Stopping the Spread: Can the Islamic State Be Halted in Libya?
As the Islamic State established a pseudo-state across Syria and Iraq, the United States was forced to reengage in the region, putting thousands of troops back into Iraq, launching a large-scale air...
View ArticleStrategic Narratives and the Islamic State
Strategic narratives are often-overlooked instruments of war that possess the capability to enhance conventional operations. In a world where presidential candidates proclaim they will “defeat” and...
View Article#MediaEffects Terrorism
One hashtag at a time, the so-called Islamic State uses social media as a very effective tool. Direct and open access to a large audience enables them to successfully attract foreign fighters and...
View Article3-D Printing and the Islamic State: Pivotal Moment, or More of the Same?
To listen to some policymakers and pundits talk about 3-D printing, it seems to be the harbinger of World War III, a “game-changing” technology that could result in nonstate actors like ISIS becoming...
View ArticleThe Syrian Ceasefire: Deciphering the Chaos
The Syrian military declared on September 20, 2016 that the seven-day, U.S.-Russian brokered ceasefire was over as the government and opposition exchanged accusations over who was responsible for the...
View ArticleCultural Genocide Funds ISIS Art-for-Weapons Trade
The 57th Venice Biennale, which will run from May until November of this year in Italy, will push boundaries with an exhibit featuring 40 artifacts from the Iraq Museum of Baghdad, many of which have...
View ArticleThe Shifting Priorities of Iraq
Almost two and a half years after ISIS took control of Mosul in early June 2014, the Iraqi army launched Operation Fatah, a military campaign aimed at regaining control of the city and its surrounding...
View ArticleNew Approaches to Combating Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in the...
A few months ago, I wrote an article for Charged Affairs examining how a U.S. Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) that incorporates a...
View ArticleLibya’s Grim Future
Last year, Libyan militias supported by U.S. special forces fought to oust the local Islamic State affiliate from the city of Sirte. After a grinding battle, the group was expelled from its primary...
View ArticleThe Hobby Lobby Settlement and Combating Cultural Property Trafficking
On July 5, 2017, prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York announced a settlement with Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. for its purchase and importation of Iraqi artifacts in violation of applicable...
View ArticleOn Egypt, Coptic Christians, and ISIS: Consequences for the Arab Republic
Egypt’s Coptic Christians are the largest group of Christians in the Middle East, and the largest group of Non-Muslims in general. But despite their wide berth and the historically important status of...
View ArticlePost-Caliphate: ISIL and the Dandelion Effect
The withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1989 provoked a type of “dandelion effect” in regards to the dispersion of the foreign fighters who had traveled there to wage war against Russia....
View ArticlePivot from the Middle East
Near the end of 2018, President Trump announced, via Twitter, that the United States would withdraw the roughly 2,000 troops it had deployed to Syria. It is believed that this apparent surprise...
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