President Obama defended U.S. strategy against the so-called Islamic State at a news conference following the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey.
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After Paris, a Global Resolve to Dispel Islamic State’s Darkness
Posted November 16th, 2015 at 11:07 am (UTC-5)
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It is easy to agree on the darkness of the militant ideology that drives IS, and to try to protect against its reach … But it also requires hard work to agree on the light that should replace that darkness and to end the IS threat for good – with something sustainably good.
Kerry: “We are on the right track” in Syria
Posted November 13th, 2015 at 5:33 pm (UTC-5)
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Secretary of State John Kerry gave an impassioned defense of the Obama administration’s strategy regarding Syria and the fight against the Islamic State. Kerry made his remarks at the United States Institute for Peace on November 11, 2015.
To Combat the Lure of ISIL, the Muslim World Needs Its Own Peace Corps
Posted October 23rd, 2015 at 4:13 pm (UTC-5)
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Societies have long recognized that young people need ways to focus their idealism and energy, as well satisfy their hunger for new experiences, and to travel. If the Muslim world can harness all those youthful impulses for the greater good of their communities, it would help undermine the attraction of extremist groups like ISIS.
Syrian Refugees as Trojan Horse for Islamic State?
Posted September 17th, 2015 at 1:17 pm (UTC-5)
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Germany may understand best the need to welcome these fleeing Muslims. It realizes that it made a mistake decades ago in not integrating Turkish immigrant workers into German society. In a similar way, terrorist experts know that the best way to deradicalize a jihadi is to first establish a relationship, embracing them rather fearing them.
Defeat Islamic State with Culture War
Posted September 2nd, 2015 at 8:29 am (UTC-5)
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The United States should instead focus on identifying reliable, local counter-narrators and amplify their voices across different platforms. Members of local communities, viewed as more trustworthy and culturally aware, have a vital role to play in developing counter-narratives to ISIS that resonate within the communities that are being targeted by the extremist group.
It’s Not Too Late to Save Iraq and Syria
Posted August 26th, 2015 at 12:25 pm (UTC-5)
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To enable military success against the Islamic State, we must first have in place a political strategy to mobilize significant Sunni Arab opposition to this terrorist group, both within Syria and Iraq and in the broader region. The biggest impediment to such a strategy is the administration’s ill-considered and unreciprocated outreach to Iran.
Time is Running Out to Defeat ISIS
Posted August 21st, 2015 at 1:07 pm (UTC-5)
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While the United States can’t fight the ideological battle directly, by using military and diplomatic means it can buy the time necessary for regional leaders to marshal a response and launch a more effective ideological counterattack. If this doesn’t occur, it is possible that the ideological damage inflicted by ISIS could become permanent
Making A State By Iron and Blood
Posted August 20th, 2015 at 10:34 am (UTC-5)
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As everyone from Mao to Kissinger is said to have said, insurgents don’t need to “win” in order to succeed; they just need to not lose. Stick around long enough … eventually your opponents will tire of fighting, and they’ll either give up and leave, or give up and negotiate.
For the U.S., the Choice Between Saudi Arabia and Iran Should be an Easy One
Posted July 14th, 2015 at 2:59 pm (UTC-5)
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The turmoil in the Middle East in recent years has forced many nations to reevaluate their relations with the countries of the region. It is only natural that the U.S. would do so as well. However, and despite their ideological and sometimes political differences, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have managed to sustain what has been a mutually beneficial relationship.
The Islamic State’s Je Ne Sais Quoi
Posted June 18th, 2015 at 11:25 am (UTC-5)
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The problem with much of the earlier outreach in the Middle East and Muslim world is that it’s hard to persuade folks by just changing the wrapping paper on the box if the contents of that box, in this case U.S. policies that alienate Arabs and Muslims, remain essentially the same.