Network Take: Clapper and McLaughlin say Spain a Likely Target
Spanish authorities said Friday the deadly attacks in Barcelona and a seaside town are linked and long-planned by a terrorist cell. While several people have been arrested […] More
al-Qaeda
Militants and Missionaries: LeT’s Dual Role in South Asia
In South Asia, most of the U.S. attention is focused on Afghanistan where it is combatting terrorist and insurgent groups such as al Qaeda, ISIS, […] More
Deadly Burkina Faso Attack Bears Hallmark of Al Qaeda
Early Monday morning, at least two terrorists attacked a prominent Turkish café in the Burkina Faso capital city of Ouagadougou, leaving nearly 20 people dead […] More
True Defeat of ISIS Seems Unlikely in the Short Term
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution to discuss […] More
The Terrorist Threat to Aviation: Back Again
In March, the Trump Administration imposed a new set of restrictions targeting carry-on luggage arriving on planes from several Muslim-majority countries after intelligence reports indicated […] More
Does Moderate Political Islam Exist?
The term “political Islam” has become commonplace after the Arab uprisings of 2011, during which Islamist groups rose to political prominence across the Middle East […] More
AQIS Fits Into al Qaeda’s Global Strategy
While al Qaeda’s affiliate in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) may be regionally focused, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says […] More
Al Qaeda Quietly Expands in South Asia
While al Qaeda’s affiliates in North Africa, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen continue to grab headlines, the terrorist network has surreptitiously expanded eastward, entrenching itself throughout […] More
Stop the "al Qaeda-is-Degraded" Rhetoric
The Cipher Brief sat down with Michael Kugelman, Deputy Director and Senior Associate for South Asia at the Woodrow Wilson Center, to discuss the threat […] More
Al Qaeda Takes Advantage in Syria
While the U.S. remains focused on defeating ISIS in Syria and Iraq, al Qaeda in Syria is accumulating strength at an alarming pace and may […] More
Al Qaeda in Syria Can Change Its Name, But Not Its Stripes
Following recent infighting with other Syrian rebel groups in the northwestern part of the country, al Qaeda in Syria appears to have recognized the need […] More
How Al Qaeda Exploited The Syrian Civil War
The Cipher Brief sat down with Charles Lister, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, to discuss al Qaeda in Syria’s latest rebranding, how the […] More
U.S. Efforts to Combat Illicit Financial Networks
The Cipher Brief sat down with Celina Realuyo, Professor of Practice in the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies at National Defense University, […] More
Hawala Networks: The Paperless Trail of Terrorist Transactions
An integral component of U.S. counterterrorism strategy has centered on disrupting terrorist finances. Terrorist groups have exploited resources and industries in various countries – poppy […] More
Minimizing Abuse of Hawalas
Hawala networks and terror finance are in the news again. These networks have been used by ISIS in war-torn Syria and Iraq, and were reportedly […] More
Tunisia Confronts the Next Phase in Its War Against Jihadi-Salafism
Tunisia is on the front lines of an evolving war against Jihadi-Salafism. The ideology espoused by al Qaeda and ISIS, has already drawn thousands of […] More
Three Ideas to Consider in Defeating ISIS
After a 30 day review, the Department of Defense has delivered to the White House a preliminary plan to defeat ISIS. While this is an […] More
Doubling Down Against the Jihadist Message
With the recent U.S. military raid in Yemen and the ongoing campaign in Mosul, the Trump Administration is so far continuing the United States’ longstanding […] More