In The News

Gauging Terror – Part II, India

Michael Krepon August 17, 2006
Fierce military operations may eliminate individual terrorists, but do nothing to destroy their strategy. Some analysts go as far as to argue that excessive force only encourages hatred, boosting the networks that nurture new recruits. In the second article of this two-part series, author Michael Krepon suggests that India – with almost 20,000 civilians killed in terror attacks since 1994 – has...

Europe Says It Will Unify Effort in Fight on Terrorism

Heather Timmons August 17, 2006
After the terrorist plot targeting British flights was foiled, Europe realized that new and more coordinated anti-terrorism measures needed to be implemented. Fighting terrorism involves a delicate balance between individual rights and the need for security. European ministers, while recognizing this challenge, have vowed to speed up plans that would make information sharing between countries...

A Self-Defeating War

George Soros August 16, 2006
The metaphor “war on terror” is inappropriate, leading to real conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Lebanon and causing far more civilian deaths than the 9/11 attacks. A majority in the US now recognizes that the war in Iraq in particular is a huge and costly blunder, but remains stymied, like US leaders, about how to withdraw from the nation without creating more problems. More Iraqis died in July...

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop: How Inevitable Is an Islamist Future?

Cameron Brown August 15, 2006
Since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, observers have anticipated the next big Islamist takeover. Analyzing attempts at power grabs and current trends, Cameron Brown concludes that, in fact, democracy is proving the most effective way for Islamist groups to take control of state apparatus. For now, Islamist parties are the major opposition party in many states throughout the Middle East, and Brown...

Gauging Terror – Part I, Lebanon

Fawaz A. Gerges August 15, 2006
The world remains divided about the best way to respond to extremism – fierce military retaliation versus controlled anger that focuses on diplomacy, tolerance and the power of example. This two-part series examines the viability of two responses: Israel’s fierce invasion of Lebanon after the kidnapping of two soldiers and India’s restrained reaction after train bombings in Mumbai that killed...

Pakistani Charity Under Scrutiny in Plot

Dexter Filkins August 14, 2006
The Pakistani charity organization Jamaat ud Dawa won praise for its action in helping victims of the October 2005 earthquake in Kashmir, which killed more than 70,000. But the group also has a militant branch that fights the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir and was labeled a terrorist group by the US in May. Investigators now question whether a group of Britons plotting to blow up commercial...

Europe's Muslims: Economic Worries Top Concerns About Identity

August 11, 2006
Muslims and non-Muslims alike in the UK share worries about growing Islamic extremism, even though European Muslims as a whole tend to favor moderate Islam, according to a spring 2006 poll on immigration and identity, conducted by the Pew Research Foundation. The results follow a year that included bombings in London and Madrid and the riots sparked by Danish cartoons, but were released before...