ARTICLES
Moscow Metro Bombings: Russia Should Reinvent How it Handles Terrorism
03-30-2010What does Iran’s new satellite-launching capability mean?
04-08-2009According to the Iranian Space Agency, the Safir-2 weighs 26 tons, is 22 meters long, 1.25 meters in diameter and can carry a satellite 155 miles into space. Documentation for this can be found at armscontrolwonk.com/file_download/153/Wright_Safir_Analysis_February_11.pdf.
Full textIran’s ICBM program presents real threat to U.S. in near future
04-03-2009The Islamic Republic of Iran produces several short-range rockets domestically, including the Shahab-1 and the Shahab-2. They are spin-offs respectively of the Soviet-built Scud-B and Scud-C. It also produces a 1,300 kilometer-range -- 780 miles -- single-stage liquid-fueled ballistic missile Shahab-3 that is a spin-off of North Korea’s relatively reliable No-dong intermediate-range ballistic missile. (Details of these systems can be found at nti.org/e_research/profiles/Iran/index.html.)
U.S. Air Force has the ordnance to bust Iran’s nuclear bunkers
03-30-2009The Obama administration may need to decide -- and sooner rather than later -- whether to negotiate with, sanction or attack Iran because of its ongoing programs to develop nuclear weapons and the intercontinental ballistic missiles to carry them.
The efforts of the previous Republican administration of President George W. Bush to restrict the Iranian nuclear program failed because of
The Real World: Iran - North Korea with Oil?
04-11-2008Amidst chilling rhetoric reminiscent of Europe of the 1930s, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has promised to give the West a “bloody nose” and “smash it on the mouth.” The threats came as Ahmadinejad announced that an additional 6,000 centrifuges will be deployed in clusters called “cascades” in the nuclear research city of Natanz. These will be in addition to the existing 3,000 Pakistan-designed centrifuges already there.
Full textThe Real World: Torture, Deaths, and the Military
11-30-2007Israel Should Confront the Forces Behind Hezbollah
08-02-2006On July 26, 2006, The Heritage Foundation hosted Patrick Clawson, Aaron Mannes, and Daniel Pipes to discuss the current Israel–Hezbollah conflict. Heritage’s Ariel Cohen chaired the event. The panel analyzed Hezbollah’s national and transnational status, Iran’s involvement in the fighting, and Israel’s strategic challenge in confronting its most powerful Arab enemy. This paper summarizes the panelists’ discussion.
Full textRussian Spying for Saddam Demands a Careful U.S. Response
04-30-2006On March 25, the Pentagon reported that Russia had given Saddam Hussein intelligence about U.S. military plans for the invasion of Iraq back in the spring of 2003. Recently declassified documents suggest that Russia’s ambassador to Iraq at that time, Vladimir Titorenko, provided Hussein with information on the timing of the U.S. attack on Baghdad, U.S. troops, and invasion tactics. Fortunately, some of the information was inaccurate, which ultimately aided U.S. forces. Regardless, this incident demonstrates the need for a critical reassessment of U.S. cooperation with Russia.
Full textPreventing a Nightmare Scenario: Terrorist Attacks Using Russian Nuclear Weapons and Materials
05-20-2005Since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Americans have been lucky that there have not been more atrocities on U.S. soil. However, the enemy, while weakened, is far from destroyed.
Full textAfter Maskhadov: Islamist Terrorism Threatens North Caucasus and Russia
04-01-2005The violent demise on March 8 of Aslan Maskhadov, former president of Chechnya and supreme commander of the Chechen militant forces, is President Vladimir Putin’s short-term gain, but it may be Russia’s long-term loss. Now the war in Chechnya will further lose its “national liberation” character and the pretense of Chechen independence, which Maskhadov symbolized, and Moscow will confront the deadly face of Islamic extremist terrorism.
Full textThe End of a Terrorist
11-10-2004As Yasir Arafat lies dying in a French hospital, it is clear that after having brought disaster to the people he claimed to represent, he is leaving them in the lurch. To reach real peace, Palestinians will need to overcome Arafat’s legacy. The Fatah ("Conquest") chief leaves behind him a legacy of violence against innocent civilians, corruption, irredentism, manipulation of religion, brainwashing, and child abuse for political purposes.
Full textTerror in Tashkent
08-05-2004Last Friday, three suicide bombers blew themselves up next two the U.S. and Israeli Embassies and Prosecutor General’s Office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Three Uzbek security men, including the Israeli ambassador’s bodyguard, were killed and eight were civilians wounded. The attacks coincided with the start of the trials of radical Islamists accused of perpetrating massive March terrorist attacks killing 35 people and wounding scores. Two terrorist groups, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and Islamic Jihad, claimed responsibility for the attack.
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Addressing Nigeria’s Economic Problems and the Islamist Terrorist Threat
05-19-2004Nigeria is a case study in oil-based wealth being squandered by poor governance and internal strife. Instability in Nigeria merits U.S. attention because it is a major non-Middle Eastern oil producer (accounting for 3 percent of global oil production in 2001) and was America’s fifth largest (9.6 percent) source of crude oil imports in 2003. Moreover, Islamist radicals hope to exploit Nigeria’s poverty, political turmoil, and inadequate law enforcement--thereby making Nigeria a potential regional security threat. Recent Muslim-Christian clashes, which have left hundreds of people dead and more than 1,000 wounded, highlight this threat. Ongoing assaults against Nigerian oil production, general instability, economic mismanagement, and the threat of Islamist radicalism necessitate that the U.S. work with Nigeria to address these problems.
