Though it lacks the compelling and convenient images produced in Cairo’s Tahrir Square during Egypt’s dramatic January, 2011 revolution, Egypt has been plunged into what has been variously described as a counter-revolution, a continuation of the 2011 revolution or an attempt by Islamist forces to... MORE

After more than two months of the French-led operation against Islamic militants in northern Mali, there are signs that al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is starting to feel the heat. AQIM has not only suffered heavy losses among its top leaders in Mali, but... MORE

The Lebanese state and Lebanon’s most powerful political actors are increasingly challenged by the ongoing conflict in Syria. Lebanon’s feuding anti-Assad March 14 and pro-Assad March 8 political blocs continue to follow distinct strategies of opposition or support for the Assad government that are contrary... MORE

Muhammad al-Zawahiri was released from prison in March 2012. He has since become a spokesman for the Salafi-Jihadist trend in Egypt. He is a revered leader due to his past experiences in the jihadi underground and been a key promoter of global jihad through a... MORE

With Paris insisting that the 4,000 French troops involved in the counter-terrorist operations in northern Mali will leave Mali sometime in March, it is worth taking a look at the Malian military that will be called on to secure northern Mali despite the continued presence... MORE

The recent offensive launched by the Yemeni Army in the Rada’a district of al-Baydha governorate marked the second phase of a broad military campaign started last summer to drive al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and Ansar al-Shari’a militants out of their strongholds in southern... MORE

As the Algerian government continues to control a haphazard and inconsistent flow of information from In Aménas, the site of this week’s dramatic hostage-taking by Islamist militants, there continues to be confusion over the number of hostages killed in an assault by Algerian security forces... MORE

When an Islamist offensive took the Malian town of Konna late last week, France decided to respond with a military intervention it declared was necessary to prevent Islamist forces from taking over the rest of the country. The Islamist offensive was led not by al-Qaeda,... MORE

France has watched warily as Mali has descended into chaos after the March 22 coup d’état overthrew Amadou Toumani Touré’s government and the Islamist rebellion took control of northern Mali. [1] France threw the weight of its diplomacy behind regional efforts to restore the constitutional... MORE