Yemen’s Spring: It’s still a mess
The Arab Spring in Yemen has yet to deliver democracy and may have left the country worse for the wear, especially in the short term. Yes, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh finally signed a...
View ArticleAl Qaeda officially welcomes al Shabaab
Al Shabaab is officially an al Qaeda affiliate. This development is not really new, since I and other analysts have assessed that relationship to be real for some time. But for the naysayers, al...
View Article5 reasons to watch Yemen
It seems there’s too much going on in the Arab world to pay attention to Yemen. But President Obama can’t afford to ignore it. Here’s why: 1. It’s the heartland of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula...
View ArticleDefining success against al Qaeda in Yemen
The disruption of the bomb plot from Yemen, details of which continue to leak into the press, is good news (setting aside the wisdom of the unplugged leaking). The last time authorities stopped a bomb...
View ArticleMission not accomplished yet in south Yemen
Last week, Ansar al Sharia militants, insurgent fighters for al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), resumed attacking pro-government positions in an area recently recaptured by Yemen’s military....
View ArticleCountering Ansar al Sharia in Yemen
Success against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen has depended on the redeployment of thousands of Yemeni troops and the emergence of local armed groups willing to fight AQAP’s...
View ArticleSaid al Shihri reported dead
Said al Shihri, the deputy leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), was reported killed today in east Yemen. If true, Shihri’s death would be a significant blow to AQAP’s founding...
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The fall of Kismayo
It is too early to celebrate the defeat of al Shabaab, al Qaeda’s Somalia-based affiliate. Though al Shabaab withdrew from a major stronghold in Kismayo, a port city in southern Somalia, this weekend,...
View ArticleStriking Iran: the target’s in Khartoum
An explosion at the Yarmouk munitions plant in Khartoum, Sudan, killed two people Tuesday. The Sudanese blame Israel, citing residents’ reports of aircrafts or missiles just before the blast and that...
View ArticleQuestions on Mali that policymakers need to be asking
Terrorist attacks in Algeria and French military operations in Mali have raised questions about the impact of ongoing unrest in West Africa on the United States. Al Qaeda’s affiliate in the region, al...
View ArticleAl Qaeda and its affiliates in 2013
Al Qaeda is the terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988. The group’s ideology is founded on the premise that Muslims who follow secular leaders are treating these leaders as gods, and...
View ArticleSpillover from Mali
In a major speech today, President Barack Obama justified the continued use of targeted strikes to combat the al Qaeda network, adding that another part of America’s strategy is to address the...
View ArticleKeep an eye on Somalia
Editor’s note: This post is based on a longer analysis of al Shabaab’s activities in Somalia. To view the full article, please visit www.CriticalThreats.org. Last fall, the withdrawal of al Shabaab, al...
View ArticleThe death of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s deputy leader
The confirmed death of Said al Shihri, the deputy leader of al Qaeda’s virulent affiliate in Yemen, is the most significant blow to the terrorist group since that of Anwar al Awlaki in September 2011....
View ArticleDeadly attacks in Sinai highlight the region’s growing instability
Sunday’s deadly attacks in north Sinai are a reminder of the peninsula’s rising lawlessness since the 2011 fall of the Mubarak regime. Radical Islamist militant groups are taking advantage of the...
View ArticleAl Qaeda’s threat to American interests
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) may be in the final stages of preparing an attack on American interests in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region on August 7, 2013. A number of factors...
View ArticleAl Qaeda’s critical threat
The recent al Qaeda threat is real, though little is known about the exact target of the attack, or where it will occur. A number of factors indicate that the attack initially expected on August 4 may...
View ArticleTaking out al Qaeda one by one? It sounds absurd…because it is.
Two US raids over the weekend – one in Libya and the other in Somalia – suggest a continued emphasis on killing or capturing top al Qaeda operatives in US counterterrorism strategy. But we could kill...
View ArticleAl Qaeda never recognized the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
Al Qaeda’s General Command denied any organizational relationship with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in a release last Sunday. But here’s the kicker: al Qaeda never actually recognized...
View ArticleIf we’re not winning in Yemen, are we really winning against al Qaeda?
CNN published a video clip featuring two al Qaeda leaders – Nasser al Wahayshi, al Qaeda’s number two and the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), and Ibrahim al Rubaish, a former...
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