This week, the Supreme Court issued a historic decision that will help prevent U.S. courts (and activist judges) from interfering in foreign policy issues that are—and should be—the constitutional prerogative of the executive and legislative branches. Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum involved the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which was passed …
On March 12 the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) released a report on the “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community.” The report stated the following: Senior personnel losses in 2012, amplifying losses and setbacks since 2008, have degraded core al-Qa’ida…. However, the group has held essentially the same …
Iran defiantly continues to expand its uranium enrichment program despite international sanctions and multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, according to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges that will increase the rate of enrichment and reduce the amount of time it needs to …
French President Francois Hollande told reporters yesterday that Boko Haram, an Islamist terrorist group based in Nigeria, abducted a French family of seven, including four children, in northern Cameroon. Hollande noted the continuing role of France in the fight against Islamist radicals in Mali and said the French parents and …
Africa’s progress in Heritage’s 2013 Index of Economic Freedom remains stagnant. Though making progress last year, with an average score gain of 0.2 points, the continent declined by 0.1 points in 2013. Over the past few years, scores of Western nations have seen their ratings plummet (including the United States). …
Less than four minutes into last night’s presidential debate, Governor Mitt Romney listed northern Mali as one of the hot spots affected by the proliferation of international terrorism. Romney’s mention of a country in a region of Africa (the Sahel) that few Americans have heard of had many viewers scratching …
The murder of America’s ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, and three U.S. diplomats shines a gruesome light on the region’s power vacuum and the attempt by Islamist militants to exploit it. Following the fall of the Muammar Qadhafi regime last year, well-armed Tuareg rebels, who were once loyal to the …
There is some confusion in Foggy Bottom as to how the United States ought to define Boko Haram, an Islamic militant group based in northern Nigeria. Last week, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson testified in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, calling Boko Haram a “terrorist organization.” Yet …
At least 58 people are dead in Nigeria, victims of another religiously motivated attack against Christians from the Muslim group Boko Haram. Hundreds of Boko Haram terrorists armed with guns and machetes infiltrated several Christian villages in central Nigeria on Saturday. The group released a statement stating that Christians in …
The suicide attack against Harvest Field Pentecostal Church in the northern Nigerian on Sunday serves as another reminder of Boko Haram’s enduring violence. As many as a dozen people were killed and 30 wounded as the driver rammed his car into the church’s security gate, setting off explosives. In the …