US Opinion and Commentary

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The Changing Logic Behind Suicide Bombings

Posted March 25th, 2016 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
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‘ISIS is now losing in Iraq and Syria—they’re losing actually quite badly—and so they’re now in a position where they’re trying to change a losing game,’ (Robert Pape) said. The less in control the organization is at home, the more it strikes at targets abroad.

A Wounded Islamic State Is a Dangerous Islamic State

Posted March 24th, 2016 at 12:56 pm (UTC-5)
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But while the Islamic State may be gloating over the Brussels attack, it will lose ground in the coming months as the coalition seems poised to retake Mosul… To survive, it must seek new targets for its fighters and new successes to sustain its brand. Future attacks in Europe aren’t a possibility, they’re a likelihood.

Terrorists, Bathtubs and Snakes

Posted March 24th, 2016 at 10:12 am (UTC-5)
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‘We have a political system that engages quickly and powerfully in response to terrorism and security risks,’ notes Daniel Esty, an environment expert at Yale Law School, ‘but doesn’t seem capable of galvanizing action on climate change and other risks that are less visible and spread over time and space.’

Brussels: Our New Normal?

Posted March 23rd, 2016 at 3:15 pm (UTC-5)
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“We have been through this two times last year,” a diplomatic official told a VOA reporter. “We have to get used to this.” The heinous attacks on two soft targets in the heart of the European Union shattered any delusion that acts of terrorism are one-offs. Amid the horror, came a torrent of criticism, targeting the Belgian government, the effectiveness of EU security apparatus and the Obama administration’s ISIS strategy.Perhaps the most pressing question right now is what can be done to stop the massacre of innocent people? In Europe, the French prime minister urged the EU to “invest massively” in security systems. In the United States, Obama called for unity and resolve. Trump once again called for a crackdown on Muslims. And Clinton called for reinforcing America’s alliances and doing away with what she termed “bluster.”

President Condemns Belgium Terror Attacks

Posted March 22nd, 2016 at 3:18 pm (UTC-5)
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“We will do whatever is necessary to support our friend and ally, Belgium, in bringing to justice those who are responsible. And this is yet another reminder that the world must unite.” President Barack Obama

Our Response to the Brussels Bombings Requires Patience and Restraint

Posted March 22nd, 2016 at 1:47 pm (UTC-5)
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Merely killing passers-by serves no warlike purpose in itself. The explosive force derives from our reaction to it, from the public attention awarded to it and from the response of the political community. Publicity and response are the terrorists’ “useful idiocies”.