Responsible counterterrorism policy, therefore, must not merely disrupt terror cells, impede their planning, and thwart their ability to attract new recruits; it must also tackle the fear that terrorists seek to induce.
“VOA will present the policies of the United States clearly and effectively, and will also present responsible discussion and opinion on these policies.” — VOA Charter
Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing, and Why It Can’t Be Easily Fixed
America May be Doomed to Cooperate with Putin
For President Obama, the willingness to work with (Vladimir) Putin is an act of foreign policy realism or desperation, depending on your point of view. Some would argue that in Syria, the two converge.
Mr. Erdogan’s Offensive
Mr. Erdogan will never succeed in eliminating by force the PKK or Turkish Kurds’s aspirations for more autonomy, and by prosecuting his campaign he is impeding the fight against the Islamic State.
The United States Shouldn’t Take Sides in the Sunni-Shiite Struggle
In general, the United States should support Saudi Arabia in resisting Iran’s encroachments in the region, but it should not take sides in the broader sectarian struggle. This is someone else’s civil war.
It is Time for Muslims to Begin a Deep Self-examination
[Ghassan] Charbel called for shutting down platforms of hate and said the Middle East needs to undertake “a deep re-examination” of its society. … ‘What threatens the Arab and Islamic world today,” he said, “is no less dangerous than the threat that Nazism posed to Europe.’
2015 in Review
As 2015’s final minutes tick away, it’s gives us a chance to look into the mirror to see what we are leaving behind. Many philosophers have noted that history tends to repeat itself. Terrorism. Gun violence. Racial tensions. Religious differences. Politics. The environment. So we reflect on the events and trends of 2015 in hopes of identifying patterns, learning from the mistakes of the past and building on its successes to take on many of the same challenges in 2016.
The Measure of Progress Against Islamic State
[T]he Ramadi victory hints at progress for Iraq in the healing of old divisions. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the victory on television by noting the cooperation of “different affiliations and religions and sects” among various Iraqi forces (Sunni, Shiite, and tribal). He said Sunni police forces will now patrol the mainly Sunni city …
Sharing Christmas with the Kurds
“When I was a child the Muslims and Christians celebrated each other’s holidays. My mother put up a tree for me and my Christian friends. Most of my teachers were Christians, so were many of my classmates. We didn’t know the difference. …”
Christian Arabs Under Siege
The ethnic cleansing of Mideast Christians – especially by ISIS in Iraq, but also by other Islamist jihadis elsewhere – is so intense that it demands special attention. When it comes to admitting refugees, that level of persecution cannot be ignored.
Why Europe, Not America, Should Fight ISIL
[E]ven when there are legitimate moral issues, there cannot be a duty for the United States to go to war simply because other powerful states fail to perform their moral duties. As in the case of national security, there should be no moral “free riders.”.
There Is No Plan B if the Syria Peace Talks Fail
[T]he “Geneva process” is no more likely to succeed today than it was the last time it was tried, in 2014….those on the other side of the table — the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, Russia, and Iran — will not feel compelled to accept any offer to which Syria’s rebels or their backers in […]