While much remains unclear, more details continue to emerge regarding the Oct. 4 incident in Niger that left four U.S. Army Special Forces troops dead. One development related to the ambush near the village of Tongo Tongo stands out, however, as a textbook case of America's often disastrous approach to foreign policy -- the Trump … Continue reading U.S. looks to escalate Niger conflict with drone strikes
Tag: terrorism
Two "official use only" government documents published this week offer insight into federal investigators' perceptions of the domestic terrorism suspects they pursue, making them especially relevant in light of revelations in a recent in-depth article from The Intercept exploring the murky world of undercover terrorism stings. "Analysis of 57 fully adjudicated FBI international terrorism cases … Continue reading New documents show how feds view domestic terror cases
Have you overheard the fry cooks at your local fast food establishment furtively discussing jihad amidst seemingly harmless banter about how customers are really better off not knowing what's in the secret sauce? What about that potential Salafist lurking at the salad bar, measuring the dimensions of the sneeze-guard? If you've seen this kind of … Continue reading DHS embraces poisoned candy paranoia
"The nation of Qatar, unfortunately, has historically been a funder of terrorism at a very high level," U.S. President Donald Trump said last week, after several countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar over alleged connections to extremist groups. Announcements of decisions to cut diplomatic ties … Continue reading Trump admin to sell $12b in arms to ‘funder of terrorism’ Qatar
In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in England, many in Western policy-making circles appear to be grasping desperately for ways to prevent similar violence. One proposed solution, according to retired U.S. Army Col. Stefan Banach, lies in the ability to out-maneuver the enemy in the "Virtual Battle Space." As the United States and … Continue reading The ‘virtual battle space’ and the ‘system of opposition’
Nearly three years after the U.S. began bombing the Islamic State extremist group in Iraq and Syria, and just in time for Memorial Day weekend, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle called for a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in the ongoing conflict on Thursday, echoing past proposals. "Congress should be … Continue reading Lawmakers renew push for counter-terrorism military force authorization
Last week, a top propagandist for the Islamic State extremist group (a.k.a. ISIS, ISIL or Daesh) was reportedly killed in an airstrike. The death comes as new details of the group's internal propaganda instruction strategy are emerging. Despite such setbacks for the media-savvy terrorist organization's psychological warfare initiatives, however, ISIS' propaganda continues to threaten the … Continue reading ISIS propaganda suffers setbacks, but remains steps ahead of US
Though marked "for official use only" and "not for public release," the 2017 edition of a National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) document offering guidance to law enforcement agencies has surfaced on the internet, raising questions about the kinds of activities the government considers "homegrown violent extremist mobilization indicators." Some of the signs that a person might … Continue reading Federal ‘violent extremist’ guidelines for law enforcement published
A Central Intelligence Agency-coordinated program to aid Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces fighting against Bashar al-Assad in northwest Syria has been frozen, Reuters reported Tuesday, as the rebels there have faced recent setbacks amidst the chaotic and multifaceted war that has engulfed the region for the past several years. "The support funneled to vetted FSA … Continue reading CIA aid to Syrian rebels partially frozen, temporarily
When it comes to reporting numbers of civilians and "combatants" it kills, the Pentagon attempts to paint itself in a positive light. Last summer, after the Obama administration released a report estimating that between 64 and 116 civilians had been killed in drone strikes on the president's watch, it was widely criticized for under-counting by … Continue reading Thousands of unreported deadly airstrikes the latest in sloppy Pentagon record keeping