Terrorism

Policy Analysis on Terrorism

Losing Mosul, Regenerating in Diyala: How the Islamic State Could Exploit Iraq's Sectarian Tinderbox

Diyala offers a look into the near-future of Iraq’s security situation in areas where ethnosectarian tensions are neglected or even exacerbated by government policies and the presence of uncontrolled militias.

Oct 25, 2016

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Michael Knights
Alex Almeida

Articles & Testimony

Hezbollah's Criminal Networks: Useful Idiots, Henchmen, and Organized Criminal Facilitators

Hezbollah's broad web of shady 'facilitators' provide an attractive means of quickly moving and laundering massive amounts of illicit money, but they also reveal the supposed 'resistance' group as the criminal enterprise it has become.

Oct 25, 2016

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Matthew Levitt

Multimedia

Brief Analysis

The Evolution of Terrorism Financing: Disrupting the Islamic State

Watch a conversation with the Treasury Department's top coordinator for combating terrorist financing as he explains how Washington is countering the Islamic State's wealth and fundraising.

Oct 21, 2016

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Daniel L. Glaser

◆ Counterterrorism Lecture Series

Articles & Testimony

Brand Control Is More Important to ISIS Than Territory

The group's pioneering use of jihadist social media and communications ensures that its message will continue resonating well past the loss of Mosul and other strongholds.

Oct 21, 2016

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Jacob Olidort

Brief Analysis

Beware of Muqtada al-Sadr

Oct 19, 2016

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Phillip Smyth

Articles & Testimony

The Liberation of Mosul Will Go Better Than You Think

But kicking out the Islamic State and keeping the peace are two very different things, so longer-term coalition support will be needed.

Oct 17, 2016

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Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

Hezbollah's Women Aren't Happy

As their sons and 'temporary husbands' are ripped from them to fight a proxy war in Syria, grieving mothers and brides are compensated with empty promises, poverty, and threats, heightening communal frustrations to the point of explosion.

Oct 12, 2016

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Hanin Ghaddar

Video

Brief Analysis

The Road to Mosul: Reports from the Field

Two longtime veterans of American military operations in Iraq share their assessments of the campaign against the Islamic State as Iraqi forces prepare to liberate the city of Mosul.

Oct 11, 2016

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William F. Mullen
Daniel Green

Articles & Testimony

Fatah's Civil War

The killing of Ahmed Halawa highlights the complex web of rivalries, political calculations, and security fears driving recent West Bank power dynamics.

Sep 29, 2016

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Neri Zilber

Brief Analysis

What Trump and Clinton Said (and Didn't Say) About the Middle East

With a few exceptions, the candidates focused more on debating the past than offering ideas and prescriptions for today's Middle East challenges.

Sep 27, 2016

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Robert Satloff

Brief Analysis

Clinton vs. Trump on Key Middle East Issues: Prepping for the Debate

Read what both candidates and their parties have said about Syria, ISIS, the Iran nuclear deal, U.S.-Israel relations, and host of other pressing regional issues.

Sep 22, 2016

Articles & Testimony

The New York Bomber Was Not a Lone Wolf

America's latest terrorist incident shows why the preferred metaphor to describe such attacks is usually a contradiction in terms.

Sep 21, 2016

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Matthew Levitt

Multimedia

Brief Analysis

How Technology Has Transformed the Terrorist Threat Fifteen Years After 9/11

Watch senior FBI official Michael Steinbach as he details the new borderless threats from terrorists, and how law enforcement is changing the way it does business.

Sep 21, 2016

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Michael Steinbach

◆ Counterterrorism Lecture Series

Articles & Testimony

The Islamic State's 'Homo Jihadus'

The group's use of children as suicide bombers highlights its broader indoctrination practices, which mirror many of the mundane techniques used in normal educational curricula.

Sep 18, 2016

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Jacob Olidort

Articles & Testimony

The Flow of Islamist Fighters From Egypt to Syria, and the Sisi Government's Crackdown

Recent reports and interviews highlight the various factors that may have driven hundreds of Muslim Brothers to Syria -- and the problems they face in returning home.

Sep 17, 2016

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Eric Trager

Brief Analysis

Judging Kerry's 'Secret' Syria Agreement with Russia

While maintaining secrecy might be a way to get the agreement off the ground, convincing the parties to implement its terms, fight terrorism, and end the war will require much more transparency, particularly regarding Assad's future.

Sep 15, 2016

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Andrew J. Tabler

Video

Brief Analysis

The Military Campaign Against the Islamic State: An Assessment

Two years into Operation Inherent Resolve, where does the U.S. campaign to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State stand?

Sep 14, 2016

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Michael Knights
James Jeffrey
Michael Eisenstadt
Andrew J. Tabler

Articles & Testimony

Cracks Start to Show in Jordan

Embarrassing counterterrorism lapses and corruption revelations over the past year demonstrate that the kingdom's security cannot be taken for granted.

Sep 13, 2016

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David Schenker

Articles & Testimony

After ISIS: A New ISIS

Even after the group is defeated in Iraq and Syria, it will maintain the intellectual arsenal it has constructed for its supporters, so the U.S. should prepare for the next stage of the fight accordingly.

Sep 8, 2016

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Jacob Olidort

In-Depth Reports

The Rise of ISIL:

Counterterrorism Lectures 2015

As authorities scramble to prepare for the ways in which the Islamic State threat will continue to evolve, many lessons can be learned by looking at the factors that led to its rise. This seventh volume of Counterterrorism Lectures traces ISIL's evolution during 2015.

Aug 29, 2016

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Matthew Levitt

◆ Counterterrorism Lecture Series

Supported by the

Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence

The Washington Institute's Jeanette and Eli Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence serves as Washington's premier center for the study of international terrorism.

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Featured experts

Matthew Levitt

Matthew Levitt is the Fromer-Wexler Senior Fellow and director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute.

Devorah Margolin

Devorah Margolin is the Blumenstein-Rosenbloom Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Aaron Y. Zelin

Aaron Y. Zelin is the Gloria and Ken Levy Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy where his research focuses on Sunni Arab jihadi groups in North Africa and Syria as well as the trend of foreign fighting and online jihadism.

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Policy Analysis on Terrorism

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