al-Qaeda

By Rozina Ali Drone Strikes: The numbers don’t lie, except when they do By: Rozina Ali At a time when President Barack Obama has likened his new military strategy in Iraq and Syria to his drone programs in Yemen and Pakistan, disturbing new information has surfaced that damn drone strikes as indiscriminate in their effect […]

al-Qaeda

Has the War on Terror Failed?

contributors

AJ+ “Has the West’s global “War on Terror” failed? Thirteen years of U.S. counter-terrorism policies have opened up a Pandora’s box of questions – both political and ideological.” Aj+ Has the War on Terror Failed?

al-Qaeda

Oil and Terrorist Groups: Iraq’s ISIS, others Seeking Black Gold

contributors

By Michael T. Klare via Tomdispatch Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, South Sudan, Ukraine, the East and South China Seas: wherever you look, the world is aflame with new or intensifying conflicts. At first glance, these upheavals appear to be independent events, driven by their own unique and idiosyncratic circumstances. But look more closely and they share […]

al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula

NSA Intercepting Millions of Personal Images for Facial Recognition Tech

contributors

By Sarah Lazare The National Security Agency is mass collecting facial images through its surveillance programs for use in facial recognition technology, journalists James Risen and Laura Poitras revealed Saturday in the New York Times. Secret documents exposed by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden reveal that the spy agency views facial recognition as the next frontier […]

al-Qaeda

Can we close Guantanamo Now? Abu Hamza Convicted by New York Jury

contributors

British preacher Abu Hamza guilty on US terror charges (via AFP) A New York jury convicted British hate preacher Abu Hamza on 11 kidnapping and terrorism charges Monday, opening the way for a judge to impose what will almost certainly be a life sentence. The hook-handed imam, who became a tabloid bogeyman in Britain… […]

Afghanistan

US National Security hijacked, flown into Bermuda Triangle of Mysteries

Juan Cole

(By Tom Engelhardt) Isn’t there something strangely reassuring when your eyeballs are gripped by a “mystery” on the news that has no greater meaning and yet sweeps all else away? This, of course, is the essence of the ongoing tale of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Except to the relatives of those on […]

al-Qaeda

As Putin recognizes Crimea, his other Client, Syria, Goes on the Offensive

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a geopolitical roll these days, despite US and EU sanctions against some of his closest associates. On Monday he recognized Crimea in the wake of its referendum on secession from the Ukraine, despite Western warnings not to do so, and despite severe questions about the accuracy […]

al-Qaeda

Cole @ C-Span: Egypt and the Birth of al-Qaeda (video lecture)

Juan Cole

(By Juan Cole) My class lecture, “Egypt and the Birth of al-Qaeda,” was filmed by C-Span in February and has been shown on television; it is now available on the web (click here)

al-Qaeda

Obama and the Golden Calf of National Security: Broken Commandments

Juan Cole

(Karen J. Greenberg) In January 2009, Barack Obama entered the Oval Office projecting idealism and proud to be the constitutional law professor devoted to turning democratic principles into action. In his first weeks in office, in a series of executive orders and public statements, the new president broadcast for all to hear the five commandments […]