Full textAfter the Uzbekistan Terror Attacks: Don’t Sanction, but Press for Democracy
05-04-2004Islamic Jihad, a group previously unknown in Uzbekistan, has announced that it was responsible for March’s suicide bombings and other attacks, which claimed the lives of 45 people, primarily in Tashkent and Boukhara. Further attacks may well destabilize Uzbekistan’s secular government, which would be a disaster for the U.S.-led war on terror. Despite claims to the contrary from the human rights community, Washington should understand that poverty and repression are not the root causes of terrorism, though democratic and economic reforms are vital for the long-term survival of Uzbekistan’s secular state. The United States should work with Uzbekistan to promote such reforms.
Full textTargeted Killings are Legitimate Self-Defense
03-26-2004As world leaders grieve in Madrid over 201 victims of the train bombing, and Israel is taking flak from the Europeans for the targeted killing of Sheikh Ahmad Yassin, three anti-terrorism models emerge.
Full textTurkey May Move Closer to Washington in Fighting Terror
12-03-2003Turkey cannot remain the nation it was before terrorist suicide bombings in November killed 53 people. Some analysts expect Turkey will opt to tighten security at the expense of human rights, even if such action means diminishing the country’s chances of joining the European Union.
Full textThe Political Economy of Terror
11-11-2003Al Qaeda’s second massive attack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia since May, and the closure of the U.S. Embassy have boosted the ultimate goal of Usama bin Laden to drive the "infidels" from the Land of Two Mosques and topple the monarchy. As a result, Western oil supply is at risk.
Full textRadical Islam and U.S. Interests in Central Asia
10-29-2003U.S. power projection on a global scale due to the war on terrorism raises new issues, especially with regards to the attitude of regional powers, elites, and population, toward the American presence. Much was said, often critically, about American alleged global power aspirations. What is the actual American presence in Central Asia and how much does it change the balance of power in the region? How will it affect the future of Central Asia? What are political currents and organizations, which oppose U.S. presence in that region, and what are the ways to counter them? How U.S. presence may be influenced by radical Islamic organizations there? What is the influence of the war in Iraq on perceptions of U.S. presence in Central Asia? All these questions are awaiting their answers.
Full textHizb ut-Tahrir: An Emerging Threat to U.S. Interests in Central Asia
05-30-2003Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Party of Liberation) is an emerging threat to American interests in Central and South Asia and the Middle East. It is a clandestine, cadre-operated, radical Islamist political organization that operates in 40 countries around the world, with headquarters apparently in London. Its proclaimed goal is jihad against America and the overthrow of existing political regimes and their replacement with a Caliphate (Khilafah in Arabic), a theocratic dictatorship based on the Shari’a (religious Islamic law). The model for Hizb is the "righteous" Caliphate, a militaristic Islamic state that existed in the 7th and 8th centuries under Mohammad and his first four successors, known as the "righteous Caliphs."
Full textIran Developing New Security Initiatives to Counter Perceived US Threat
05-14-2003Feeling threatened by the US military presence in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan, Iranian leaders are embracing a classic deterrence concept that relies on strategic regional alliances and military preparedness to discourage enemies. The Iranian Foreign Ministry is promoting a "regional security" initiative that seeks to enhance Tehran’s ties to countries in the Caucasus. At the same time, top Iranian military offic
Full textRussia and Religious Terrorism: Shifting Dangers
01-07-2003The late December bombing of the Russian headquarters in the Chechen capital Grozny, in which at least 57 people were killed, is the most recent indicator that Russia’s campaign to crush Chechen separatism is not faring well. The Chechen conflict is one that Russia can ill afford to lose. Yet, some observers now believe that Moscow will be hard-pressed to achieve its goals. The end result may be a spread of instability across the North Caucasus region.
Full textMoscow Hostage Crisis Demands Greater U.S.-Russia Security Cooperation
12-11-2002With U.S. and Western interests worldwide threatened by terrorist attack, the October hostage crisis in Moscow perpetrated by Chechen Islamist extremists has raised concerns about the security of post-Soviet stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and nuclear reactors in Russia and Eurasia. U.S. investments in Russian and Caspian oil fields and supply routes are also threatened. Because some Chechen rebels have links to al-Qaeda, the likelihood of another terrorist attack with massive civilian casualties or the use of WMD in the Russian-Chechen conflict has grown significantly since the hostage crisis. To prevent that, the United States should expand anti-terrorism and security cooperation with Russia, bilaterally and through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-Russia Council established in May, and with other Eurasian states.
Full textNot Just America’s War
09-10-2002The first anniversary of the 9/11 attack is a fitting time to take stock of where America is and where we want to go. We are going to defeat those who hate our freedom, our tolerance, our way of life, our faith in equality and opportunity. This vision is shared by hundreds of millions of people across the planet. This is not just America’s war. We are not alone.
Full textJenin: The Big Lie
04-16-2002As the Israelis were busy hosing pools of blood off the streets after the latest murder-suicide bombing at Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda market, the Palestinian propaganda machine was busy churning out yet another Big Lie: the "massacre of Jenin."
Full textFighting to the Last Palestinian: Saddam, Arafat and their posse
04-10-2002Yasser Arafat and Saddam Hussein are willing to sacrifice thousands of lives to remain in power and prevent the United States from attacking Iraq. They are willing to fight the Israelis and the U.S. to the last Palestinian. From the outside, the suicide-murders being carried out by the teenagers and young adults may seem senseless, but the internal logic and emotion of Arab and Muslim politics dictate the escalation of the body count.
Full textCriminal Activity, Not Terrorism, Main Source of Pankisi Instability - Opinion Poll
03-04-2002A large majority of Georgians do not believe al Qaeda and Afghanistan-linked terrorists are the main problem in the Pankisi Gorge. Instead, they suspect Georgian officials of involvement in criminal wrongdoings in the region. These are two of several paradoxical findings of a recent opinion poll in Tbilisi.
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