Tag Archive | Terrorism

HRH The Queen meets deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at private audience in Hillsborough Castle this evening.
Photo by Aaron McCracken/Harrisons

Martin McGuinness and the Not so Uncommon Transition from Terrorist to Statesman

With the death of Martin McGuinness, the former Provisional IRA senior commander  turned peace-maker and Deputy First Minister, one is struck that such a transition was simultaneously, impressive and outrageous. I had the opportunity of meeting McGuinness last January when I interviewed him. I was struck by his warmth and generosity in taking time out […]

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Posted in Conflict, Europe, Security Issues, Terrorism, UK News, World

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Reviving Islamic Epistemology as a Solution to Jihadi Terrorism

I do not pretend to have a silver bullet solution to the problem of Islamic terrorism. A successful strategy against Islamic terrorist organisations would encompass a re-organisation of geopolitical alliances in the Middle East, effective military actions, and socio-economic changes (fairer distribution of resources, better education, etc.) in the majority of Muslim nations. On the […]

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Posted in Conflict, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Saudi Arabia, Security Issues, Terrorism, World

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Reassessing the Impact of State Terrorism

Mass media and politicians often describe terrorism as one of the greatest security threats to international society. These bold claims have contributed towards an unquestioned belief that terrorism has become a grave threat to our everyday lives. The sporadic and murderous nature of terrorism has been a powerful influence on public threat perception. However, the […]

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Posted in Conflict, Europe, Latin America, Security Issues, Terrorism, US, World

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From Terror to Deliberation

The United Kingdom has been shaken by four terror attacks in three months. Three were carried out by ISIS supporters and the latest was the result of anti-Muslim sentiments. These attacks follow a number of jihadi attacks in other European countries: France, Belgium, Germany and Sweden. The recurrence of these events (and often their low-tech […]

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Posted in Europe, Islam, Religion, Security Issues, Terrorism, World

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In Defence of Belgian Counterterror Policy

On March 22nd 2016 the two consecutive bombings at the Brussels’ Zaventem airport and the Maalbeek metro station brought Belgian counterterrorism policy under heavy scrutiny. With the Paris attacks foreshadowing an impending threat, the Belgian security alert had been raised to critical levels since November 2015. Yet in spite of warnings from numerous countries, the […]

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Posted in Europe, European Union, Security Issues, Terrorism, World

Image by Abode of Chaos

Should We Empathize With Extremists?

When U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested in a recent Security Council speech that an Israeli drive to build settlements beyond its territory partly fueled Palestinian extremism, it drew ire from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “There is no justification for terror,” responded Netanyahu. “The comments of the U.N. Secretary-General encourage terror.” In the epochal ‘war […]

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Posted in Islam, Israel, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Middle East, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World

Image by Ali Khamenei website

Getting the Facts Straight About Iran

Critics of Iran Thus far, the Trump administration has adopted a harsher stance towards Iran than the Obama Administration. In a recent press statement, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reiterated the common statement that “Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terror”. More recently in Astana, the agreement between Russia, Turkey, and Iran to create […]

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Posted in Iran, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Middle East, Political Security, Saudi Arabia, Terrorism, World

Image by noborder network

Mediterranean Migration Reveals Flaws in Dublin Convention

John Donne famously reminded us that ‘no man is an island’. Likewise in today’s polycentric, ever-globalized, and interconnected world, no state can remain untouched by social, economic, or political influences from neighbouring states. As terrible as Islamic State has been for people living in Syria, Iraq and Libya, its effects on Europe are also increasingly being felt. […]

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Posted in Africa, Conflict, Economic Security, Europe, Germany, Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Refugees, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, UN, World

"Castillia" by Unknown - cantigas de santa maria. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castillia.jpg#/media/File:Castillia.jpg

The Forerunners of ISIS

The recent creation and sudden conquests of the so-called “Islamic State” have astonished policy-makers, military strategists, and foreign affairs analysts. The self-proclaimed caliphate of Abû al-Baghdâdi went from a broken outfit of Iraqi insurgents to a feared theocracy that currently threatens the established order of the Middle East. One can be forgiven for thinking such a movement as being […]

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Posted in Africa, Culture, Education, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Terrorism, World

Image by quapan

Was ISIS Inevitable?

ISIS’ exploits dominate headlines, horrifying witnesses around the world. As a history graduate who specialised in researching the rise of Islam, its culture, and its creation of a complex and inspiring civilisation, the recent destruction of millennia old artefacts have almost reduced me to tears. As we now watch and condemn the destruction of priceless […]

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Posted in Conflict, Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Political Security, Refugees, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World

Image by Bernabeu

The overlooked story of Syria’s Yarmouk death camp

A brave 12-year-old girl named Zeynab Daghastani recently attempted to escape the grim living conditions of a besieged Palestinian refugee camp in Syria. Starving and bone-tired, she did not make it very far before being shot and killed by an ISIS sniper. Welcome to Yarmouk. On April 1st, a group of ISIS’s mask-wearing jihadists swept through the […]

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Posted in Conflict, Humanitarian Intervention, Israeli Palestinian Conflict, Middle East, Political Security, Refugees, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, UN, US, World

Image by Abode of Chaos

ISIS and The Illusion of Power

It can be difficult to stay optimistic about peace while an atmosphere of gloom permeates the contemporary Middle East, particularly in Iraq and Syria. It is nearly impossible to watch the news without being inundated by provocative visuals of ISIS’s atavistic executions of U.S. journalists and perplexed by ISIS’s seemingly uncanny ability to recruit Westerners. […]

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Posted in Conflict, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Syria, Terrorism, US, World

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Fighting Terrorism Means Fighting Poverty

Three weeks ago, a Taliban commander named Mohammad Ashan turned himself in to Afghan police. Ashan had noticed wanted posters around his native Paktika province promising a $100 bounty for his capture, and he surrendered himself hoping to collect it. Needless to say, he collected nothing and was detained on the spot. Ashan’s comically simple […]

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Posted in Economic Security, Food Security, Middle East, Security Issues, Terrorism, World

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Iraq in 2015: An Interview with Iraq Analyst Joel Wing

Robert Tollast sits down with Joel Wing, author of the excellent Musings on Iraq blog, to discuss the coming year in Iraq. Joel has made his blog an expansive online resource for Iraq analysis and it is now one of the main on-line forums for academic discussion of Iraq, recently hosting a 24 expert review of the […]

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Posted in Conflict, Interviews, Iraq, Middle East, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, World

Photo by AfghanistanMatters

Radicalism in the Modern World

The main source of hostility in the modern world is the widening gap between the most and least developed segments of human civilization. While some societies are exploring potential life on other planets, life has not changed much for others over the past millennium. Unlike in previous centuries, the permeation of modern day technologies makes […]

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Posted in Asia, China, Conflict, Europe, Security Issues, Terrorism, World

Image by DVIDSHUB

Why Are Humanitarian Workers Targeted?

Why are humanitarian workers targeted? On World Humanitarian Day this year the United Nations reported that in various conflict zones in 2013, 155 aid workers were killed, 171 were injured and 134 were taken as captives. We have to ask, what is the justification for such acts? Let us begin with the illegal occupation of […]

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Posted in Humanitarian Intervention, Iraq, Islam, Middle East, Religion, Security Issues, Syria, Terrorism, UN, World


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