Algerian government with the goal of replacing the secular regime with an Islamic state. The GSPC splintered from a rival Algerian organization, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA)... MORE
Recent Developments in Waziristan
In early February, the emir of the Taliban in South Waziristan reached a peace deal with the central authorities in Islamabad. Baitullah Mehsud promised not to shelter or support foreign militants nor attack government installations and forces. If the agreement holds, it will help pacify... MORE
Terrorism In Afghanistan: Remaining Threats
The recent constitutional Loya Jirga (CLJ) in Kabul, which ratified the new constitution for Afghanistan and set the stage for presidential and parliamentary elections later this year, was successfully carried out without interference from the armed opposition. The event, held under strict security, was not... MORE
A New Deal For Pakistan? Musharraf’s Stark Choice
Today's Pakistan has a serious quandary. It is no longer faced with the choice between a secular, pluralistic state and an Islamic state. Rather, the decision is between two Islamic state models, one that is modern and democratic and one that is backward, intolerant, increasingly... MORE
The State of Jemaah Islamiya and the Future of Terrorism in Southeast Asia
The war on terror has continued apace in Southeast Asia, and the governments in the region and their Western counterparts deserve credit for the arrests of some 250 Jemaah Islamiya (JI) members through December 2003. Several of the members of JI's regional shura, its leadership... MORE
Indonesia and the Global War on Terrorism: Jakarta’s Mediocre Response to Terror
In October of 2002 the worst international terrorist incident since the September 11 suicide strikes in Washington and New York took place on the island of Bali. It involved a series of coordinated explosions in a popular tourist nightspot district that collectively killed 202 people,... MORE