In The News

World War III?

Nayan Chanda December 2, 2015
Pope Frances has raised a concern that the Islamic State could spark a third world war. Nayan Chanda, the founding editor of YaleGlobal Online, points to a parallel: international powers, with major differences over strategy, targeting the extremists in Syria and Iraq. Aerial bombing alone won’t deter the 32,000 or so Islamic State extremists, an estimate from the CIA, or their ideology. Major...

Gauging the ISIS Threat in Indonesia

December 2, 2015
Indonesia, with near 250 million people, is the world’s largest Muslim nation. The Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict in Jakarta estimates that 300 Indonesians headed to the Middle East; 100 of those have been killed and another 100 were detained and returned. “A video has been circulating in social media since Nov. 22, purporting to be from East Indonesian Mujahideen, a terrorist group...

ISIS Wives and Enforcers in Syria Recount Collaboration, Anguish and Escape

Azadeh Moaveni November 24, 2015
When terrorists storm a town and take control, some occupants resist, others collaborate, and most inevitably try to flee. Three young women describe life in Raqqa – a Syrian city of 220,000 – under the control of the Islamic State since early 2014. The three once wore casual clothes, worked or attended school, dated as they pleased and led independent lives, reports Azadeh Moaveni for the New...

Gunmen Attack Luxury Hotel in Mali Capital

Kevin Sieff, Sarah Kaplan and Brian Murphy November 21, 2015
Attackers stormed a luxury Radisson Hotel in Bamako with reports suggesting 170 hostages taken. The Washington Post reports no immediate claims of responsibility or motivation, but extremists vie for attention with attacks on soft targets. “Mali – home to the famous ancient city of Timbuktu – has been at the center of a French-backed effort to drive back Islamist rebels that once had control over...

There Is Only One Way to Defeat ISIS

Charles P. Pierce November 20, 2015
High-cost military equipment like fighter jets or missile defense shields won’t stop coordinated terrorist attacks like those in Paris against youth enjoying city life on a Friday night. Intrusive surveillance won’t prevent brothers, roommates or loners contemplating suicide and plotting murder, argues Charles Pierce for Esquire: “Abandoning the Enlightenment values that produced democracy will...

Air War May Be Satisfying, But Won’t Defeat ISIS

Mohammed Ayoob November 19, 2015
Air strikes pounding strips of territory in Iraq and Syria controlled by the Islamic State won’t destroy the ideology and can inflict civilian casualties. Analysts concur that ground troops are needed to deliver precise attacks. Public opinion in the United States and the European Union won’t permit use of their ground troops, and such force would only reinforce extremist claims about the West...

Paris Attacks: The Global Consequences

Gideon Rachman November 16, 2015
Cosmopolitan cities like Paris, London and France are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, yet also resilient. The Islamic State’s would-be caliphate imposed by coercion and violence on communities in Iraq and Syria suffering from power vacuums could never hope to match the allure of Paris and French culture. Still, acts of terror challenge freedom and liberal ways in countries like France. Gideon...