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Drones
Since the beginning of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States has dramatically increased use of unmanned drones, developing technology to target and kill those identified as being terrorist leaders. Current U.S. policies on using drones for targeted killing are characterized by ambiguities in interpretations of international law and too many generalities, despite recent efforts by the Obama administration to clarify the policies, a new report finds.
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ISIS
ISIS’s new publication, called Rumiyah (Arabic for Rome) appears to be yet another typical ISIS media product, combining glossy pictures with Islamist propaganda. A terrorism expert says, however, that the publication suggests that the organization may be struggling to cope with the mounting pressures of unrelenting airstrikes and increasingly more effective Turkish, Kurdish, and Iraqi military offensives on the ground.
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ISIS
The U.S.-to-ISIS “kill ratio,” that is, the number of American soldiers killed relative to the number of killed ISIS militants, is a staggering, and unprecedented, 15,000-to-1. The U.S. military claims to have killed 45,000 militants, including a number of senior leaders, since the September 2014 launching of the U.S.-led coalition campaign against ISIS. Only three U.S. troops have been killed in the campaign. The U.S. killed 6,000 militants between September and December 2014, and 39,000 between January 2015 and July 2016.
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Domestic terrorism
The number of White Nationalists and self-identified Nazi sympathizers on Twiter had multiplied more than 600 percent in the last four years — outpacing ISIS in all social media aspects, from the number of follower counts to the number of daily tweets, a new study found. The study’s author notes that ISIS has gained a reputation for effectively using Twitter for propaganda and recruitment, but that White Nationalist groups have excelled even more in exploiting the medium. The report says that unlike the campaign Twitter has been conducting against ISIS, White Nationalists are continuing to use the service with “relative impunity.”
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Muslim garb
Researchers have studied why young, highly educated Muslim women who live in modern urban environments may be choosing to wear the veil and have uncovered a paradox. Their study, which drew on data of thousands of women living in Belgium, Turkey, and twenty-five Muslim countries, suggests that women who cover their head this way are often doing so because they are engaging with a modern, secular world.
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Immigration
Austin is set to become the first sanctuary city in Texas. And in a move that would defy not just Republican orthodoxy but also the Obama administration’s policy on deporting criminal immigrants, the county where Austin sits is on the verge of ending cooperation with the federal government on immigration matters.
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Nuclear detection
A DARPA program aimed at preventing attacks involving radiological “dirty bombs” and other nuclear threats has successfully developed and demonstrated a network of smartphone-sized mobile devices that can detect the tiniest traces of radioactive materials. Combined with larger detectors along major roadways, bridges, other fixed infrastructure, and in vehicles, the new networked devices promise significantly enhanced awareness of radiation sources and greater advance warning of possible threats.
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“Sense of belonging”
Seven young men arrested in Virginia for planning to join ISIS have been described in court as struggling to find work or finish school. “ISIS has done a good job projecting that they are not just about violence,” says one expert. “They know that they’re going to appeal to the young person who’s just pissed off and has had a bad deal. But they also want the dreamer, the North American converts who are virtually clueless about Islam but are beguiled by this fantasy that they’ve bought into.” Joseph Farrokh, 29, who in July was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison, wrote the Judge that ultimately he was attracted to the terror group because its propaganda gave him a “sense of belonging.”
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“Sense of belonging”
Why are we seeing a rash of lone-wolf terrorist attacks in Europe and especially in France, and are measures such as the burkini ban in France effective in countering them? What have we learned from the horrors of the Charlie Hebdo shooting, the murder of 130 people in and around Paris last November, the Bastille Day truck attack in Nice, and the killing of an 85-year-old priest inside of a church in Normandy? How can we hope to prevent future attacks? Security can be heightened, and intelligence efforts can be redoubled, but these measure may not be sufficient. We need to change our focus, to examining these perpetrators’ “sense of belonging” rather than looking for reasons to detain or expel them because they don’t belong.
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Radicalization
Since its launch in June 2015, the George Washington University’s Program on Extremism has contributed research and analysis on violent and non-violent extremism. GW notes the program’s report ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa has been used by policymakers and law enforcement as a trusted source. Now in its second year, program leadership says they will continue to grow as a leading resource of expertise and research on extremism by expanding with new initiatives and hires.
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ISIS
In the most serious blow to ISIS leadership yet, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, the Islamist group’s second-in-command, was killed by a coalition airstrike. The U.S.-led coalition has been systematically going after ISIS leadership. In the last six months airstrikes killed the organization’s No. 4 — finance minister Haji Iman — and No. 3, the group’s defense minister, Omar al-Shishani.
