Understanding The Terrorism And Non-Terrorist Threat Landscape  Syria is a state that represents the most dangerous terrorism/non-terrorism threat landscape in the world. Amazingly, there is scant discussion on how and in what ways the twin variables associated with Syria have complicated U.S. counterterrorism operations in that country. This post examines…

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  President Donald Trump’s decision on December 19, 2018 to withdraw American forces from Syria unleashed a tsunami of piquant criticism. Much of that criticism is described below. At issue, how does the president’s decision inform us about his leadership in the area of counterterrorism? Criticism of Trump’s Withdrawal Decision…

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Following the recapture of Mosul, the second largest city in the country, the government of Iraq issued a proclamation extolling the defeat of The Islamic State. Not long thereafter, the administration of President Donald Trump, following the collapse of the operational headquarters in Raqqa, Syria and in their strong-hold Deir…

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  Understanding the linkage between leadership, strategy, and counterterrorism is important if the United States is to win the war on terrorism. This post explores the four variables that are central to understanding what constitutes an effective counterterrorism strategy. At issue, a central point of this post is how do…

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  Thus far, the administration of Donald Trump has not created and released a National Security Strategy document. Similarly, no official in the administration has delivered a speech outlining the president’s counterterrorism strategy. That said, there is available evidence of what constitutes components of a counterterrorism strategy. This post outlines…

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  This post addresses an increasingly and disturbing popular belief: once the Islamic State is defeated in Raqqa, their operational hub, the transnational terrorist group will no longer pose a threat. The post will argue the Islamic State still poses a significant threat to regional and global security. Background On…

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