Threats
The Drone War Crosses Another Line
America took an unprecedented step over the weekend when Obama authorized the Pentagon rather than the CIA to carry out an airstrike inside Pakistan.
Ideas
How Should the World Respond to Terrorism?
We invert the classic Q&A to explore the complexities influencing global responses to terrorism today.
Threats
How Syria’s Uprising Spawned a Jihad
Five years ago, the opposition to Bashar al-Assad was mostly peaceful and secular. What happened?
Threats
A Who's Who Guide to the Syrian Civil War
The Syrian war looks different depending on which protagonists you focus on. Here are just a few ways to look at it.
Threats
How Many ISIS Fighters Has the US Actually Killed?
The U.S. Defense Department cautions against using 'body counts' as a metric of success in its campaign against the Islamic State. But it continues to advertise them anyway.
Ideas
Today’s Terrorists Want To Inspire
How terrorism has—and hasn’t—changed, from the Algerian War to ISIS.
Threats
How ISIS Territory Has Changed Since the US Bombing Campaign Began
An animated depiction of a stalemate.
Threats
The Other Reason the Iranians Are Edging Toward a Nuclear Deal
The spread of ISIS has changed the equation, making Tehran's hawks more amenable to a deal with the west.
Threats
Al Qaeda's Middle Management Problem
Recent strikes against the group’s top officials in Libya and Yemen illustrate its organizational weaknesses.
Threats
How Terrorist Bounties Are Calculated
Osama Bin Laden had a $25 million prize on his head, and even that might have been undervalued.
Threats
How Mercenaries Are Changing Warfare
America's reliance on private military companies in Iraq and Afghanistan hasn't just expanded the industry; it may have changed the conduct of international relations.
Threats
America Ended Torture But Continues Drone Strikes
The Senate's report on CIA interrogation closes one dark chapter—and leaves another open. By Kathy Gilsinan
Threats
More Than 80 Percent of Terrorism Deaths Occur in These Five Countries
The annual Global Terrorism Index report, published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, was just released. By Kathy Gilsinan
Threats
These 22 Countries Don't Have a Military
More than 20 nations lack standing armies—and it's not always about pacifism. By Kathy Gilsinan
Policy
Susan Rice: There's No Crisis in U.S.-Israel Relations
The national security advisor responds to reports that the U.S. relationship with Israel is at an all-time low. By Kathy Gilsinan
Threats
Here's What Often Happens After You Kill a Terrorist Leader
With history as our guide, here's what you can reasonably expect from al-Shabab after its leader was killed last week in a U.S. airstrike last week. By Kathy Gilsinan
Threats
Why the Islamic State Is Mostly a Network of Roads
To say that ISIL controls territory stretching from Aleppo to Falluja and up to Mosul is not to say that it controls all of that territory equally. By Kathy Gilsinan
Threats
Attack on Airliner Sets a New Precedent for the World's Battlefields
What the crash of the Malaysia Airlines jet tells us about the military role of non-state actors. By Kathy Gilsinan
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