Global terrorism trends and challenges
written by: Ioannis Michaletos
Jul 19, 2010

- Interview with Frederik P. Hitz conducted by Ioannis Michaletos,WSN Executive South East Europe, Coordinator South Eastern Office -

National security agencies failing to protect U.S.
written by: Jim Kouri
Jun 28, 2010

Recent terrorist events such as the attempted bomb attacks in New York's Times Square and aboard an airliner on Christmas Day 2009 are reminders that national security challenges have expanded beyond the traditional threats of the Cold War Era to include unconventional threats from nonstate actors.

Today's ...more

Lorenzo Vidino: "Terror Threat from young Muslims born in Europe ?"
written by: Ioannis Michaletos
Jun 21, 2010

- Exclusive interview with Lorenzo Vidino, the renowned Italian expert on Islam, international terrorism and European counter-strategies, conducted by Ioannis Michaletos, WSN Editor for South East Europe and South-eastern Office Co-ordinator -

Indonesia: Jihadi Surprise in Aceh
May 03, 2010

As revelations about a jihadi coalition calling itself "Al Qaeda Indonesia in Aceh" continue to emerge, the Indonesian government should take steps to tighten control over prisons, provide more training for police in confronting armed suspects and consider banning paramilitary training ...more

Rural poverty and isolated North East pose threat to India's security and stability
written by: Bhumika Ghimire
Apr 14, 2010

Global recession has claimed a number of industrialized nations as victims-United States being one of them, India's economy seems to be doing just fine. With estimated 6.5% GDP growth in 2009, India weathered the recession just fine.

But for the country's rural poor, ...more

Piracy - threat or nuisance?
written by: Alessandro Scheffler
Mar 12, 2010

A spate of high-profile hijackings over the New Year and the publication of the 2009 Annual Piracy Report issued by the International Maritime Bureau's Piracy Reporting Centre in mid-January have brought the piracy problem back on stage.

Dr. Athanasios E. Drougos: "There is a requirement for a broader and joint counterterrorism strategy"
written by: Ioannis Michaletos
Feb 15, 2010

- An exclusive WSN interview with Dr. Athanasios E. Drougos, a senior defence and counterterrorism analyst and lecturer, conducted by Ioannis Michaletos, WSN Editor South East Europe -

Ioannis Michaletos: Since the attacks on the twin towers almost a decade ago, there was intense ...more

Al-Qaeda unites with Somali Islamist rebels
written by: Jim Kouri
Feb 05, 2010

In a statement that comes as no surprise to U.S. security and law enforcement experts, the Somali-based Muslim terrorist group al-Shabab announced that its fighters are aligned with al-Qaeda's global terriorism campaign. The deadly group said in the statement, broadcast by Al-Jazeera television, ...more

Taliban Assault on Kabul
Jan 18, 2010

The Taliban attack in Kabul is reportedly winding down. The assault began around 9:35 a.m. local time Jan. 18 (the day the new Cabinet was being sworn in) when reports of rocket fire and explosions were heard in the Afghan capital near several government buildings.

Just 23 minutes later, ...more

Jihadism in 2010: The Threat Continues
written by: Scott Stewart
Jan 13, 2010

For the past several years, STRATFOR has published an annual forecast on al Qaeda and the jihadist movement. Since our first jihadist forecast in January 2006, ...more

The Christmas Day Airliner Attack and the Intelligence Process
written by: George Friedman
Jan 11, 2010

As is well known, a Nigerian national named Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to destroy a passenger aircraft traveling from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009. Metal detectors cannot pinpoint the chemical in the device he sought to detonate, PETN.

