In the years since Sept. 11, 2001, understanding the Al Qaeda organization—its strategy, ideology and leadership structure—has become a major preoccupation of both scholars and security specialists. Policymakers and legal scholars have debated what legal tools and tactics we should and should not use to defeat the organization. And as the long war that began on 9/11 drags on, defining which precise individuals and groups constitute the group and its allies remains one of the most crucial questions national-security lawyers have to address.
Latest in Al-Qaeda
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence today released a second set of documents recovered during the raid of Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
Barak Mendelsohn examines the quality of the counterterrorism threat analysis work done by the UN's 1267 Committee, also known as the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee.
On this week’s Lawfare Podcast, Gregory Johnsen outlines the current state-of-play in Yemen. Johnsen, who is a writer-at-large for Buzzfeed News, a doctoral candidate at Princeton University, and an all-things-Yemen-expert, walks Ben through the byzantine power politics in Sanaa that led to the conflict now engulfing Yemen and he explains why the war shouldn’t be viewed as just another Sunni-Shia fight.
Clint Watts argues the U.S. should try to fracture the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front in Syria and then negotiate with the splinter groups as a way to secure a more viable ground force against Assad and the Islamic State and halt al-Qaida's advance in Syria.
After an unprecedented 11 months of silence, Ayman al-Zawahri, the emir of al-Qaida, this week issued a video message proclaiming his loyalty to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. The almost 10-minute long message dramatically reaffirms the alliance between al-Qaida and the Taliban, a setback for efforts to bring the Taliban into a political process.
The emir of al-Qaida, Ayman al-Zawahri, has not made any public statements since September 2014. His now 11-month long absence is unprecedented. Next month will be a key test for Zawahri: the anniversary of 9/11—a milestone he has spoken out on for years.
Al-Zawahri was chosen by Osama bin Laden to be his successor. A veteran of 35 years of terrorist plotting, the Egyptian has legitimacy and experience. But he has a lot of other baggage too. He is a poor speaker, prone to ideological fights, and lacks bin Laden's charisma.
Mullah Omar has been dead for two years. So who has Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri been talking to this whole time?
“As has become obvious, the Obama administration’s response to the Syrian crisis is an abject failure.”
The Central Intelligence Agency has released five newly declassified documents related to the Agency's performance before and after the attacks of September 11th, 2001.
During a February congressional hearing on the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, discussion turned—as it invariably does—to the detention facility’s role in jihadist propaganda.