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About Contact Us CT Blog Experts in the Media CT Library Counterterrorism Foundation Websites & Centers RSS & PDA Feeds Monthly Archives July 2008 Posts (Word file) August 2008 Pre-Crash Posts (Word file) Special Hyland-Roul Series on India Special Gruen-Hyland Series on Homegrown U.S. Terrorism Counterterrorism Blog Panels: Jihadists' Revolt Against Al Qaeda, Sept. 23 Future of Turkey-U.S. Strategic Partnership, May 19 Iran & U.S.: Outlook for Next Decade? April 15 Compañeros de Armas ("Friends in Arms"): Chavez, FARC & South America, March 19 Meta-Terror: Terrorism & the Virtual World, Feb. 29 Evolution of US Counterterrorism Policy, Feb. 12 Terrorism Litigation After Boim Decision, Jan. 28 Holy Land Foundation & Muslim Brotherhood, Dec. 11 ------------ Contributing Experts
Steven Emerson & The Investigative Project on Terrorism
Dennis Lormel Douglas Farah, Site Editor Bill West Evan Kohlmann Michael Cutler Victor Comras Michael Kraft Dr. Zachary Abuza Dr. Walid Phares Daveed Gartenstein-Ross Olivier Guitta Kenneth Conboy Aaron Mannes David Schenker Jeffrey Imm Animesh Roul Matthew Levitt Jonathan Winer Michael Jacobson Frank Hyland Roderick Jones Paul Cruickshank Farhana Ali Lorenzo Vidino Madeleine Gruen James Gordon Meek, Guest Expert Andrew Cochran, VP of GAGE Founder & Site Editor Phillip Smyth & Brett Wallace, Asst. Newslinks Editors EXPERTS' ARCHIVES & BIOS Recent Posts
NEFA Foundation: Taliban Deny Reports of Peace Talks, Urge Fighters to Avoid Innocent Civilians
Afghanistan at the Tipping Point The CIA and the Looming Threats for the Next Administration HLF Trial Update: "It is time for you to pledge death" Transcript of Event: "The Jihadists' Revolt Against Al Qaeda" Let the Dissidents Challenge the Jihadists Al-Qaida's Foreign Fighters Shift Focus from Iraq to Pakistan and Afghanistan NEFA Foundation: TerrorWatch #8 and Report on the Federation of Islamic Organizations in Europe (FIOE) The FARC's Shrinking World New Australian Report Adds to Concerns Over Stored Value Instruments Experts' Books
Walid Phares: The Confrontation and "The War of Ideas: Jihadism against Democracy" and “Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America”
Michael Kraft & Yonah Alexander (Editors): "Evolution of U.S. Counterterrorism Policy" Douglas Farah & Zachary Abuza in Countering the Financing of Terrorism Douglas Farah: "Merchant of Death" and "Blood From Stones: The Secret Financial Network of Terror" Michael Jacobson: "The West at War: U.S. and European Counterterrorism Efforts, Post–September 11" Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: "My Year Inside Radical Islam: A Memoir" Steven Emerson: "Jihad Incorporated: A Guide to Militant Islam in the US" and "American Jihad: The Terrorists Living Among Us" Victor Comras & Matthew Levitt (contributors): "Terrorism Financing and State Responses," Stanford University Press Matthew Levitt: "Negotiating Under Fire: Preserving Peace Talks in the Face of Terror Attacks" and "Hamas: Politics, Charity, and Terrorism in the Service of Jihad" and "Targeting Terror: U.S. Policy toward Middle Eastern State Sponsors and Terrorist Organizations, Post-September 11" Zachary Abuza: "Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia" and "Militant Islam in Southeast Asia: Crucible of Terror" Lorenzo Vidino "Al Qaeda in Europe: The New Battleground of Global Jihad" Kenneth Conboy: "The Second Front: Inside Asia’s Most Dangerous Terrorist Network" Evan Kohlmann: "Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network" Credits
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Jeffrey Breinholt Archives
Deconstructing IslamaphobiaBy Jeffrey BreinholtThere was a hilarious item on the GMBDR, though I am not sure anyone will find it as funny as I do. It turns out UC Berkeley hosted a conference entitled "Deconstructing Islamaphobia." While the intellectually curious rely on the... Gut Check for the "Close Guantanamo" CrowdBy Jeffrey BreinholtPart of the public campaign to close Guantanamo involves the claim that it houses many innocent people who were swept up from the battlefields where the U.S. military is operating. Now Reuters is reporting that someone released from Guantanamo has... Polygamy and Terrorism: The Religion Factor in TexasBy Jeffrey BreinholtYou might think that the raid on the dissident Mormon compound in Texas and its aftermath are not related to terrorism, but they actually are. The question is whether