It is not a return of the Cold War – but, in a sense, it may be even more dangerous. For more than four decades, the U.S. and its allies wrestled with a formidable enemy, one armed to the teeth, from nuclear weapons and delivery systems to the best … [Read more...] about The Growing Russian Menace*
Middle East Conflicts
ISIS: Portrait of a Jihadi Terrorist Organization*
An ISIS operative holds a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile on the background of a black ISIS flag (Picture sent by ISIS via Twitter) Objectives 1. This study examines the nature of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), an Islamic … [Read more...] about ISIS: Portrait of a Jihadi Terrorist Organization*
The Islamic State: Another Angle of the Threat*
The struggle against the Islamic State (IS) organization led by the United States and its allies appears thus far to be something of a Sisyphean war: ineffective, limited to scratches on the surface of the Jihadi pyramid, beyond the roots of the … [Read more...] about The Islamic State: Another Angle of the Threat*
ISIS’s Public Support for Egyptian Jihadis
Left: Call for aid to Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis on the ISIS forum. Photo: Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis operative who blew himself up in the security directorate building in the southern Sinai Peninsula on October 7, 2013. The inscription reads: “Together … [Read more...] about ISIS’s Public Support for Egyptian Jihadis
Israel’s Nuclear Weapons, 2014*
Abstract Although the Israeli government neither confirms nor denies that it possesses nuclear weapons, it is generally accepted by friend and foe alike that Israel is a nuclear-armed state—and has been so for nearly half a century. The basis for … [Read more...] about Israel’s Nuclear Weapons, 2014*
Weekly Briefing, November 10-15, 2014
Left: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan shakes hands with attendants of the First Latin American Muslim Religious Leaders Summit in Istanbul, where he announced that Muslims discovered the Americas before Columbus. Turkey Reaches Out to Latin … [Read more...] about Weekly Briefing, November 10-15, 2014
Palestinian Vehicular Terrorism in Jerusalem*
Left: The “Run over Organization” - “Hit the gas at 199 [km/h] for Al-Aqsa” Urges Palestinians to use their cars to kill Jews. The “Run over Organization”, or Da’es in Arabic, is play on words for the Arabic acronym of ISIS - Da’esh [Facebook, … [Read more...] about Palestinian Vehicular Terrorism in Jerusalem*
The Persian Thread*
It's time for Paul Hollander to write a sequel to his marvelously insightful and humorous (after a fashion) 1981 "Political Pilgrims." For those kiddies for whom all this, and the environment in which it was written, is ancient history, may I remind … [Read more...] about The Persian Thread*
Weekly Briefing, October 26 – November 1, 2014
Laser Communications - Rachel Ehrenfeld - Uninterrupted radio frequencies are necessary to guarantee wireless communications. The rapid growth of wireless communication and computing systems with a wide range of applications and services have crowded … [Read more...] about Weekly Briefing, October 26 – November 1, 2014
The Muslim Brotherhood and the U.K. (Part I)
Left: Kamal el-Helbawy: Egypt should have “a good government, like the Iranian government, and a good president like Mr. Ahmadinejad, who is very brave,” which also means that women should wear head cover in public and Egypt should develop a nuclear … [Read more...] about The Muslim Brotherhood and the U.K. (Part I)