Following a devastating suicide blast earlier in the week in Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu, leaders from the regional terror group al Shabaab issued a statement declaring that the perpetrator of the attack was American Abdisalan Hussein Ali. In an audio tape released by al Shabaab, and purported to be of Abdisalan Ali, the speaker exhorts the virtues of jihad and calls on his Western brothers to join the fight: “My brothers and sisters, do jihad in America, do jihad in Canada, do jihad in England, anywhere in Europe, in …
According to media reports, Anwar al-Awlaki, the Yemeni-American Islamist radical who played an increasingly influential role in the al-Qaeda network, was killed in a CIA drone strike earlier today in Yemen. Awlaki was reported to have been killed at least twice before, and one of his brothers reportedly already has denied today’s report of his death, but U.S. government officials and Yemeni officials appear to be certain of his death this time. An ultra-radical Islamist ideologue, Awlaki had played an important role in promulgating al-Qaeda’s violent ideology, recruiting young Muslims, …
Turkish authorities arrested 15 suspected al-Qaeda militants this week and foiled a plot to bomb the U.S. embassy in Ankara shortly before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was scheduled to arrive in Turkey for a diplomatic conference regarding Libya. This should serve as a reminder that al-Qaeda has survived the loss of its founder, Osama bin Laden, in May and still poses a threat to Americans and American national interests. Al-Qaeda long has operated within Turkey. Last month, Turkish police arrested 10 al-Qaeda suspects in the city of Adana, near …
In addition to the always outstanding analysis provided by Bobby Chesney and John Bellinger on the Obama administration’s new executive order on GTMO detention review, and the accompanying “Fact Sheet“, there is another fascinating feature that merits discussion. Here’s the question: by recognizing Article 75 of Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Convention (API) as customary international law, which includes in §4(g) the “right to examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him and to obtain the attendance and examination of witnesses on his behalf,” has the administration inadvertently (or …
Danish authorities have just sunk another plot to strike the West. According to press reports, “Denmark’s intelligence service says it has arrested four people plotting what it called an ‘imminent’ terrorist attack against the Jyllands-Posten newspaper, which printed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. The head of the agency, Jakob Scharf, described some of the suspects as ‘militant Islamists.’ He said the group had been planning to enter the newspaper’s building and kill as many people as possible.” It sounds like another “homegrown” plot. We have seen all too many …
The long-awaited White House Review on Afghanistan demonstrates that General Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy is beginning to pay dividends. The additional U.S. troops deployed to Afghanistan have helped the U.S. and coalition forces begin to uproot the Taliban from some of their traditional strongholds in southern Afghanistan. The most important task now is to gain greater Pakistani cooperation. There has been less progress on standing up civilian government in the areas cleared of insurgents, however. While the U.S. and coalition forces have shown they are capable of clearing Taliban from their …
With the arrest of two New Jersey men on their way to Somalia to become jihadists, the role of the counterterrorism unit at the New York Police Department (NYPD) took center stage. The counterterrorism officer who infiltrated the small cell and recorded key communications is a proud member of the NYPD. We don’t know his identity — nor should we learn it if our media friends can respect the need to keep such information out of the public sphere — but we should loudly applaud his efforts and the efforts …
Attempted terrorist attacks are on the rise and we should expect more to come according to a recent memo from the Department of Homeland Security. Three weeks after the country saw the attempted Times Square bombing, an unclassified DHS intelligence memo asserts not only that “the number and pace of attempted attacks against the United States over the past nine months have surpassed the number of attempts during any other previous on-year period,” but also that terrorists can be expected to attempt attacks on the U.S. with “increased frequency.” With …
Yesterday the White House unveiled its national security strategy. It came in basically three parts. Part One is the “anything but Bush” part. Where the goal is to put as much distance between Obama and Bush – even where there is not a lot space. Renaming the War on Terrorism, the war on al Qaeda is a case in point. Did the Bush administration not know it was fighting al Qaeda? Did Obama stop doing Predator strikes? Part Two is an overwhelming desire to substitute soft power for hard power. …
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a blockbuster opinion that vindicates both the Bush and Obama administration’s positions regarding whether detainees captured overseas and held in Afghanistan have the constitutional right to challenge their detention via habeas corpus. The appeals court, in a methodical opinion reversing a lower court decision, said no. The opinion will have wide-ranging implications in the war on terror, and if it holds (i.e. is not taken up by the Supreme Court and overturned), it gives the green light to an administration which has, …
