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591. CTTA: Counter Terrorist Trends and Analysis Year End Report 2010

Author:
Rohan Gunaratna Gunaratna
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:
Transnational terrorism is likely to remain the most profound threat in 2011. Politically motivated groups that seek to legitimize their thinking and actions by using, misusing and misinterpreting the religious text , will continue to dominate the global threat landscape. While homegrown and group terrorism are likely to remain at the forefront, homegrown terrorism in particular will continue to be a formidable challenge for security. There will also be more pressure for Western military troops in Afghanistan, both in combat and support roles, to return home due to the decreasing public support for the war and domestic political considerations.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Terrorism, International Security, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Pakistan and Afghanistan

592. Terrorist Awakening in Sweden?

Author:
Dr. Magnus Ranstorp
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
CTC Sentinel
Institution:
The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point
Abstract:
For decades, sweden has been regarded as the relative backwater of international terrorism. Even Usama bin Ladin had mentioned Sweden as immune from terrorism in an al-Jazira broadcast in October 2004. This sense of immunity was shattered twice in December 2010. First, a suicide bomber struck in the Nordic countries for the first time ever on December 11. The Swedish security service, Säkerhetspolisen (SÄPO), had no record of the bomber before the attack, as he had studied and lived for a decade in the United Kingdom. At the same time, he admitted he had traveled to Iraq to perform jihad. Second, four Swedes were arrested later that month for planning to conduct a protracted Mumbai-style attack on the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in Copenhagen, Denmark. The men were arrested after driving from Sweden to Copenhagen to execute the attack. Third, SÄPO produced a report on violent.Islamist extremism which outlined that it had identified about 200 extremists in Sweden; more than 80% were socially connected, and most lived inside the three major cities of Sweden, with more than half residing in Stockholm.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Iraq, United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Mumbai

593. Playing Ostrich: Lessons Learned from South Africa's Response to Terrorism

Author:
Hussein Solomon
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
South Africa has come to occupy a central node in global terror networks in recent years. Despite growing evidence of the risks posed, South Africa has been slow to adopt and implement a more robust counterterrorism policy. Creating the political will to address this threat will require independent oversight of national intelligence efforts and an objective assessment of the terrorism risk in order to make counterterrorism a national priority.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, London, and Zambia

594. Chronology of India Relations with US and East Asia:January – December 2010

Author:
Brad Glosserman and Carl Baker
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Comparative Connections
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Jan. 19-20, 2010: US Secretary of Defense Gates visits India. He praises India for its “statesman like” behavior following the Mumbai terrorist attacks, refers to a “syndicate” of terrorism, and assures India that the US would not depart from Afghanistan precipitously. Jan. 19-20, 2010: Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai holds talks with Myanmar about cooperation on the insurgency situation in northeast India. Jan. 19-23, 2010: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak makes a state visit to India, the first in six years by a Malaysian leader. Jan. 24-26, 2010: President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea (ROK) makes a state visit to India as the chief guest at India"s annual Republic Day celebration. March 3-4, 2010: Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith visits India for bilateral discussions and addresses the safety of Indian students studying in Australia.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, India, East Asia, Australia, Korea, and Myanmar

595. Separating the Taliban from al-Qaeda: The Core of Success in Afghanistan

Author:
Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
For much of the international community, relations between the Taliban and al-Qaeda – as well as the Taliban's ties to the wider universe of jihadist groups – pose the core obstacle to including the Islamist movement in a possible political settlement in Afghanistan. Can the Taliban become part of a political process without offering refuge to al-Qaeda, its affiliates, and other groups posing an international threat? Today the Afghan Taliban collaborate in some ways with al- Qaeda and other jihadist groups. Whether such relations result from the context – the need for assistance against a powerful enemy – or are based on principles or ideology affects how possible it is to change this collaboration. Such an assessment requires examining empirical evidence in context. This report represents a summary of our efforts to date.
Topic:
Islam, Terrorism, Insurgency, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

596. Global Security and Regional Responses: Conflict Management in a Fractured World

Author:
Philipp Annawitt
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
On 13-14 December 2009 the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) co-hosted a workshop jointly with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Washington, DC, and the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs, Carleton University, Canada. The workshop was co-financed by the Swiss Government and the International Development Research Council, Ottawa.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Globalization, Terrorism, Weapons of Mass Destruction, International Security, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Kyrgyzstan

597. Covering and Countering Extremism in Pakistan's Developing Media

Author:
Hannah Byam and Christopher Neu
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
With a rise in terrorist activity spreading fear through highly publicized attacks, Pakistan's media landscape has increasingly been used as a battleground between those seeking to promote violent conflict and others seeking to manage or deter it. Pakistan's media community has not yet developed an adequate or widely accepted strategy for responding to this context of persistent extremism and conflict. The rapid rise of extremist radio stations in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) provinces has paralleled an increase in terrorist attacks, facilitated by affordable access to FM radio, loose government regulation of broadcast media and militant control of pockets in KPK and FATA. Negative media attitudes toward the Pakistan-U.S. relationship often reflect national political differences and market incentives for sensationalist coverage. These attitudes can be transformed through changes in the diplomatic relationship between the countries based on open communication rather than institutional media reform.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Political Violence, Terrorism, and Mass Media
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, and Asia

598. The Foreign Fighter Phenomenon: Islam and Transnational Militancy

Author:
Thomas Hegghammer
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
A salient feature of armed conflict in the Muslim world since 1980 has been the involvement of so-called foreign fighters. These foreign fighters are unpaid combatants with no apparent link to the conflict other than religious affinity with the Muslim side. Since 1980, between 10,000 and 30,000 such fighters have inserted themselves into conflicts from Bosnia in the west to the Philippines in the east.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Middle East, Philippines, and Arabia

599. Secret Weapon: High-value Target Teams as an Organizational Innovation

Author:
Christopher J. Lamb and Evan Munsing
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
This study argues that interagency teams were a major catalyst in turning around the Iraq War, and that they will disappear from America's arsenal unless the knowledge base supporting the innovation can be secured. Most explanations credit the dramatic reduction in violence in Iraq between 2007 and 2008 to new U.S. leadership, the surge in U.S. forces, and/or U.S. financial support to Sunni tribal leaders. In contrast, we argue that the United States employed an underappreciated organizational innovation—interagency teams—to put insurgent clandestine organizations on the defensive and give population security measures a chance to take effect.
Topic:
Intelligence, Terrorism, Insurgency, Counterinsurgency, and Population
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and America

600. West Africa's Growing Terrorist Threat: Confronting AQIM's Sahelian Strategy

Author:
Modibo Goïta
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
A sustained upsurge in the frequency of kidnappings, attacks, arrests, and bombings in the Sahel in the past several years has heightened concerns that al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is gaining traction in West Africa. Indeed, AQIM now has a substantial presence over vast stretches of the Sahel. A low-intensity terrorist threat that once lingered on the margins is now worsening at an escalating rate.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
West Africa