In The News

April 29, 2004
In the country's deadliest day of violence since 1973, over 100 Muslim militants died in clashes with security forces throughout southern Thailand. The militants, many of them teenagers, carried only machetes as they attacked police outposts while screaming religious slogans. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra quickly declared victory and played down the political consequences, saying many of...
Philip Hersh April 28, 2004
The upcoming Olympic Games, scheduled to take place in Athens, Greece will feature athletes from all over the world and help promote the Olympic spirit of forging a global community through sports. In the contemporary era of global terrorism, however, it is particularly such international events that are most vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The organizers of the Games, the International...
Patrick E. Tyler April 26, 2004
As the situation in Iraq worsens, radical Muslims in Europe are stepping up their recruitment efforts. In the streets of countries such as England, France and Germany, more and more young Muslim Europeans are gathering to hear radical clerics' preaching on violence and martyrdom in the service of Islam. Ironically, it is often exactly the characters of the western societies that these...
Gabriel Weimann April 26, 2004
Although technology may be value-free, in the hands of terrorists technological innovations can certainly help amplify the darker side of human nature. The Internet, observes communications scholar Gabriel Weimann, is no exception. The World Wide Web has been utilized by terrorist groups around the globe to recruit supporters, raise funds, and instill fear in modern society. Claims on terrorist...
Thomas Schmid April 23, 2004
Osama Bin Laden's latest move to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe shows how "al-Qaida terrorists see Europe as a political unit with which they can play strategic games," writes Thomas Schmid in Germany's FAZ Weekly. An internet pamphlet titled "Iraq in the Jihad - Hopes and Risks" has made this all too clear. Laying out a kind of terrorist domino...
Riaz Hassan April 23, 2004
The weapon of mass destruction that seems to be favored most by terrorists is their own lives. But, though most suicide bombers are Islamic youths, sociologist Riaz Hassan argues that there is no direct link between suicide attacks and Islamic fanaticism. Suicide attacks, Hassan says, are motivated more by politics than religion. Many terrorist groups, such as the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka,...
Shada Islam April 21, 2004
After winning March elections that attracted tremendous international attention, newly-elected Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero forewarned a significant shift in Spanish foreign policy. He declared his disapproval of the previous Popular Party's government active support of the American invasion of Iraq, which many Spaniards felt provoked March's deadly terrorist...