The attacks by ISIS’s Afghan affiliate on Kabul’s international airport called into question the Taliban’s ability to maintain security and keep a lid on the activities of the multiple militant groups in Afghanistan. Long at war with ISIS, the Taliban have promised to ensure that neither it nor other groups with which it maintains better relations […]
Tag: BESA Center
Despite its oft-stated determination to fight terrorism, France has struggled to establish an effective intelligence system and adequate legislation to combat Islamist terrorism, in part due to fears of upsetting its large Muslim population. French sensitivity to Muslim public opinion has led to the creation of a double standard regarding Israel’s fight against terrorism. France’s […]
The Biden administration has accepted the fact that CVID—the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantling of the North Korean nuclear program—will not occur under the Kim Jong-un administration. The time has come to find other realistic options. The North Korean Nuclear Program: The End of CVID? (besacenter.org)
Events in Afghanistan have come full circle, with the Taliban—whose government fell to US military advances in 2001 —regaining power and taking possession of large stores of US arms and ammunition. The culpability of the four successive US administrations that waged this fruitless 20-year war, culminating in an abject political and military capitulation, must be […]
Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s vision for the kingdom’s future will have to toe a fine line between redefining the Saudi social contract and the danger of creating new grievances. Saudi Social and Economic Changes Require a Delicate Balancing Act (besacenter.org)
The attack by ISIS on Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul at the end of August targeted both the American “crusaders” and the Taliban, demonstrating the group’s unwillingness to cooperate with potential Islamist partners as well as its determination to advance toward its global goals (“Caliphate Now”) all by itself. ISIS and Its War on […]
Iran cyberterrorism image by Jorgen Schaefer The Iranian regime has been a considerable threat to global cybersecurity ever since 2012, when it committed cyberattacks on US financial institutions in retaliation for the high-profile Stuxnet attack on its nuclear program. In the wake of the Stuxnet attack, the Tehran regime vastly ramped up its cyber capabilities, transforming […]
Taliban, image by ifpnews CC The American decision to leave Afghanistan to lessen the burden on the domestic economy, protect US troops, boost the nation’s security, and put an end to the “Forever War” in the Middle East has delivered the opposite of all those objectives and made the world a more dangerous place. Afghanistan’s […]
Greek flag flying at Santorini, image by Matt Artz via Unsplash Greece is not generally considered a country with a burgeoning defense industry, but 2020-21 saw it execute a remarkable turnaround. The Greek Defense Industry in the 21st Century: Hope at Last? (besacenter.org)
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, image via Wikimedia Commons The Gulf states will closely monitor the way Russia and China handle the perceived security vacuum in the wake of the US withdrawal and abandonment, for all practical purposes, of Central Asia. They wish to determine to what degree those countries might be viable alternatives for […]
The Palestinian cheers over the “Afghan mujahedeen victory over the American Crusaders” create the impression that in their view, the Taliban are a worthy model to follow to eliminate the “Zionist occupation.” However, a crumbling Lebanon, a Gaza Strip plagued by poverty and unemployment, and Afghanistan itself, now under Taliban rule, do not indicate the […]
The new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, has selected cleric Esmail Khatib as Minister of Intelligence. Khatib is a radical Islamist with close ties to both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. During his tenure, we can expect a more aggressive approach by the Ministry of Intelligence, […]