Al Qaeda

Obama Ordered U.S. Military Strike On Yemen Terrorists

ABC News | By BRIAN ROSS, RICHARD ESPOSITO, MATTHEW COLE, LUIS MARTINEZ and KIRIT RADIA | Posted 12.18.2009 | World


On orders from President Barack Obama, the U.S. military launched cruise missiles early Thursday against two suspected al-Qaeda sites in Yemen, admini...

"Model Prisoner" at Guantanamo, Tortured in the "Dark Prison," Loses Habeas Corpus Petition

Andy Worthington | Posted 12.15.2009 | Politics


Andy Worthington

Al-Madhwani joins eight other prisoners in a legal netherworld, no longer regarded as "enemy combatants" by the administration, but still detained indefinitely as though they were.

To Beat Al Qaeda, Look to the East

Scott Atran | Posted 12.13.2009 | Politics


Scott Atran

We're winning against Al Qaeda and its kin in places where antiterrorism efforts are local and built on an understanding that the ties binding terrorist networks today are more cultural and familial. Consider recent events in Southeast Asia.

Sunday Roundup

Arianna Huffington | Posted 12.12.2009 | Politics


Arianna Huffington

This week, in accepting his Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama strenuously argued that "as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation" he "cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people." I couldn't agree more. But what exactly are the threats to the American people coming from Afghanistan? The Taliban? Or the 100 al-Qaeda members who didn't get the "we're moving to Pakistan" memo? In his 2002 denunciation of the war in Iraq, Obama said: "I don't oppose all wars...What I am opposed to is a dumb war." Well, escalating troop levels to 100,000 and spending $30 billion a year to take on 100 terrorists -- that's 1,000 U.S. soldiers and $300 million for every one al-Qaeda fighter -- while the real threats lie elsewhere strikes me as the gold standard of a dumb, immoral war of choice.

Slain Al-Qaeda Leader Posthumously Named Employee of the Month

Andy Borowitz | Posted 12.12.2009 | Comedy


Andy Borowitz

In a new videotape broadcast today on Al-Jazeera, terror mastermind Osama bin Laden named fallen terrorist Abu Yahya al-Libi Al-Qaeda's "Employee of the Month" for December.

The New York Times - Getting Pakistan Wrong

Wajiha Ahmed | Posted 12.14.2009 | Media


Wajiha Ahmed

While some Pakistanis might subscribe to outrageous theories, it is disingenuous to paint such a simplistic picture. The NYT's report that Pakistan's media outlets "trumpet" conspiracy theories is incomplete.

Obama's Lincolnesque Nobel Peace Prize

William Bradley | Posted 12.11.2009 | World


William Bradley

Lincoln is Obama's professed ideal. We remember Lincoln today from civics lessons and the monument in Washington, but the historical reality is that he was both soaring idealist and ruthless pragmatist.

Can Arlen Specter End the War in Afghanistan?

Robert Naiman | Posted 12.11.2009 | World


Robert Naiman

Who knew Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter would emerge as one of the most vocal opponents in the Senate of the President's military escalation in Afghanistan?

CIA's Blackwater Ties Run Deep, Private Firm Participated In Covert Raids

AP | Posted 12.11.2009 | Politics


WASHINGTON — Private security guards working for Blackwater USA participated in clandestine CIA raids against suspected insurgents in Iraq and A...

McChrystal: Bin Laden Key To Defeating Al Qaida

AP | Posted 12.09.2009 | World


WASHINGTON — The general in charge of the war in Afghanistan says capturing Osama bin Laden is the ultimate key to defeating the al-Qaida terror...

A Toilet in Somalia

Dr. Charles G. Cogan | Posted 12.08.2009 | World


Dr. Charles G. Cogan

Al-Qaeda and like-minded terrorists don't need Afghanistan to carry out operations. These can be mounted from anywhere or anyplace, from Yemen to Somalia, to Hamburg or to ... Detroit.

As Threats Increase, Sometimes It Is The Informants That Go Wild

Brian Levin, J.D. | Posted 12.08.2009 | Politics


Brian Levin, J.D.

While the conduct of a couple of loose-cannon informants can be a headache for the FBI and the butt of jokes, behind the scenes authorities are increasingly concerned about evolving threats from across the ideological spectrum.

Najibullah Zazi Case: Arthur Folsom No Longer Representing Terror Defendant

AP | Posted 12.07.2009 | Denver


DENVER — A Denver lawyer thrust into the international spotlight while representing a Colorado man accused of plotting a terrorist attack is no ...

The Winds of War

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen | Posted 12.07.2009 | World


Rolf Mowatt-Larssen

Redoubling the effort in the Afghanistan-Pakistan theater will only indirectly deny terrorists the kind of safe havens they need to plan another 9/11 scale attack.

No to Afghanistan? But Didn't We Say...?

Rick Horowitz | Posted 12.07.2009 | Politics


Rick Horowitz

Don't pretend that we haven't spent these past years shouting "Afghanistan! Afghanistan!" at every opportunity. And now that there's a president who's listened, who's reluctantly reached the very same conclusion, we say -- "Nevermind"?

Sam Stein

Feingold: Why Surge Where Al Qaeda Isn't?

HuffingtonPost.com | Sam Stein | Posted 12.06.2009 | World


One of the fiercest critics of the proposed surge of U.S. forces in Afghanistan warned on Sunday that the policy would distract America from the pursu...

Al Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb: Kidnappings Rife Across North Africa

GlobalPost | Solana Pyne | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


RABAT, Morocco -- They called it a "solidarity caravan" -- a group of Spanish volunteers delivering truckloads of donated computers, wheelchairs and o...

What Are We Fighting For In Afghanistan?

Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould

For 60 years the United States played both Pakistan and Afghanistan against each other in a Manichean, dualist game of superpower politics with little regard for the consequences.

Barack Obama's War: 10 Key Things To Know

William Bradley | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


William Bradley

It's Barack Obama's war now -- a war in which the Nobel Peace Prize-winner has placed himself at the helm of the largest military force ever sent to Afghanistan. Here are some key things to know.

Obama's Surge: The Real Reason

Jamal Dajani | Posted 12.04.2009 | World


Jamal Dajani

It's not because of bin Laden, al-Qaeda, or the Taliban. The real reason behing the surge is Pakistan, a failed state with nuclear warheads.

Najibullah Zazi, Denver Man Accused Of Terrorist Plot, Has Day In Brooklyn Court

AP | TOM HAYS | Posted 12.03.2009 | Denver


NEW YORK — Federal authorities expect to file more charges in an alleged plot by an al-Qaida associate to attack New York City with homemade bom...

Jason Linkins

Critics Of Obama's Exit Strategy Have Argument Backwards

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 12.04.2009 | Politics


The narrative that seems to be emerging from the most bellicose critics of last night's speech by President Barack Obama is that his setting a start d...

Victory in Afghanistan - Calling All Artificial Intelligence Experts

Mark Goulston, M.D. | Posted 12.02.2009 | Living


Mark Goulston, M.D.

When I think of some of my own long term, fixed ideologies that I resist changing, I am wondering what would need to happen for me to challenge them and re-engineer them.

This Is Not Just America's War

Anders Fogh Rasmussen | Posted 12.02.2009 | World


Anders Fogh Rasmussen

I congratulate President Obama on his strategic vision. But as he noted, this is not just America's war. Violent extremism in Afghanistan poses a clear and present danger to everyone, and we must stand strong against it.

Afghanistan -- the Sisyphus War

Jayne Lyn Stahl | Posted 12.02.2009 | Politics


Jayne Lyn Stahl

As Albert Camus once said, "The gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back o...