In The News

The World After 9/11 – Part II

Stephen Tankel September 8, 2011
Al Qaeda made its mark by the dramatic 9/11 attacks, but it’s not alone in developing transnational networks striving for global jihad. This two-part YaleGlobal series analyzes terrorist threats which since 9/11 have sought to end modernization and multicultural societies across Asia and promote inter-religious conflagration. The second and final article analyzes the goals of Lashkar-e-Taiba, or...

The World After 9/11 – Part I

Bruce Riedel September 6, 2011
Ten years ago, a small group of men launched unprecedented terrorist attacks on icons of American power. The dramatic attack by Al Qaeda ushered in an era of seemingly unending war between organized states and shadowy groups. This YaleGlobal series examines the continuing reverberations from the 9/11 attacks, which lured the US into long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The US has successfully...

Globalizing Insurgency in Somalia

Christopher Anzalone August 23, 2011
The Somali Al Qaeda–linked insurgent movement al-Shabab has ruled most of southern and central Somalia, including the capital city of Mogadishu, since mid-2008. Originating as the most radical wing of the military arm of the Islamic Courts Union coalition, the movement delivered relative law and order and peace to Somalia in 2006. Since then, al-Shabab has moved ideologically closer to the...

After Gaddafi, Let's Hope for the Best in Libya

Brian Whitaker August 23, 2011
After six months of fighting, Libyan rebels rallied for an enthusiastic entry into Tripoli. The images were reminiscent of early victories in Tunisia, Egypt and also Iraq, as rebels and other Libyans gathered in Green Square, destroying symbols of the previous regime. A few holdouts from the Gaddafi regime resist, and the task of rebuilding is daunting, but the Guardian’s Brian Whitaker suggests...

A Stalled Arab Spring

Dilip Hiro August 4, 2011
Revolutions are rarely smooth affairs. So the Arab Spring extends into the scorching heat of summer. Securing lasting change takes longer than many analysts in the West and young protesters on the streets of Egypt, Yemen, Syria, Libya and Tunisia might have anticipated, explains author Dilip Hiro. Quick exits by presidents of Tunisia and Egypt spread hope throughout the Middle East and North...

Dutch State “Responsible for Three Srebrenica Deaths”

July 5, 2011
Since 1948, the UN has assigned peacekeeping forces, contributed by member states, to maintain peace in countries torn by conflict. The mandate to protect civilians is “often the yardstick by which we are judged,” notes the UN. A Netherlands court has ruled the Dutch state is responsible for the 1995 deaths of three Bosnian Muslims who had worked for the Dutch peacekeepers, reports BBC News. The...

Endgame

Dexter Filkins June 27, 2011
US President Barack Obama approved the beginning of troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, starting with 10,000 by the end of 2011. Over the course of a decade, the US has “oscillated between building and destroying,” suggests Dexter Filkins in an opinion essay for the New Yorker. The essay lists Afghanistan’s challenges and reasons why a majority of Americans support ending US involvement in the...