Latest Terrorism Monitor Articles
THE INDEFINABLE WAR
How are we to evaluate the success of a "War on Terrorism" (WOT)? On the one hand, the United States has not experienced a foreign terror attack on its soil since 9/11. On the other hand, of all the large and small conflicts that have... MORE
WHO’S WHO AT GUANTANAMO BAY
America's slippery road into international legal limbo began on November 13, 2001 – the day Northern Alliance troops captured Kabul from Taliban forces. That same day, George W. Bush issued a presidential directive, "Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism."... MORE
THE EUROPEAN RESPONSE TO SEPTEMBER 11
The European Response to September 11 By Sebastian Gorka The ramifications of the 9/11 attacks and the lessons learned have been appreciated differently in various parts of the world. Most striking, perhaps, is the apparent difference in response between Europe and the United States. But... MORE
THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT: A FORMER CIA OFFICER’S PERSPECTIVE
After poring over 2.5 million pages of documents, interviewing 1,200 people (including almost every senior official from the Clinton and Bush administrations), holding 19 hearings with public testimony from 160 witnesses, the 9/11 Commission issued its final report in July of this year. Fundamentally, the... MORE
Editor’s Note On Special Pakistan Issue
Pakistan is a complex country made up of some 160 million people (95 percent of whom are Muslims) with various ethnic groups vying for power and recognition. Progressive 20th century institutions and Western-educated leaders are constantly challenged by an entrenched feudal establishment and a religious... MORE
Pakistan: Uncertain Ally In The War On Terror
Pakistan's collaboration with the United States in rounding up al-Qaeda suspects and their supporters has reached a fevered pitch ahead of the U.S. presidential elections in November. Pakistani newspapers carry stories of almost daily arrests of suspected al-Qaeda operatives from "foreign" countries. But as before,... MORE
Iran: Understanding The Relationship With Pakistan And Al-qaeda
Aside from Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. led war on terrorism has affected the geopolitical fortunes of Iran and Pakistan more than any other country in West Asia and the Middle East. While on the surface it seems that Pakistan sustained a geo-strategic setback with... MORE
Karachi: Where Terrorists Hide And Thrive
Living in Karachi today, it is difficult to believe that the nightlife in this port metropolis during the 1960s was livelier than that of Beirut, Bombay or Baghdad. Top Lebanese, Egyptian and even blond European artists were employed in Karachi hotels to perform cabaret dances.... MORE
Peshawar: The Obdurate Bastion Of Soviet-era Mujahideen
Traveling on the luxury, air-conditioned Express Bus from Islamabad to Peshawar is a defining experience that suddenly confronts Pakistan's historical secularism with a new-found Islamic fundamentalism. When the bus reaches the border between the province of the Punjab and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP,... MORE
Foreign Involvement In The Iraqi Insurgency
The Iraqi insurgency spiked again in August 2004 when Muqtada al-Sadr took the offensive against the transitional Iraqi government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the Multi-National Force of U.S. and other foreign troops, as the former coalition is now known. It was optimistically believed... MORE