The leader of al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch, the Islamic State of Iraq, announced on Tuesday the formal merger of his organization and Jabhat al-Nusra (“Victory Front”), an al-Qaeda-controlled front group that has played a growing role inside Syria. Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared, “It’s now time to declare in front of …
The morning’s discussion at the U.N. on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) brought into focus one of the underlying tensions among the nations negotiating the treaty. While the holier-than-thou contingent wants to use it as a way to restrain oppressive governments, the autocracies view it as a way to prevent …
As the Syrian civil war escalates, it is increasingly spilling over Syria’s borders to threaten Syria’s neighbors and the long-established U.N. peacekeeping forces deployed along Syria’s border with Israel. On Wednesday, Syrian rebels captured 21 peacekeeping troops from the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights near …
On Thursday, at the Friends of Syria Conference in Rome, Secretary of State John Kerry abruptly reversed U.S. policy on Syria. Much to the surprise of Members of the U.S. Congress—and possibly of the members of the Syrian opposition as well—Kerry announced that the U.S. will be supplying $60 million …
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 …
In his State of the Union address, President Obama showed a stunning lack of reality on terrorism and the Arab Spring. The President’s statement saluting “the courage and sacrifice of those who serve in dangerous places at great personal risk” unfortunately rings hollow when one considers the Administration’s treatment of the …
Three individuals are currently under arrest in Malaysia for their alleged involvement in terrorist recruitment. Two of the individuals were charged with planning acts of terrorism that would have affected Syria. One of the suspects, Yazid Sufaat, was previously a high-profile individual arrested for his purported involvement in chemical and …
