Attack in Orlando: The View from the UK
The first thing to state is that we are still not clear about Omar Mateen’s background. The FBI are still investigating possible motives – and […] More
Terrorism
Momentum for Gun Control?
In the days since the Orlando attack that marked the worst mass shooting in modern American history, gun control advocates in both Congress and the […] More
The Security Challenges for Soft Targets in the Wake of Orlando
The choice of soft targets in recent terrorist attacks in Orlando, Paris, Brussels, and San Bernardino has raised questions about the safety and security of […] More
Homegrown Terror in Orlando
As the investigation into the Orlando attack unfolds, authorities on Monday said it appears the shooting was not part of a plot directed from outside […] More
What Needs to Be Done On Homegrown Terror
The Cipher Brief: Nothing is definitive yet, but Omar Mateen appears to be a case of a lone wolf – possibly inspired by ISIS, but […] More
Euro 2016: An Attractive Target for Terrorists
There are heightened security concerns in France, as the Euro 2016 football tournament begins today at multiple sites throughout the country. France is particularly on […] More
June Risk Assessment: The Fight Against ISIS in Libya
Libya’s UN-brokered Government of National Unity (GNA) has so far failed to unite the country’s competing regional and tribal factions and, by early June, the […] More
Snowden’s Impact Fades After Three Years
In the three years since the news first broke of Edward Snowden’s trove of leaked National Security Agency documents, debates have raged in the public […] More
The Anti-ISIS Coalition Makes First Real Gains in Libya
The UN-backed Government of National Accord’s Misratan-led Bunyan Al Marsus operation room made significant gains against IS this week, advancing to within 30km Sirte. So […] More
Eye on ISIS in Libya: The Anti-ISIS Coalition Update
Three interlinked conflict dynamics are discernible from last week’s developments on the ground: 1) increased lawlessness and militia rivalry in Tripoli and the western region; […] More
ISIS in the Balkans
The 1990s Yugoslav wars disintegrated a nation and created a fractured Balkans that continues to deal with ethnic strife and political instability. The wars also […] More
Countering the Terrorist Threat
The Balkan states are facing a series of problems. Geopolitical rivalry is stoking tensions in the region, Turkey has become more assertive in promoting its interests, and […] More
Exporting Jihad
With minds focused on the number of Western European foreign fighters joining ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra in the wake of the Paris and Brussels […] More
What Drives ISIS
Broadcasting brutal murder videos, enslaving religious minorities, training and deploying child soldiers, carrying out suicide bombings at crowded intersections – these are just some of […] More
Fueling the Islamic State's Engine
Our basic understanding of the Islamic State’s ambitions, and its justifications of those ambitions, remains muddled. “Remaining and expanding” and “a caliphate on the Prophet […] More
The Islamist Ideology
Is ISIS Islamic? Probably not. Is it Islamist? Definitely. An Islamist is one who believes in a version of Islam which would impose a politicized […] More
The Hydra and the Snake: The Death of Osama Bin Laden
At 11:00 AM, five years ago Monday, sailors on the USS Carl Vinson watched the shrouded body of Osama bin Laden slide into the North […] More
Is the World Safer?
Five years ago, U.S. special operations forces killed Osama bin Laden in a raid on his hiding place in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Although al Qaeda had […] More