Critical threats

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Tehran masters the art of managed democracy

Will Fulton | June 14, 2013, 4:02 pm

The Iranian elections are underway and — according to anecdotal and official reporting — no major surprises thus far. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei voted early at the Imam Khomeini hosseiniyeh in Tehran and reiterated the importance of participating in the … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Iranian elections: Bad guys still winning

Will Fulton | June 11, 2013, 11:57 am

The past few days have seen two of the eight players in the Iranian presidential election theater exit stage right. Former speaker of parliament and father-in-law to the supreme leader’s son Mojtaba, Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel, withdrew in favor of his … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

Keep an eye on Somalia

Katherine Zimmerman | June 10, 2013, 2:29 pm

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 Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia, from a major port … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

Top Taliban leader killed in Pakistan: Analyzing the impact

Reza Jan | May 30, 2013, 7:45 pm

Today, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) officially confirmed the death of its deputy leader, Wali-ur-Rehman, in yesterday’s drone strike in northwest Pakistan and announced that the group was completely disengaging from potential peace talks with the incoming Pakistani government. The collapse … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

Drone kills top Taliban leader

Reza Jan | May 30, 2013, 10:14 am

Wali-ur-Rehman, top Pakistani Taliban leader and al Qaeda ally, was reportedly killed on May 29 in a US drone strike. His death is a serious blow to the enemy and will have a significant impact on the Pakistani Taliban’s leadership. … read more >

Image Credit: Official White House Photo by Pete Souza (Wikimedia Commons)

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

The overlooked threat in Yemen

Sasha Gordon | May 23, 2013, 3:40 pm

President Obama’s speech on terrorism today overlooked the important fact that the central pillar of our counter-terrorism policy in Yemen is failing badly. American drone strikes there have always been very limited in number and even in impact — success … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Terrorism

Spillover from Mali

Katherine Zimmerman | May 23, 2013, 3:26 pm

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 underlying grievances that allow groups within the network … read more >

Image Credit: sajed.ir (Wikimedia Commons)

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

In Iranian elections, regime stability is king

Will Fulton | May 22, 2013, 4:51 pm

Iran announced yesterday the final list of candidates deemed qualified to run in the country’s upcoming presidential election. The results indicate that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his supporters have positioned themselves to further consolidate their power. The Guardian Council … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, Middle East and North Africa

Latest IAEA report on Iran depressingly familiar

Maseh Zarif | May 22, 2013, 3:48 pm

The new International Atomic Energy Agency report on Iran’s nuclear program—at least the elements of the program that inspectors are given limited access to—reads much like previous quarterly reports in its demonstration of an unrelenting adversary and a failing strategy. … read more >

Foreign and Defense Policy, AfPak

Karachi violence emblematic of Pakistan’s instability

Reza Jan | May 20, 2013, 5:36 pm

All is not well in the City of Lights, as Pakistan’s major metropolis, Karachi, is known. The murder of a senior political party worker on May 18 underscores the unrest wracking the city in the wake of recent elections, and … read more >