Terrorism & Violent Extremism
Counterterrorism
776 Articles

Transparency on Civilian Harm in Somalia Matters – Not Just to Americans
"Under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, much of the commentary on the use of lethal force in counterterrorism operations has focused on the importance of transparency…

A Public-Health Approach to Countering Violent Extremism
The recent horrific attack on two mosques in New Zealand has again prompted criticism that the United States and the international community fail to address violence committed…

Scramble to Erase New Zealand Attack Videos Exposes Pitfalls Too
The white supremacist who attacked two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, created a Facebook livestream of his assault that spread at an alarming rate. At times, YouTube said,…

New Zealand Attacks: A Wake-Up Call to Counter Far-Right Extremist Violence
With the attacks over the last year—including those in Charleston, Pittsburgh, Toronto, and now New Zealand, among many others—it’s time to collectively and unequivocally…

Why Violent Extremism Still Spreads
Since 2001, the international community has spent enormous intellectual and political capital debating and negotiating the definition of violent extremism to design effective strategies…

Homeland Security’s Intelligence Overreach: Two Cases Illustrate Risks to Civil Society
The Department of Homeland Security is deploying its intelligence apparatus against activists, journalists, and human rights lawyers, with no guard rails against abuse in place.…

Trump’s Revocation of Reporting on Lethal Strikes: All Eyes on Congress, Now
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order revoking a section of President Barack Obama’s Executive Order on civilian casualties that required annual reporting…

Counterterrorism and Homeland Security Are Not the Same Thing
Counterterrorism and homeland security are not the same thing. It is not surprising though that the two get intertwined and conflated. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…

Shifted Burdens: The U.S. as Detainer of Last Resort
The United States should resist become a detainer of last resort when states refuse to repatriate their nationals being detained in Syria.

Bringing ISIS to Justice: Running Out of Time?
The international community and key actors in Syria and Iraq need to develop a coherent plan to bring ISIS members to account for war crimes, not just counterterrorism crimes,…

The Status of Guantanamo 17 Years In
Seventeen years ago today, the United States brought twenty Afghan men, alleged to be members of the Taliban or al-Qaeda, to its Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Images of the…

Annotation of the Pentagon Report to Congress on Detainee Abuse by U.S. Partners in Yemen
In a mere two pages of carefully parsed prose, DoD has provided what can only be described as a deliberately misleading and deceptively evasive account of U.S. and Emirati actions…