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Countering extremism
On Tuesday, the Hedayah Institute launched its latest compendium and report titled Undermining Violent Extremist Narratives in South East Asia. The report contains practical advice for civil society organizations and practitioners to develop effective narratives that counter the approaches of ISIS, al-Qaeda, Jemaah Islamiyah, and other violent extremists in the region. The guide also contains clear examples of counter-messages, case studies, and links to videos and Web sites that are relevant to supporting the development of counter-narratives.
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Iran deal
The White House’s failure to stop the ongoing slaughter perpetrated by the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad stems from President Barack Obama’s “desire to accommodate Iran” so that last year’s nuclear deal will extend past his administration, the president’s former top Syria adviser charged.
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Colombia
After more than fifty years of armed conflict, and four years of negotiations, the Colombian government and the leftist guerrilla group, the FARC, have reached a final peace agreement. The historic deal looks set to bring to an end the longest running war of recent history. The agreement is cause for huge celebration, but an official end to war with the FARC is only the start of the road to peace. Both ex-guerrillas, and military personnel who may have to leave the armed forces due to budget cuts, will now face the difficulties of a transition into civilian life. Reintegration programs are crucial not only for former combatants but also for those who have served their country for years. Securing peace therefore requires the coordination of all security-related government institutions across ministries, in partnership with the UN, and in line with the protection needs of civilians. This joint effort can boost confidence in tackling both immediate and long-term security challenges, paving the way for the Colombian people to vote “yes” to peace.
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ISIS
The vast areas in Syria and Iraq which came under the control of ISIS in 2014 are dotted with grim reminders of the Islamist group’s brutality. The AP reports that a comprehensive survey by the news agency, using satellite imagery, excavations, mapping, and survivors testimony, has identified seventy-two mass graves in Syria and Iraq – containing up to 15,000 bodies — and that many more such graves will be discovered as the U.S.-led coalition is pushing ISIS back and shrinking the territory under the group’s control.
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Child soldiers
Iraqi government-backed militias have recruited children from at least one displaced persons camp in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to fight against Islamic State forces. “The recruitment of children as fighters for the Mosul operation should be a warning sign for the Iraqi government,” said a senior children’s rights researcher. “The government and its foreign allies need to take action now, or children are going to be fighting on both sides in Mosul.”
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Terrorism
From 2002 through 2015, eighty Americans were killed in terrorist attacks. The fifty-seven killed in 2016 almost equals the total of the previous thirteen years. In 2013, the most recent year for which there are comprehensive statistics from the FBI, 13,716 Americans were murdered, the equivalent of an Orlando massacre every thirty-two hours. In 2014, 32,675 Americans died in car accidents. In other words, the fifty-seven Americans who died in terrorist attacks in 2016 were equal to 0.42 percent of all murders and 0.17 percent of all traffic deaths. Why do the terrorist attacks get so much media coverage? Why is fear of terrorism a major issue in the current election? The reason: victims of domestic terrorism are viewed as casualties in the War on Terror. A relatively few deaths thus become manifestations of a war come home to America. Those few highly publicized deaths provoke levels of fear and anger that make it difficult to think clearly about the actual causes of these crimes and conceive of governmental policies that actually might make prevent future attacks.
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War & sacrifice
In today’s wars, Americans who die or are wounded in battle are disproportionately coming from poorer parts of the country. By analyzing over 500,000 American combat casualties from the Second World War through Iraq and Afghanistan, researchers found growing socioeconomic inequality in military sacrifice.
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European security
Rob Wainwright, the chief of Europol, the EU’s law enforcement agency, said that 200 counter terrorism officers will be deployed to the Greek islands within weeks in an effort to thwart a “strategic”-level campaign by ISIS to infiltrate terrorists into Europe. The new task force will be deployed alongside Greek border guards and use technologies developed by British security forces at Heathrow to help spot potential terrorists.
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Burkini ban
The majority of French mayors who have issued bans on the wearing of burkini on municipal beaches are refusing to lift the restrictions even though France’s highest administrative court on Friday ruled that prohibiting the ban would be a “serious and manifestly illegal violation of fundamental freedoms.” The burkini bans have plunged France into an intense debate about secularism, freedom of religion, and how best to help integrate Muslims into French life and culture.
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The long view
Patriots’ Day: How Far-Right Groups Hijack History and Patriotic Symbols to Advance Their Cause, According to an Expert on Extremism
Extremist groups have attempted to change the meaning of freedom and liberty embedded in Patriots’ Day — a commemoration of the battles of Lexington and Concord – to serve their far-right rhetoric, recruitment, and radicalization. Understanding how patriotic symbols can be exploited offers important insights into how historical narratives may be manipulated, potentially leading to harmful consequences in American society.