In a recent National Journal article, three-quarters of defense experts interviewed opposed any attempt by the Obama Administration to scale back missile defense deployment in Europe in exchange for promises of Russian cooperation with Iran. “If we drop these plans, we could witness the reemergence of Russia as a dominant force in Europe, and that would be antithetical to U.S. interests,” stated one expert. Other experts offered the following critiques: “Missile defense is more important than Russian intel. If we have to choose, we should pick the deterrence against Iran.” …
As the first anniversary of the death of Osama bin Laden came to pass, European and American officials openly lamented the possibility of al-Qaeda operatives using creative ways to avenge their erstwhile leader’s demise. One idea provoking concern among national security experts surrounded the idea of using surgically implanted bombs inside the bodies of would-be terrorists. Such a disturbing image reminds the world of the extent to which Islamist terrorists will go to attack the U.S. or its interests abroad. The idea is not new. It is, however, a byproduct …
A recent assessment by senior U.S. intelligence officials shows that while the current threat associated to al-Qaeda central—i.e., Ayman al-Zawahiri and his immediate acolytes—has significantly diminished, the threat nonetheless remains. Richard Cardillo, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, argues that a high-impact terrorist event emanating from al-Qaeda central is “unlikely in the next year.” While it is true that al-Qaeda central and its radical ideologies, as represented by Osama bin Laden and manifest in the tragic events of September 11, has been fractured, in many …
When Representative Paul Ryan (R–WI) released the House Republican budget earlier this week, one thing was certain: It takes seriously the constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense. Eschewing the Obama Administration’s call for higher taxes, the Ryan budget succeeds in restoring America’s defenses while restraining the federal government’s insatiable desire to increase taxes. Not surprisingly, this reality is lost on many of the more vocal critics from the left. Unwilling to acknowledge the Ryan budget’s ability to reestablish appropriate and necessary funding for the nation’s defenses while avoiding …
This October marks the 10-year anniversary of the Beltway sniper attacks, a series of killings that gripped the Washington, D.C., metro area with fear. Until being brought to justice, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo methodically gunned down nearly a dozen innocent civilians. This past week, citizens in the area of Toulouse, France, had to endure a similarly terrifying experience. Twenty-three-year-old Mohammad Merah, a self-proclaimed operative of al-Qaeda, is suspected of having murdered seven individuals in a series of deliberate shootings that took the lives of three French paratroopers, …
On July 27, 2005, Ahmed Ressam was sentenced to 22 years in prison for attempting to detonate explosives at the Los Angeles International Airport on the eve of the new millennium. Although Ressam intended to murder hundreds of innocent civilians under the auspices of a jihad against the United States, Judge John Coughenour broke from federal guidelines permitting a sentence of 65 years to life and instead issued the limited sentence of 22 years imprisonment. While the initial sentence was predicated upon the belief that Ressam had provided cooperation and …
When 22-year-old Zachary Chesser was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison this past year, many casual observers wondered aloud how a middle-class kid from Virginia could have descended into a world of Islamist-inspired fundamentalism, promoting violence and extolling the virtues of Islamist propaganda. Within America’s counterterrorism community, however, examples such as Chesser’s have become far too common. Chesser’s path to radicalization and subsequent attempts to foment relationships with al-Qaeda and al-Shabab operatives followed a frequent path: the Internet. Using the Web as a medium to broaden his radicalization and …
On Christmas Day 2009, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nearly succeeded in murdering almost 300 civilians aboard Northwest Flight 253. As the plane approached its final destination of Detroit, Michigan, Abdulmutallab was seen entering the lavatory, returning to his seat, and placing a blanket over his head. Moments later, passengers noticed a burning smell and smoke emanating from his seat. As Abdulmutallab attempted to detonate explosives inside his underwear, passengers leapt onto the would-be terrorist and prevented him from accomplishing his sinister ambition. The journey that led Abdulmutallab to Flight 253 navigated …
In 1987, the United States and the Soviet Union negotiated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), which was designed to eliminate their nations’ respective intermediate range, ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. In discussing INF negotiations with the Soviet Union, President Ronald Reagan famously summoned upon one of his guiding principles: Trust but verify. Thirty-five years later, the Obama Administration has adopted an entirely different tack in dealing with ongoing missile defense negotiations with Russia. Rather than negotiate from a position of informed strength, …
Earlier this month, Sami Osmakac, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in the former Yugoslavia, was arrested near Tampa, Florida, after federal officials uncovered his plan to unleash terrorism upon the United States. After receiving an anonymous tip, undercover FBI agents met with Osmakac and learned the details of his terror plot. Osmakac described his intentions of setting off car bombs in crowded areas throughout Tampa, following such explosions with high-powered assault weapons attacks against the public. “I want to do something terrifying, like one day, one night, something’s going to …
