US Opinion and Commentary

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An Unwarranted Sanction Against Iran

Posted January 30th, 2017 at 1:44 pm (UTC-4)
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By Barbara Slavin With the advent of the Trump administration, many Iran analysts feared the new president would scrap the landmark nuclear deal that curbs Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. Little did we know that U.S.-Iran relations were about to be set back more dramatically as collateral damage in a counter-productive presidential […]

Counter Terror Smarter

Posted October 26th, 2016 at 1:58 pm (UTC-4)
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We can’t keep responding to attacks the same way and expecting a different result. There is a better way to counter terrorism, and a more effective model that we can adopt, but first government officials must abandon failing strategies.

Underestimating al Qaeda

Posted October 21st, 2016 at 4:31 pm (UTC-4)
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At this point, al Qaeda is objectively quite a bit stronger than ISIS is….Al Qaeda itself has enormous ability right now to inflict significant damage through terrorism and military means in multiple regions simultaneously….If another group like ISIS emerges, it would most likely be from an al Qaeda affiliate.

A Threat to the Food System

Posted October 17th, 2016 at 1:11 pm (UTC-4)
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Fourteen years ago, U.S. Navy SEALs found a list of pathogens and a schematic in an Afghanistan cave that al-Qaida planned to use to produce bioweapons. In addition to six human pathogens, ten pathogens targeted food, six targeted livestock and poultry, and four targeted crops. Clearly, al-Qaida was considering agroterrorism.

ISIS’s Deadliest Weapon Is the Idea of Heaven

Posted September 19th, 2016 at 11:48 am (UTC-4)
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The idea of Heaven, the vision of Paradise, is ISIS’s secret weapon, the source of its willingness to fight to the end. Convincing fighters that Paradise is real, that it’s a certainty because they die as martyrs to jihad, is what made Islamic State’s military forces so fearsome, its suicide bombers so ecstatic.

9/11 15 Years Later

Posted September 12th, 2016 at 3:28 pm (UTC-4)
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15 years later, the scourge of terrorism is still with us.
Granted, we haven’t seen an attack on the scale of what happened on September 11, 2001. But terrorism continues to consume a large amount of this nation’s resources and seep into the consciousnesses of many Americans.
Osama bin Laden has been killed, but al Qaida is still an active threat.
Saddam Hussein was captured and executed, but Iraq is now the nesting ground for Islamic State, which started as an al Qaida offshoot.
What have we learned in the past 15 years that can make the next 15 years safer for America and the rest of the world?

Civil Society Against Terrorism

Posted July 25th, 2016 at 11:38 am (UTC-4)
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The French are now frustrated and anxious. They are used to some semblance of security in their cities, which have long been bastions of knowledge and art, not sites of relentless terror. They want to feel safe again – whatever it takes. These feelings are entirely understandable, but they don’t necessarily contribute to effective decision-making.

America Is Acting Locally, the Islamic State is Thinking Globally

Posted July 12th, 2016 at 11:41 am (UTC-4)
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The United States will fail to defeat the Islamic State and protect the homeland if it does not reframe its strategy to contend with the Islamic State globally, rather than focusing on tactical successes in Iraq and Syria.

The Real Terror Threat in America Is Homegrown

Posted June 15th, 2016 at 10:26 am (UTC-4)
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Every lethal terrorist attack in the United States in the past decade and a half has been carried out by American citizens or legal permanent residents, operating either as lone wolves or in pairs, who have no formal connections or training from terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda or ISIS.

Conservative for Gun Control

Posted June 14th, 2016 at 12:19 pm (UTC-4)
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Let’s not hear any more about expanding background checks, which already are comprehensive so far as licensed firearms dealers are concerned, until we start punishing the people who subvert those laws.

Why I’m Hopeful About the World’s Future

Posted June 14th, 2016 at 10:30 am (UTC-4)
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Recognition of universal human rights, including the right to self-determination, has expanded beyond anything imagined a century ago. There is growing international consensus in support of gender equality and respect for women. Particularly among the younger generation, there is a widespread rejection of war as a means of solving problems.

Sadiq Khan vs. Donald Trump

Posted May 9th, 2016 at 8:28 am (UTC-4)
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In his victory, a triumph over the slurs that tried to tie him to Islamist extremism, Khan stood up for openness against isolationism, integration against confrontation, opportunity for all against racism and misogyny. He was the anti-Trump.

Obama Ramps Up ISIS Fight

Posted April 25th, 2016 at 3:18 pm (UTC-4)
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Among the new deployments are American special operations forces. Last week, the president authorized sending more American military support to assist Iraq in retaking the city of Mosul

In Merkel, Obama Finds Like-minded Ally

Posted April 25th, 2016 at 12:09 pm (UTC-4)
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They are both calm, cool and collected. Neither are prone to melodrama; rather, they look for practical solutions. And they have both demonstrated maturity by getting past a nasty spat prompted by revelations that the U.S. government was listening in on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s telephone conversations for several years. Shortly after arriving in Germany on Sunday for his final visit, Obama praised Merkel for sticking to a welcoming policy towards migrants even as Europe capitals have been shaken by deadly terrorist attacks carried out by ISIS: “What’s happening with respect to her position on refugees here, in Europe. She is on the right side of history on this,” he said. In return, officials say Obama hopes to get more support to fight ISIS militants, and for a trade deal with the European Union. As the president winds down his two-terms in office, he seems driven to secure America’s best friends and raise the public discourse during a particularly pugilistic American election season that will determine his successor.

Stop Asking “Why Do They Hate Us?”

Posted April 12th, 2016 at 4:04 pm (UTC-4)
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Those who fail to understand the ideology of Islamism will remain confused by it, attributing the violence to hatred because they don’t understand the real motives. So like battered spouses, victims of Islamist violence continue trying to alter their behavior in futile attempts to make “them” love “us.”