• Tunisian police deliberately delayed responding to 2015 terrorist massacre at beach resort

    An inquest into the shooting rampage in Tunisia that killed thirty Britons and other victims, was told that Tunisian security forces deliberately slowed down responding to the terrorist attack on holidaymakers in a beach hotel. A local investigation in Tunisia criticized the police for stalling on purpose as they made their way to the scene of the killings.

  • Six years after first attempt, fight over anti-sanctuary cities bill has changed

    Bills targeting “sanctuary cities” failed to pass the Texas Legislature in 2011 and 2015, but similar efforts this session have better chances of making it to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk.

  • Whether or not Trump claims are true, Russia is still using sex for spying

    Plenty of observers have justifiably questioned the accuracy of the story about the dossier the Russian intelligence services are supposed to be holding, a dossier allegedly containing compromising personal and business information about Donald Trump. The story’s claims are, after all, both remarkably lurid and conveniently topical, and it is notably light on specific sources. Whatever the truth regarding allegations against Trump, sexual entrapment was, and is, a tool frequently used by the Soviet intelligence services and their modern-day Russian descendants. The claims in the dossier are lurid and unproven, but they draw on very real precedents.

  • High likelihood of large-scale terrorist attacks in 2017: WEF

    The World Economic Forum (WEF) said that large-scale terrorist attacks – not only lone-wolf attacks — are among the likely threats for which states must prepare in 2017. This is the first time large-scale terrorist attacks have made it to the WEF’s annual “Global Risks” report since the report was first launched a dozen years ago:

  • Uranium deal raises concerns about Iran’s nuclear ambitions

    A deal to provide Iran with stockpiles of natural uranium that “significantly exceed” its needs raises concerns about the nature of Tehran’s nuclear program, Olli Heinonen, the former deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said.

  • Russia waging disinformation war against Sweden: Report

    Researchers from the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Sweden’s leading foreign policy institute, have written that Russia has been using fake news, false documents, and disinformation as part of a coordinated campaign to influence public opinion and decision-making in Sweden. The Russian meddling in Swedish politics, and the methods used by Russian intelligence agencies to influence the tone of Swedish public discourse and direction of Swedish public policies, are similar to the methods and goals of the Putin government in interfering in the U.S. 2016 presidential election in support of Donald Trump.

  • Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) database released

    The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) has released its latest data tool, the Profiles of Individual Radicalization in the United States (PIRUS) dataset. PIRUS is a cross-sectional, quantitative dataset of individuals in the United States who radicalized to the point of violent or non-violent ideologically motivated criminal activity, or ideologically motivated association with a foreign or domestic extremist organization from 1948 until 2013.

  • Venezuela’s new VP is a suspected drug smuggler with ties to Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah

    The newly appointed vice president of Venezuela is suspected by American intelligence of drug smuggling as well as close ties to Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah. The appointment of Tareck El Aissami, formerly the governor of Aragua state, means that he could become the country’s president if the increasingly embattled Nicholas Maduro is recalled or steps down.

  • In Argentina, the tide slowly turns against Iranian terror

    A glimmer of hope in the fight against Iranian-backed terrorism shone forth from Argentina during the final days of 2016. A federal appeals court ruled that former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner will face a new investigation over allegations that she and her close colleagues made a secret pact with the Iranian regime over the probe into the July 1994 bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires.

  • Want to challenge Trump on immigration? Try a strategy from the antebellum South By Anna O. Law

    Immigrant communities and their advocates are gearing up to challenge President-elect Donald Trump’s proposals for immigration policy. The U.S. federal system structure of government may be their best defense. Trump has said he will deport two to three million immigrants with criminal records. To find, apprehend, legally process, incarcerate, and return that many people to their home countries would require the cooperation of local law enforcement. Only 5,700 immigration enforcement agents work the entire geographical U.S. Although states and localities cannot evade enforcement of federal laws, they can refuse to cooperate with federal authorities in carrying out mass deportation.

  • Hamas terrorist gives Israel intel on tunnels, use of Gaza hospitals as military bases

    The brother of a senior Hamas official gave Israeli officials information about Hamas’ extensive use of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for military purposes. On Sunday, Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal warned that the Gaza-based terrorist group is continuing to build up its arsenal and develop its tunnel infrastructure in preparation for another war against Israel.

  • U.S. imposes sanctions on Russia for interfering in 2016 U.S. election

    The United States on Thursday has unveiled a series of retaliatory measures against Russia for its interference in the U.S. 2016 presidential campaign. The goal of the Russian hacking campaign was to help Donald Trump win the election and, more generally, compromise and corrupt the American political process. The retaliatory measures include the expulsion of thirty-five Russian diplomats and the closure of two Russian compounds based the United States. In a statement, President Barack Obama said Americans should “be alarmed by Russia’s actions” and pledged further action.

  • Algeria says 54,457 Algerians involved in terrorism since 1992

    The Algerian justice ministry said that nearly 55,000 people accused of committing “terrorist offences” have faced legal proceedings in Algeria since the country’s bloody civil war in the 1990s. This was the first time the Algerian authorities openly discussed such numbers. The government uses the term “terrorists” for members of armed Islamist militias. These militias launched a vicious war against the country’s military and police – and against moderate s Algerians – in 1992, after the government cancelled the second round of the parliamentary elections for fear that the Islamist would win a majority.

  • Nuclear expert: Newly revealed side deals let Iran violate nuke deal limits without penalty

    Newly disclosed side agreements to the nuclear deal with Iran reveal that the Islamic Republic is allowed to exceed limits on its nuclear-related stockpiles without penalty, a leading nuclear expert said. The documents recently released by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, show that Iran can declare certain amounts of low-enriched uranium (LEU) “unrecoverable.” This designation ensures that the material, which Iran has promised not to build a facility to recover, will not count against its 300 kilogram limit on LEU.

  • Trump Towers or Trump Targets?

    Donald Trump’s election ushers in a new challenge for homeland security and counterterrorism both at home and abroad. Trump owns, has a stake in, or has lent his name to scores of properties all over the United States and the world. A terrorist could decide to target a Trump Tower in Stuttgart, a Trump hotel in South Korea, or a Trump golf resort in Dubai. A terrorist might even decide to target the famous carousel in Central Park, which Trump also owns. These are “soft targets” without any of the serious security measures surrounding American embassies or other government buildings. Even better (for the terrorists), most of these targets have the president’s name on them in huge letters. Clearly the symbolic damage of such an attack would be immense.