Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1 to 10 of about 17
The move to block Finland’s and Sweden’s bids threatens the relationship between Ankara and the West.
Foreign assistance from the West must move beyond a narrow counterterrorism focus and governments in the region need to cooperate and demonstrate the resolve to tackle the root causes of the chaos.
While recent U.S. drone strikes in Yemen have been successful, Washington can’t rely on a remote control to defeat terrorism. Improving governance and the lives of Yemenis will do more to reduce violence than drones ever will.
U.S. policy toward Pakistan may have had the unintended effect of empowering Pakistan’s military and intelligence services at the expense of the country’s political future.
Washington and Riyadh have enjoyed a successful relationship in combating global terror and Saudi Arabia is remarkably effective in containing the terrorist threat—but if the country loses focus on this priority, terrorism could come back with a vengeance.
The killing of Osama bin Laden and recent U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan have added stress to an already tense bilateral relationship, which is compounded by Pakistan’s increasing problems from militants at home.
Lashkar-e-Taiba has gained prominence as one of the world’s most fearsome terrorist groups. Pakistan needs to explore programs for deradicalization of its members, or at least disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration.
The sooner Yemen can move past the current political crisis, the sooner its serious challenges of poor governance, unemployment, resource depletion, and a collapsing economy can be tackled.
While the ideology of violence and terrorism has peaked and is visibly on the way down in the Middle East and North Africa, the war on al-Qaeda and terror is far from over.
Ten years ago, the USS Cole was bombed off the coast of Yemen. Since then, the situation in Yemen has deteriorated. Washington must take a balanced approach and rely on both short-term counterterrorism operations and long-term development assistance.