Violence and Security

OSCE Develops Educational Resources on "Tolerance"

March 29, 2017

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) hosted meetings this week to develop a curriculum for teachers to counter "the devastating effects of prejudice, hatred and discrimination" against Muslims and to promote “international human rights and non-discrimination standards” among children.
IS Prepares for Comeback in Mosul

March 27, 2017

Islamic State (IS) militants have their eye on the long game in Iraq through the recapture of their caliphate city of Mosul, taking advantage of internecine squabbling among the various branches of the Iraqi government's military and security apparatus by launching a tactical campaign of suicide attacks and by developing political contacts with Iraqi Sunni militias.
London Attacker Fits Profile of Western Jihadi

March 27, 2017

The profile of the perpetrator of this week's truck terror attack in London shares many features with other "lone wolf" attackers in Western countries who are claimed by the Islamic State (IS) as soldiers of the caliphate encouraged to carry our low-tech, high-casualty assaults on soft targets.
IS Targets Christians with Violence as a Recruiting Tool

March 24, 2017

An article from the Washington Institute explains how the noticeable increase in Islamic State (IS) attacks against Christian sites in the Middle East and Europe is part of a deliberate IS tactic to amplify a civilizational narrative pitting "the West against Islam" as a recruiting tactic and propaganda ploy aimed to divert attention from IS military losses in its core Mideast territories.
Taliban Captures Key Afghan District

March 24, 2017

Reports that Taliban insurgents have captured a key district in Afghanistan's geopolitically crucial Helmand Province from US-supported Afghan government forces indicates the resiliency and long-term vision of Islamist militancy in the face of the international community's efforts to erode jihadism.
European Bodies Call for Countering "Hate Speech"

March 23, 2017

Three European transnational human rights bodies recently issued a joint statement calling on “political and community leaders” to implement policies, such as the conditioning of children, designed to counter “hate speech,” or rhetoric perceived by some as offensive or intolerant.
Mayor Points to Radicalization in Brussels Mosques

March 23, 2017

Brussels Mayor Yvan Mayeur has signaled problems facing law enforcement and security agencies from foreign support of mosques in European cities by asserting that all of the mosques in Brussels are "in the hands of the Salafists," and arguing for the establishment of mosques that "follow our democratic rules" and are "controlled by the government."
IS Gateway to NATO Nukes Runs Through Turkey

March 23, 2017

The anti-Western rhetoric, authoritarian politics, and, until recently, open-door policy for jihadis traveling in and out of Turkey, have made the country's Islamist government a welcoming platform for Islamic State (IS) infrastructure to attack NATO member-states, and raise realistic concerns about IS access to nuclear weapons stored at the NATO airbase in Turkey.
US Targets Finances to Counter Iran's Export of Radicalism

March 23, 2017

The US continues to use cooperation between its State and Treasury Departments to strangle the financing networks that undergird Iran's global strategy of exporting Shiite Islamist extremism, as the State Department targeted the assets and US business relations of two proxies for Iranian extremist penetration in Bahrain.
Laptop Ban Shows Costs of Jihadi Security Threats

March 23, 2017

The national security implications of a US and UK ban of carry-on electronics on flights from airports across North Africa and the Middle East, based on intelligence reports of al-Qaeda's capacity to use micro-bombs on small devices, are accompanied by projections of high economic costs associated with the use of these technologies on flights.