Ideas
‘End Forever Wars’ is a Sound Bite, Not a Security Policy
More and more Democratic candidates are echoing Trump’s pledges to withdraw from conflicts abroad. Few say how to do it, nor how it will make us safer.
Threats
House Democrats Want To Ban Sending New Prisoners To Gitmo
President Trump has vowed to keep the facility open, promising on the campaign trail to fill it up with “bad dudes.”
Ideas
I Wrote to John Walker Lindh. He Wrote Back.
The American jihadist thanked me for my interest in the Islamic State.
Ideas
Treat Guantanamo Detainees in the United States
There’s no other practical way to fulfill our moral and legal obligations toward our prisoners.
Ideas
Trump’s Counter-Iran Moves Are Provocative, But They’re Not War
Truly bad messaging is undermining trust among allies and the American public — and increasing the chance of accidental escalation.
Threats
The FBI Has 850 Open Domestic Terrorism Investigations
Homegrown extremism is rising, one year after the Trump administration cut funding to programs that counter hate groups.
Ideas
Why Baghdadi Risked a Video Appearance
ISIS faces dangers as an organization that are more significant than the ones Baghdadi does as an individual.
Ideas
In the Global Power Era, Remember the Bin Laden Raid
The Defense Department must make choices, but we cannot become complacent about the fight against terrorism.
Ideas
ISIS Relaunches as a Global Platform
The Sri Lanka bombings were a preview of the Islamic State’s future.
Ideas
Counterterrorism in the Era of Great-Power Competition
A former Trump administration counterterrorism leader explains what’s changed since Obama, and what ought to come next.
Ideas
What Insurgency Will Look Like in 2030
The author of “Ghost Fleet” has some guesses — and some questions that U.S. defenders will have to answer.
Threats
The ‘Caliphate’ Is Gone. Where’s the ‘Caliph’?
As the war on the Islamic State moves into a new phase, its leadership tries to adapt.
Policy
When China Convinced the US That Uighurs Were Waging Jihad
In the chaos surrounding America’s War on Terror, Washington fell for Beijing’s ruse that the embattled Muslim minority posed a threat to the West.
Threats
The ‘Caliphate’ Is Dead, but Americans Might Not Be Any Safer
Why a terrorist group with land looked so threatening to the United States.
Threats
All ISIS Has Left Is Money. Lots of It.
Even without a physical state, the Islamic State can still fund its main product: political violence.
Ideas
A Nuclear Treaty the Trump Administration Can Support
The U.S. should help advance international proposals to tighten security around nuclear material that terrorists might use.
Ideas
How White-Supremacist Violence Echoes Other Forms of Terrorism
Their enemies are different, but their tactics are often the same.
Threats
Pakistan Says It’s Cracking Down on Terrorists, Again
International pressure and an economic downturn are forcing Islamabad to take anti-India militants seriously.
Ideas
The Dangerous Spread of Extremist Manifestos
Allegations against a Coast Guard lieutenant are a reminder that, by sharing the writings of terrorists, media outlets can amplify their impact.
Threats