Two factors, among others, help explain the government’s decision to charge Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with the use of a WMD: The charge is seen by prosecutors as relatively easy to prove, and it can be punished by the death penalty. This highlights the irrelevance of a dispute in the U.S. Senate that is holding up important new anti-nuclear and anti-radiological terrorism legislation. more
The controversy over whether the Obama administration lied about the September 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, will consume Washington for some time, ultimately influencing the way the U.S. military responds to crises. But while the emotion associated with the inability to stop the attack is understandable, it may push the military to take excessive risks in future crises. more
With the U.S. out of Iraq and getting out of Afghanistan, interest in insurgency is ebbing. Still, unlike the 1990s, it has not gone away entirely. This continued interest is a good thing, but, unfortunately, official thinking reflects old-style insurgency more than emerging forms. The failure to adapt U.S. thinking to changing patterns of insurgency leaves the country poorly equipped for the next conflict. more
Every year hundreds of rhinos and thousands of elephants are slaughtered and their parts sold on the black market. For decades, a lack of political attention has made it difficult to confront this ongoing carnage. Now, with a wider range of stakeholders from across the security, development and conservation communities motivated to tackle the problem, innovative partnerships could emerge to counter poaching. more
Africa has never been central to America's global security strategy. From Washington's vantage, the continent has always been less important than other regions. The official approach has normally been one of relative indifference with a bit of aid when things got really bad. In the past year, though, several factors have increased the attention being paid to Africa by American policymakers and military leaders. more
When authorities revealed that the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, were of Chechen origin, the news might have put a smile on Vladimir Putin’s face. After all, the Russian president might have concluded, a terrorist attack by Chechens in America would vindicate his hard-line approach to Chechen rebels. The evidence so far does not support that view, however. more
The significance of the ethnicity of the two Boston Marathon bombers is still unclear, as are the reasons for their transformation into Islamist terrorists, but the latest evidence seems to suggest that the elder Tsarnaev brother’s trip last year to the North Caucasus played a key role. Many of the family’s relatives still live in the region, which has been a hotbed of militant radicalism for at least a century. more
In an email interview, Domitilla Sagramoso, a lecturer in security and development at King’s College London who specializes in conflict, security and development in Russia, the Caucasus and Central Asia, explained the roots of ongoing violence in the North Caucasus and the evolution of Russia’s response to unrest in the region. more
The initial phase of the French-led military intervention in Mali has been extraordinarily successful. The Islamist groups that recently menaced the capital have been chased out of all major cities, and operations are now in full swing in the more-remote northern regions where the militants have fled. But recent events have made clear that the conflict in Mali will pose challenges for the region for years to come. more
The latest round of peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government kicked off with a rare display of common ground when both sides wished an ailing President Hugo Chávez a speedy recovery. Their sympathies provide a reminder of the integral role Chávez has played in the peace process. But as the talks stumble forward, many have begun to wonder what Chávez’s absence will mean for the chances of success. more
A bomb blast in a Shiite district of Karachi, Pakistan, killed at least 45 people Sunday in the latest example of escalating sectarian and ethnic violence in the country. more
No topic in American security inspires more heated debate these days than the Obama administration's use of drone strikes against armed militants and terrorists. Much of the criticism of this approach is badly misguided, often mistaking the use of drones as America's strategy itself. Without seeing the big picture, it is difficult to understand how drone strikes fit in and why they are the least bad option. more
Governments are beginning to acknowledge the symbiotic nature of terrorism and organized crime, and to recognize that today’s security challenges are too interconnected, transnational and vast for states to confront one at a time. Institutional integration will be needed to combat these threats, and while change will not come easily, there are signs that key stakeholders are moving in the right direction. more
Friday was Iraq’s bloodiest day in more than two months, as suspected Sunni insurgents targeted crowded Shiite areas, bombing a pet market, a vegetable market and a group of taxi vans waiting for passengers returning from prayers. more
As the United States military prepares to move beyond Iraq and Afghanistan and develop new strategies, operating concepts and organizations, policymakers are asking whether there are any useful lessons to be learned from the more than decade-long global war on terrorism. Operation Enduring Freedom-Philippines (OEF-P) is an instructive case that can provide possible considerations for the future. Any successes OEF-P may have achieved rest on five pillars that warrant closer examination. more
Anne Korin, co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security, an energy security research organization, explained in an email interview why the oil and gas industry is an attractive target for terrorists. more
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. more
Until recently, the spread of al-Qaida-linked extremists in Africa drew only limited U.S. attention, but the seizure of northern Mali by Islamist militias changed that. Why, other than an instinct to oppose anything even vaguely associated with al-Qaida, should the United States care? The only logical rationale for U.S. concern is contagion: A modest effort now could prevent bigger problems in the future. more
As U.S. counterterrorism officials seek greater capability to combat terrorist groups in Africa, the Obama administration is considering asking Congress for expanded authority to allow military operations in places such as Mali, Nigeria and Libya, where perceived threats to U.S. security are proliferating. Disagreements remain, however, regarding the nature of these threats and how best to engage them.
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Developments in Syria are evidence that the West allowed too much time to pass before using its influence to affect the outcome of the conflict. The possibility that Western efforts could make the situation worse always existed. But the recent scramble to sort out the good from the bad among the rebels seeking to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shows just how dangerous the conflict has become. more
Widely thought to possess the best military hardware in East Africa but little experience in conventional warfare, the Kenyan military had its moment in the sun after ejecting the al-Shabab terrorist group from neighboring southern Somalia. Now a backlash is in the works, as the region's biggest economy contemplates a homegrown terrorist threat from sympathizers of the al-Qaida-linked group. more