In The News

Taliban Turn to Suicide Attacks

Scott Baldauf February 3, 2006
In a worrisome shift away from traditional guerilla tactics, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan are beginning to deploy suicide bombers against foreigners as well as Afghan government and civilian targets. This change in tactics has increased pressure on Kabul to institute more checkpoints and increase general vigilance. The Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Baldauf spoke with a Taliban insurgent...

Nepal’s Kingdom of Discontent

Jo Johnson February 2, 2006
Since King Gyanendra seized absolute power in Nepal last February, civil war has paralyzed the country, with palace forces battling the radical Maoists abated only by the Maoists’ recent unilateral ceasefire. Appearing on the scene as rural-based insurgents, the Maoists alone lack mainstream legitimacy as a viable alternative to the monarchy. But after a landmark meeting with eight opposition...

Despite TV Appearances, Al Qaeda Is Not Winning the War

Fawaz A. Gerges January 31, 2006
In his latest videotape, Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy to Osama bin Laden, postures that Al Qaeda is at full force. While many Muslims find Al Qaeda’s grievances against the US foreign policy compelling, few endorse terrorism or line up for martyrdom. Instead, Osama bin Laden’s warriors are increasingly at odds with the “Umma,” or the international Muslim community they seek to represent, as well as...

Denmark PM Rejects Apology Demand

January 31, 2006
Islam traditionally considers any depiction of Muhammad disrespectful. Muslims in the Arab world were aghast, then, when they learned that the Danish newspaper “Jyllands-Posten” had published cartoons portraying their prophet as a terrorist last fall. Tensions have now come to a head, after a Norwegian paper reprinted the cartoons and as the Danish government insists that it cannot punish “...

Stopping the Iranian Bomb – Part II

George Perkovich January 26, 2006
Iran’s revived uranium enrichment program is a cause for general concern and not only because it could lead to the nuclear arming of Iran. Attempts to halt the Iranian program by imposing sanctions could also send oil prices skyrocketing. In the final part of this series on what to do with the Iranian challenge, non-proliferation specialist George Perkovich contends that sanctions and military...

How Does al Qaeda Send Terror Tapes Without Getting Caught?

Alexis Debat January 25, 2006
After al Jazeera broadcasts a terror tape, questions arise: How did the tape wind up at the Qatari news channel? Is there a way to follow the trail back to bin Laden? US intelligence has asked these questions repeatedly. Last May the arrest in Pakistan of Abu Faraj al Libbi, one of al Qaeda’s operational commanders, shed light on the courier system used to transport messages from terrorist...

Stopping the Iranian Bomb – Part I

Gary Samore January 24, 2006
In early January, Iran resumed its uranium enrichment program, claiming civilian purposes. Iran’s long record of clandestine activity in this regard, however, leaves only one conclusion – it is the first step toward weapons capability. The challenge that the world now faces is how to stop an oil-rich Iran from exploiting the current nervousness about oil price rise from going ahead. In a series...