Four veteran practitioners discuss opportunities and risks associated with the Trump administration’s shift in terminology, and policy, on countering extremism. On November 14, William Braniff, Seamus Hughes, Shanna Batten, and Matthew Levitt addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute as part of the long-running Stein Counterterrorism Lecture Series. Braniff is executive director of the… Keep reading →
In addition to addressing the Qatar crisis and other regional challenges, this week’s bilateral meetings promise to focus on how the United States and Kuwait can expand their economic ties and CT cooperation. On September 7, President Trump will host the leader of a close U.S. Gulf partner, Kuwaiti emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, for… Keep reading →
Despite the end of CIA support to the rebels, Washington can still counter the Islamic State by coordinating more deeply with Israel and Jordan, and by managing other regional actors. In July 2017, the Trump administration ended the four-year-old CIA program that provided direct assistance, in the form of salaries and arms, to various Syrian… Keep reading →
The U.S. nuclear energy enterprise is a key national security enabler, according to a report released this week by a new non-profit.
On July 31, Boaz Ganor, Bruce Hoffman, Marlene Mazel, and Matthew Levitt addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Ganor is the dean and Ronald Lauder Chair for Counter-Terrorism at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy, as well as the founder and executive director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at IDC… Keep reading →
Areas of focus will likely include a damaged but still dangerous Islamic State, a regrouping al-Qaeda, and the wide network fielded by Iran and its proxy Hezbollah. The U.S. Department of State is expected on July 19 to release its annual counterterrorism report, which will look back at the global terrorist threat and the response… Keep reading →
To help Washington in the war against the Islamic State, Cairo must first help itself, in part by adopting a modern COIN approach in Sinai and refocusing its military spending toward that end. Seven years have passed since an Egyptian head of state visited the White House, but the April 3 Oval Office meeting between… Keep reading →
Regional regulators must take steps, as the Iraqi Central Bank has done, to wall off their financial systems from unlicensed or loosely regulated money remitters vulnerable to exploitation by the Islamic State. This week, the entity known as the Foreign Ministers of the Small Group of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL/Da’esh met in Rome… Keep reading →
Reversing the political, military, and ideological factors that led to the movement’s rise will require substantive projects that are as self-sustaining and nimble as IS has proven to be. The Islamic State brand is an ambitious and seductive vision that has proven to be a tremendous media success. Yet this vision is ultimately tethered to… Keep reading →
