Violence and Security

Islamic State Targets Syrian Children for Recruitment and Radicalization

April 01, 2015

The Islamic State ("IS") has undertaken a program targeting Syrian children displaced by IS violence and the civil war in Syria, using systematic recruitment and radicalization that relies on strict Islamist indoctrination and weapons training for eventual jihadi field operations.
Creeping Islamism Feared as Source of Deadly Attack in Tunisia

March 19, 2015

Tunisian government officials fear that yesterday's deadly attack on visitors at the country's internationally renowned Bardo Museum is the work of domestic radical Islamists and others from neighboring Libya, given that the high numbers of Tunisians who have flocked to Syria and Iraq to fight with Islamic State ("IS") belies the moderate pronouncements of Libya's Islamist Ennahda Party.
Effective Response to Globalization of Jihadi Radicalism Depends on Addressing Factors Common To All Islamist Militant Groups

March 18, 2015

Any possibilities for an effective strategic response to the threats presented by the global proliferation and diversification of violent Islamist jihadi groups - one which rejects a permanent war footing and a perpetual reactiveness - depends on recognizing and responding to the shared realities of religious purity and deep-rooted resentment for Western policy choices identified by Islamism with political authoritarianism, economic inequity, and compromised sovereignty.
U.S. Air Force Vet Indictment Points to Islamic State Recruiting Reach

March 18, 2015

The details of the U.S. federal grand jury indictment of a former U.S. Air Force veteran on terrorism charges related to his support for the Islamic State ("IS") reveals the scope and success of the violent Islamist organization's recruiting initiatives for global jihadi operations.
French Diplomat Suggests Combination of Diplomacy and Force to Meet Violent Islamist Challenge

March 18, 2015

A former career diplomat and French government official suggests that, given the globalized nature of contemporary jihadism, as well as the complexities of its roots in religious, political, and socioeconomic factors, the optimal approach to a successful defeat of violent Islamism is a judicious combination of sustained diplomatic activity and focused military engagement.
Abductions of Foreign Medical Team in Libya Underscore Terror Tactics of Islamic State

March 18, 2015

The Islamic State ("IS") continues to use abductions as a terror tactic of choice for carrying out their war to expand the territorial coverage of their caliphate, with the kidnapping of a team of 20 foreign medical workers in Libya, the latest victims in the jihadi civil war raging in that country.
Recruitment Pathways to Violent Islamism Are Complicated Business

March 18, 2015

Analysis of the regular blog posts by the Australian teen who died last week in a suicide bombing attack for the Islamic State ("IS") against Iraqi Security Forces in the city of Ramadi reveals the particularities in the Western youth's conversion "from committed atheist to committed jihadist," suggesting that policy efforts to counter violent Islamist recruiting is a granular, incremental process with no guarantees of success.
Islamist Extremists Unify Efforts for Global Caliphate

March 16, 2015

There is growing resonance and unity across diverse radical Islamists groups and geographic regions, such as Boko Haram in Nigeria, for the objective of the Islamic State ("IS") to globalize the caliphate now being consolidated under IS control in Iraq and Syria.
Canadian Islamic Council Condemns Islamic State

March 16, 2015

A group of Canadian Muslim scholars has signed a fatwa issued by the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada in Calgary, condemning the Islamic State ("IS"), as well as any attempts by the jihadi group to threaten Canada.
UN Security Council to Consider Jihadist Actions Against Mideast Religious Minorities

March 11, 2015

The Islamic State's ("IS") continued targeting of minority religious communities will be taken up in a UN Security Council meeting later this month, in a session that is expected to focus on "the growing persecution of Christians in the Middle East."