AIDemocracy.org | terrorism

“Hold Your Reaction”

April 24, 2013 by AIDemocracy Leave a Comment

By Carla Issa, Hope not Hate fellow “I smelled smoke and saw everyone running.” Just two days after Monday’s bombings these were the comments of a three-year-old girl who stood steps away from the finish line minutes before the bombs went off. This little girl and her family will remember Monday’s events forever and rightfully so, as they barely made it out alive. As for the rest of us, we will remember in one way or another, but only until another “breaking news” story flashes across our screens. As we learn more about the suspects, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured, Hope Not Hate Tagged With: Boston, hope not hate, interfaith, terrorism

What You Drone Know

January 31, 2013 by Robin Schwartz 1 Comment

As the United States military is preparing to establish a drone base in northwest Africa, the United Nations announced it has begun an investigation into the legality of President Barack Obama's drone policy. The U.S. drone program is seeking to expand to northern Africa in response to the increase of Al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist organizations in the region. Currently, officials have stated they only foresee flying unarmed surveillance drones from the base, although they have not ruled out the possibility of conducting missile strikes in the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Drone warfare, drones, Obama, terrorism, United Nations

The key to a successful Syrian insurgency

March 1, 2012 by Ron 5 Comments

Syrians protest the Assad regime in Damascus

While the violence in Syria rages on, the calls for intervention falls on deaf ears. Why? Activists claim that there is no "interest" in Syria (read oil). I completely disagree (though not about the oil part...). Syria is a key piece in the Middle Eastern puzzle. Syria borders Iraq, and has been sending foreign fighters to instigate violence in the country. Syria also borders Israel, a vital US ally in the region, and has instigated attacks there as well. While the Cold War is over, there is still an emphasis on countering Russian influence, and Syria … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: assad, bashar al assad, civil war, insurgency, rebels, Syria, terrorism

Small Yet Agile; The US Military in 2020

February 4, 2012 by Ana Ila 2 Comments

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced plans for changes that the US military will undergo due to the current budget cuts. According to Secretary Panetta, US forces will be more tech-centric and more rapidly deployable. As previously announced, the Pentagon will decrease spending by $487 billion over the next ten years. Savings would start in 2013, and defense budget would be cut every year, adding up to the $487 billion by the tenth year. The military will undergo several changes, the first being an increase in mobility. The US military … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Aid Workers, economy, Europe, military, security, Somalia, terrorism, US military, war

Too early for Taliban negotiations?

January 30, 2012 by Emily 2 Comments

“Our jihad has two targets. One is America and the other is the Foreign Ministry of the Taliban.” In his statement before the 9/11 attacks, Osama bin Laden exemplified the incongruity between Taliban members who once harbored bin Laden and members of their Foreign Ministry, the branch which with the U.S. has historically negotiated. Today, America is once again hoping to engage the Taliban through negotiations with the Afghan government. Given the reality of America’s past attempts with the Taliban, it may seem rash to restart negotiations, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: 9/11, Afghanistan, Government, Guantanamo Bay, Islam, Middle East, NATO, Obama, Pakistan, Peace, security, Taliban, terrorism, United States

U.S. Foreign Policy Alternatives in Iran Part 2: expanding upon recent success

January 9, 2012 by Emily 1 Comment

While President Obama’s new economic sanctions have already hit Iran’s oil sector, America and other states - both in the West and the Middle East - must continue to apply pressure if they wish to halt the growth of Iran’s nuclear program. First, America should continue to target specific financial institutions that directly support Iranian nuclear proliferation or terrorist groups. For example, America needs to pursue sanctions on banks Melli, Mellat, Saderat, and Sepah that financially support Iran’s nuclear program and the Qods Force, a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Bahrain, dialogue, EU, foreign policy, Government, Iran, Islam, Middle East, military, nuclear, nuclear proliferation, Obama, sanctions, Saudi Arabia, security, terrorism

Re-evaluating US-Pakistan relations

January 5, 2012 by Emily Leave a Comment

While Islamabad and its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) have historically served as American allies, Pakistan’s tense relations with the American government and military as well as with the Karzai regime have forced America to reevaluate U.S.-Pakistan relations. America’s approximately $20 billion in military and economic aid since 9/11 have served to support Pakistan’s weak government, incentivize Pakistan and its intelligence agency to combat terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda and the Pakistani Taliban, deter nuclear war between India and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: 9/11, Afghanistan, aid, foreign aid, foreign policy, Government, India, military, NATO, nuclear, Pakistan, Taliban, terrorism, war

Get Used to the Orange Jumpsuit

December 27, 2011 by Patrick McDermott 2 Comments

The date is Tuesday, September 11th, 2012. I had just gotten back from seeing my family for the Christmas holiday. I’m sitting in the living room of my apartment, and I’m on my computer getting ready to write a critique of US foreign policy 11 years after 9/11. But just when I’m about to begin, there’s a knock on my door. I’m wasn't accustomed to getting knocks on my door, as I lived in an apartment complex and visitors were few and far between. In looking through the peephole, I realized there were two police officers standing outside my door. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less, Security Tagged With: Afghanistan, aid, China, climate change, Congress, democracy, education, foreign policy, global warming, Iran, Iraq, law, Libya, military, nuclear weapons, Obama, poverty, Somalia, terrorism, war, Yemen

Peter King: The new sheriff in town

June 16, 2011 by Anton Leave a Comment

Peter King: Our Prison System is radicalized! Most of the Congressional officials that spoke today at the second series of the hearings of US radicalization of Muslim Americans were happy about these hearings. They also made a new word: “prislam.” This word means Muslims that convert in prison that become radicals. So how many prisoners become radicals that happen to be Muslim and are released? They only found 36 cases mainly African Americans who traveled to Yemen to train under Al-Qa’ida and Al-Awlaki. They felt this was a legitimate topic to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Less Tagged With: aid, Congress, Homeland Security, Islam, Middle East, Muslim, Muslim American, Politics, terrorism, war, Yemen

Dispatches from Peru: Revolutionaries, Terrorists, and the Creation of Collective Memory

April 8, 2011 by Alma Raymer

Hello AIDemocracy network! First and foremost, I hope that you and your loved ones are all doing well in the wake of the crises happening in Japan and other affected areas right now… I have been doing my best to keep up on the situation from here but at times that’s difficult with the lack of information not related to Peru that I can get from here (there were some communities here that were affected by the tsunami on the coast but nothing like what is happening in Japan, Hawai’i, etc). I’d like to focus this blog post on a seminar that … [Read more...]