Terrorism

While the Sisi government's increasingly repressive trajectory remains a concern, the ongoing deterioration of Egypt's internal security is the more immediate threat, and U.S. policy should be adjusted accordingly.

Hamas has long sought to stymie Egyptian control over the peninsula and keep its weapons smuggling routes open, but its latest opportunistic gamble on local jihadists carries wider dangers that should be nipped in the bud by sponsors Turkey and Qatar.

Washington has an abundance of information about the group's ideology, targets, and media campaigns, but the challenge lies in figuring out what to do with all the data, both strategically and militarily.

The group's much-vaunted media machine seems to have slowed down over the past half year, suggesting that military efforts against its forces are taking a toll.

The tragic success of recent terrorist attacks shows that the group has not so much changed its strategy as learned from its past failures, so the West must now focus on limiting its external operational capabilities.

A top State Department official discusses the U.S. government's efforts to mobilize a more preventive and holistic approach to the urgent challenge of countering violent extremism.

Whether the Paris terrorists were funded by their own activities in Europe or ISIS revenues from Syria and Iraq, the fact remains that small sums of money can facilitate painfully successful attacks, so cutting off the group's finances is no panacea.

With a limited ground force, increased airstrikes, and more reasonable rules of engagement, the United States and its allies could establish safe zones where interim government could be established and moderate forces could be trained to control territory once the Islamic State is expelled.

Read or an in-depth conversation on the fifteen-year history of ISIS and its predecessor groups, and the potential future of the so-called 'Islamic State,' with three leading scholars of jihadist terrorism.