Special Report: New Fronts in the War on Terror

Special Report: New Fronts in the War on Terror

As the U.S. looks to the end of one phase of the war on terror, with military operations having ended in Iraq and currently winding down in Afghanistan, a new one is well underway, characterized by drone strikes and covert missions by special operations forces. In Africa, Kenya and Nigeria are battling serious challenges from Islamist terrorist groups. Meanwhile, in the Sahel, al-Qaida’s affiliates are carrying on the group’s ideology even as its central organization falters, with implications for the U.S. and Europe. This WPR Special Report examines the new fronts in the war on terror.

Counterterrorism

Containment Should Guide U.S. Approach to al-Qaida in Africa
By Steven Metz
January 23, 2013

U.S. Debates Framework for Counterterror Operations in Africa
By Peter Tinti
January 2, 2013

America’s Failed Strategy in the Islamic World
By Steven Metz
September 19, 2012

Ten Years Later, Iraq War Assumptions Still Unexamined
By Nikolas Gvosdev
January 18, 2013

U.S. Intelligence After the War on Terror
By Frederick P. Hitz
June 5, 2012

Special Operations Forces’ Expanding Global Role
By Andrew Exum
May 30, 2012

Collateral Damage: The Dangerous Precedents of America’s Drone Wars
By Micah Zenko
July 24, 2012

Skipping Out on the Bill: America’s Cost-Free Drone Wars
By Thomas P.M. Barnett
July 24, 2012

Privacy Concerns Complicate EU-U.S. Air Passenger Data Deal
Interview with Rocco Bellanova and Paul De Hert
February 22, 2012

Africa

Islamist Terror Groups Expand in Africa’s Power Vacuums
By Catherine Cheney
October 1, 2012

Niger, Nigeria Step Up Cooperation Against Boko Haram
By Jacob Zenn
October 31, 2012

Strategic Posture Review: Nigeria
By Alex Thurston
November 13, 2012

After Somalia Intervention, Kenya Faces War Within
By Charles Wachira
December 12, 2012

Strategic Posture Review: Algeria
By Claire Spencer
July 25, 2012

Morocco and U.S. Stay Close as War on Terror Evolves
By Yahia H. Zoubir
July 9, 2012

Al-Qaida

Al-Qaida’s Comeback
By Steven Metz
October 31, 2012

Al-Qaida — Again?
By Frida Ghitis
March 8, 2012

Resilient Al-Qaida Struggles to Survive in a New Era
By Frida Ghitis
January 12, 2012

Though Costly, Afghanistan is a Win
By Steven Metz
October 17, 2012

Europe

Virtual Peacemaking: The End of ETA’s Violence
By Teresa Whitfield
October 31, 2011

Internet a Blind Spot for French Counterterrorism
By Catherine Cheney
March 23, 2012

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