The Correlation Between Terrorism and U.S. Embassy Security Funding

The State Department's Annual Congressional Budget for Embassy Security, Construction, and Maintenance, 1998-2023. Data from the U.S. State Department's Annual Congressional Budget Justification for its Foreign Operations and Related Programs. The U.S. is not immune to the threat of acts of terrorism in retaliation for American actions abroad. The case for secure facilities from these … Continue reading The Correlation Between Terrorism and U.S. Embassy Security Funding

Is it time for the UN to help Malians talk to JNIM?

MINUSMA Transport Company Delivers Water to Airport Guards. Photo Credit: United Nations In late January 2022, France announced it would “reevaluate” the future of its counterterrorism operations in Mali. This came after France had already downsized Operation Barkhane, and closed bases in Timbuktu, Kidal, and Tessalit. Operation Barkhane led by the French since 2014 aimed … Continue reading Is it time for the UN to help Malians talk to JNIM?

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

Putin’s Hitmen: How Mercenaries Serve the Kremlin at the Expense of Stability

Photo released by the Ukrainian Security Service allegedly depicting Wagner Group mercenaries at an unknown location. Photo Credit: VOA News Volodymyr Zelensky sits in a chair next to the podium as he conducts a press conference, wearing the olive-green military clothing that has now come to symbolize his defiant resolve to fight against the Russian … Continue reading Putin’s Hitmen: How Mercenaries Serve the Kremlin at the Expense of Stability

A Friendly Reminder that Al-Qaeda is Still Strong and Will Likely Become Even Stronger

A fighter from the Al-Nusra Front holds a flag representing the local al-Qaeda branch in Syria. Photo Credit: Rami Al-Sayed, AFP. Prior to and following the withdrawal from Afghanistan, US intelligence and defense officials sounded the alarm regarding al-Qaeda. They specifically flagged al-Qaeda’s ability to reconstitute its capabilities and conduct an attack on US interests … Continue reading A Friendly Reminder that Al-Qaeda is Still Strong and Will Likely Become Even Stronger

Boko Haram: Terrorist Endemic

Boko Haram, a terrorist organization that emerged in northern Nigeria in 2002, continues to pose a significant threat to Nigeria and the broader region, carrying out deadly attacks and engaging in criminal activity. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Boko Haram insurgency has displaced nearly 2.4 million people in the Lake … Continue reading Boko Haram: Terrorist Endemic

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

The Economic Factors of al-Shabaab’s Insurgency

Data from ACLED on attacks perpetrated by jihadists in Mozambique. Photo Credit: The Economist In October 2017, a group of Islamist rebels locally known as al-Shabaab (no affiliation with al-Shabaab in Somalia) sought to spread radical Islam and gain territory in the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado. [i] The situation deteriorates as both internal … Continue reading The Economic Factors of al-Shabaab’s Insurgency

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