The Obama administration held a meeting today in Washington with the representatives of more than two dozen countries on how to confront "a perfect storm of converging threats from infectious disease epidemics.” For once, the current administration … [Read more...] about Could “Rabbit Fever” Become a Biological Weapon?
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Iran Flexes Muscles in the Gulf
The Iranians now feel confident enough to attack Sunnis openly - scary for the Saudis. For the first time, the Iranians are attacking not just the Saudi government, but also the Wahhabi extremist Sunni sect that is the ideological underpinning of … [Read more...] about Iran Flexes Muscles in the Gulf
Al-Qaida’s Repudiation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria
[At left] From the text of Al-Zawahiri’s announcement concerning Al-Qaeda’s repudiation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria. The announcement was published on Islamist forums affiliated with Al-Qaeda (www.muslm.org) Overview 1. On … [Read more...] about Al-Qaida’s Repudiation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Greater Syria
The Proliferation of Suicide Bombing in the Middle East and Beyond
’’A nation that does not wage jihad cannot exist…God is with us and Satan with them. We will fight and fight until we regain our rights… God willing.’’ -- Muslim Brother Sheik Ahmed Yassin, Hamas’s founder and spiritual leader, October 1997 Suicide … [Read more...] about The Proliferation of Suicide Bombing in the Middle East and Beyond
A Test We Mustn’t Fail*
The United States is going through one of those periodic crises, testing a complex and often sclerotic constitutional system. An increasingly diminishing presidency has tried to “transform” the society, and particularly its economy, with draconian … [Read more...] about A Test We Mustn’t Fail*
The Ideology of Militant Islamism in Southeastern Europe
Since the fall of communism two and a half decades ago, militant Islamism has been planting seeds and spreading roots in various parts of southeastern Europe, particularly the former Yugoslavia. With the help of local allies, militant Islamists have … [Read more...] about The Ideology of Militant Islamism in Southeastern Europe
Cybersecurity: America’s Achilles’ Heel
The Cybersecurity Framework, which was announced on February 12, 2014, by President Obama, has very little new to offer to the private sector. It’s only a guide to how everyone should be conceptualizing and communicating about cybersecurity … [Read more...] about Cybersecurity: America’s Achilles’ Heel
Connect the Dots . . . Please!
Recent press accounts illustrate the mainstream media’s growing awareness of threats to the electric power grid and the need to counter them. These threats extend from physical attacks, to cyber attacks, to natural and manmade electromagnetic pulse … [Read more...] about Connect the Dots . . . Please!
The Fatwa: From the Middle East to South Asia
In early February 2014 Egypt's shadowy Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (the ABM, or Partisans of Jerusalem) were continuing their attack on government forces and institutions. The Sinai-based Islamist intransigents, whose leadership appears tied to Al Qaeda … [Read more...] about The Fatwa: From the Middle East to South Asia
Why is Everything Going Wrong?*
It isn’t. There is an old axiom in the news business--or what is left of it as traditional newspapers die to be replaced, for the moment at least, by amateurism on the internet and its social networks--that good news is not news. So we get a steady … [Read more...] about Why is Everything Going Wrong?*