Image Source: The New York Post Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi are all prominent international terrorists who have plotted and executed attacks against the United States. While each espoused slightly different ideologies, they all had one common goal, and all eventually met their day of reckoning. These four … Continue reading The Empress of ISIS
Author: Lora Vonderhaar
Taking My Dream to the Grave: Afghan Women Under Taliban Rule
Photo Credit: Human Rights Watch Farzana Ahmadi had dreamed of holding a government office after graduating university. Now, she says, she will take her dream to the grave. When the United States military left Afghanistan on August 31, 2021, the U.S. had in place a peace deal with the Taliban. The problem, however, is that … Continue reading Taking My Dream to the Grave: Afghan Women Under Taliban Rule
Lest We Ever Forget
Photo Credit: Shutterstock Russia’s war in Ukraine not only victimizes Ukrainians but also negatively impacts minorities throughout the world. By encompassing almost all of the United State’s public, political, and media attention, Putin’s war is revictimizing groups like the Uighurs, the Rohingya, the Yezidis, and many other minority groups who continue to suffer unjustly at … Continue reading Lest We Ever Forget
An Unlikely Pair: The Link Between the Uyghur Genocide and 9/11
Two people wearing masks showing colors of the Uighur heartland's flag with a hand painted with the Chinese Communist Party's colors over it. Photo Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson As the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands, and other countries condemn China’s violence, internment, sterilization, and so-called re-education against its Uyghur population for the crime that it is—genocide—China’s actions … Continue reading An Unlikely Pair: The Link Between the Uyghur Genocide and 9/11
Women: Terrorism’s Secret Weapon
Photo Credit: The Institute for Security Studies Recent studies of women’s roles in jihadi terrorism debunk the widely held belief that women are either passive victims or fanatical jihadi brides. Women participate – both willingly and unwillingly – in terrorist activities for a variety of reasons.[1] Women’s participation in jihadi terrorism is not binary, it … Continue reading Women: Terrorism’s Secret Weapon
ISIS’s Female Morality Police
Photo Credit: NBC News Forty lashes was the standard punishment for women who wore high heels or headscarves with designs on them in areas of Raqqa and Mosul.[1] These lashes were doled out by the Hisbah division of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, which focused on strictly enforcing Sharia Law in ISIS conquered … Continue reading ISIS’s Female Morality Police
The U.S. Military’s Greatest Contemporary Adversary: COVID-19
Photo Credit: NavyTimes By sidelining an aircraft carrier, the Covid-19 pandemic has accomplished something that neither China nor Russia ever has.[i] In March of 2020, the USS Theodore Roosevelt made an emergency port call in Guam[ii] due to roughly 25% of its almost 5,000 sailors onboard testing positive for Covid-19.[iii] The outbreak led to the … Continue reading The U.S. Military’s Greatest Contemporary Adversary: COVID-19
Rape as a Weapon of War in Tigray
Photo Credit: Courthouse News Service The recent violence in the Tigray region of Ethiopia along the country’s northern border with Eritrea has been disproportionately victimizing women and children. The Ethiopian government and regional forces are using rape as a weapon of war to demoralize and terrorize local civilians.[1] Even once women flee to refugee camps … Continue reading Rape as a Weapon of War in Tigray
The First Step Towards Justice
Photo credit: Reuters The indictment of Alexanda Kotey, 36, and El Shafee Elsheikh, 32, on Wednesday, October 7th represents the first step towards achieving justice for their victims and bringing a measure of solace to their grieving families. As members of ISIS, Kotey and Elsheikh were dubbed “The Beatles” because of their British accents. In … Continue reading The First Step Towards Justice
The Abraham Accords: A Peace Deal in Name Only
Photo Credit: Bing.com President Trump’s acclaimed ‘peace deal’ in the Middle East may be historic, but only time will tell if it will bring any semblance of peace to the region. On Tuesday, September 15, President Trump sat with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani, and Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin … Continue reading The Abraham Accords: A Peace Deal in Name Only