Obama faults intelligence analysts for security breakdown
written by: Jim Kouri
Jan 07, 2010

President Barack Obama called the intelligence failure associated with the attempted bombing of a U.S. civilian airplane one of analysis and not collection, according to Jim Garamone of the American Forces Press Service. The president spoke late yesterday afternoon following a meeting with his national ...more

The Jihadist Strategic Dilemma
written by: George Friedman
Dec 15, 2009

With U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of his strategy in Afghanistan, the U.S.-jihadist war has entered a new phase. With its allies, the United States has decided to increase its focus on the Afghan war while continuing to withdraw from Iraq. Along with focusing on Afghanistan, it follows ...more

The War on Terrorism Ends; and the Winner is... China
written by: Leon Hadar
Nov 18, 2009

Lee Kwan Yew, the Founding Father of Singapore and that city-state's first Prime Minister (1959-90) and its current Minister Mentor (a cabinet position he assumed when his son eldest Lee Hsien Loong was elected as Prime Minister in 2004) is one the global village's leading Wise Men; East Asia's Henry ...more

Counterterrorism: Shifting from 'Who' to 'How'
written by: Scott Stewart and Fred Burton
Nov 12, 2009

In the 11th edition of the online magazine Sada al-Malahim (The Echo of Battle), which was released to jihadist Web sites last week, al Qaeda in the Arabian ...more

GCC decides to form joint naval force
Nov 02, 2009

Naval chiefs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the Arab countries on the rim of the Red Sea have decided to set up an action team to lay down the procedures and mechanism for the formation of a joint naval force of GCC and Arab countries on the Red Sea in a meeting in Jeddah on ...more

Al-Qaeda's guerrilla chief lays out strategy
written by: Syed Saleem Shahzad
Oct 16, 2009

ANGORADA, South Waziristan, at the crossroads with Afghanistan - A high-level meeting on October 9 at the presidential palace between Pakistan's civil and military leaders endorsed a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda in the South Waziristan tribal area - termed by analysts ...more

The new killing fields?
Oct 15, 2009

Gretchen Peters spent over a decade as a news reporter covering Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here she argues that the main way to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda there is through cutting off their drugs money.

According to a recent report for the US Senate Foreign Relations ...more

Pakistan goes for militants' jugular
written by: Syed Saleem Shahzad
Oct 07, 2009

ISLAMABAD - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari can be well pleased with his recent visit to New York, securing US$1.5 billion annually for five years in non-military aid and gaining unprecedented political support from over two dozen heads of states under the Friends of Democratic Pakistan initiative.

Now ...more

Success Against al-Qaeda Cited
written by: Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus
Sep 30, 2009

U.S. and international intelligence officials say that improved recruitment of spies inside the al-Qaeda network, along with increased use of targeted airstrikes and enhanced assistance from cooperative governments, has significantly reduced the terrorist organization's effectiveness.

A U.S. ...more

Pakistan pushed to its limits
written by: Syed Saleem Shahzad
Sep 30, 2009

NEW YORK - United States President Barack Obama, co-chairing with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown the first summit meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, on Thursday announced that the US Senate had unanimously passed the Kerry-Lugar bill, authorizing US$1.5 billion in economic assistance ...more

The new kiling fields?
Sep 23, 2009

According to a recent report for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, American intelligence agencies continue to believe that donations from wealthy sympathisers in the Gulf make up the bulk of funding for the Taliban, al Qaeda and other extremist groups operating along the AfPak (Afghanistan/Pakistan) ...more

U.S. Kills Top Qaeda Militant in Southern Somalia
written by: Jeffrey Gettleman and Eric Schmitt
Sep 15, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya - American commandos killed one of the most wanted Islamic militants in Africa in a daylight raid in southern Somalia on Monday, according to American and Somali officials, an indication of the Obama administration's willingness to use combat troops strategically against Al Qaeda's ...more

The trio guilty of plotting Britain's 9/11
written by: Cahal Milmo
Sep 08, 2009

Three British Muslims were convicted yesterday of plotting to commit "mass murder on an unimaginable scale" by blowing up transatlantic airliners in an attempt to kill thousands of people in the air and on the ground.

The terror cell, operating under guidance from jihadist overseers in Pakistan ...more