a state or federal government can define what constitutes a crime,... The Benevolent US Military: A Review of “The Reluctant Communist”By Jeffrey BreinholtI am a sucker for stories about Americans who find themselves on the wrong side of armed geopolitical disputes. I still maintain that the most fascinating saga to come out of 9/11 was John Walker Lindh, the young California drifter... Morgan Spurlock's Search for Bin LadenBy Jeffrey BreinholtI went to the new Morgan Spurlock documentary, as I try to keep up with anything related to counterterrorism. I was not particularly taken by his earlier movie, “Supersize Me,” though I was forced to sit through several DVD screenings... Real World Complications From the Jihad Lexicon BusinessBy Jeffrey BreinholtBill West's post (immediately below) hits on something I started worrying about today as I thought more about the practical implications of the State Department's decision to forbid government employees from publicly using the terms jihad and mujaheddin. Plenty of... The New American Lexicon: Jihad, We Hardly Knew YouBy Jeffrey BreinholtDoug Farah, Steve Coughlin, and I have written about the efforts to replace jihad as a descriptive term for what we are fighting. In view of the reported decision by the State Department to reward these efforts, I do not... Immunity? That's A ProblemBy Jeffrey BreinholtIn response to Andrew Cochran's latest post "No FISA? No Problem," the reason why no one has come up with a concrete example of an intelligence investigation suffering due to Congress' unwillingness to enact FISA reform is simple: this information... The Muslim Brotherhood and the Political Process (U.S. Version)By Jeffrey BreinholtDoug Farah's post about the Global Muslim Brotherhood Daily Report (GMBDR) item in which the Muslim Brotherhood gives written advice on how to vote Islamic is quite disturbing. The most ominous thing is that they appear to be doing this... More Adventures in the Parallel Universe: Journalism, Secrecy and Getting It RightBy Jeffrey BreinholtJournalism and official counterterrorism are in many ways similar. They each have important functions - journalism, to keep us informed, and counterterrorism, to keep us safe. They each have the dual goal of getting the facts right, and protecting their... Adventures in the Parallel UniverseBy Jeffrey BreinholtI have some thoughts on Andrew Cochran’s latest post, in which he expresses annoyance with Bill Maher’s recent comments about the Pope. Unlike Andrew, I come at this issue as a proud secular humanist, and someone who has chosen not... Ridicule NeededBy Jeffrey BreinholtJeffrey Imm and Matt Levitt are dead-on about the audacity of Jimmy Carter in meeting with Hamas. My diagnosis: the US needs to look to political activists on the Left and borrow their techniques, if we are ever to fully... Of Art and Science and the Epistemology of CounterterrorismBy Jeffrey BreinholtIs counterterrorism more of an art than a science? That question may be irrelevant, since Americans take pride in practicing both effectively. We have plenty of world-class artists, as well as experts who tell us what art is meaningful and... Terrorism and Rock 'n RollBy Jeffrey BreinholtBelow is an excerpt of my luncheon address at the Friday, April 11, 2008 Symposium on Terrorist Financing, hosted by the Institute of Global Security and Law of Case Western Reserve University Law School in Cleveland, Ohio. Rock and Roll... A Great New Web ResourceBy Jeffrey BreinholtHowever bad things seem (and this perception is inevitable in an election season), the public spirit of the American counterterrorism community never ceases to amaze me. There is an excellent new free website that should be a vital resource for... More Lessons from WatergateBy Jeffrey BreinholtWhat is at stake in the debates over telecommunications company liability, and the foreign surveillance bill? If the plaintiffs suing the telecoms have righteous cases worthy of a judgments of liability, immunity might not be such a good idea. If... Coming To A Law School Near You: The Merger of Counterterrorism and Human RightsBy Jeffrey BreinholtDoug Farah’s recent post about our complacency in dealing with the problem that is Saudi Arabia dovetails well with one of my pet causes: showing that counterterrorism and human rights go hand in hand. That our most reliable social critics... Be Careful What You Wish For: A Review of Ibrahim Warde's "The Price of Fear"By Jeffrey BreinholtHere is something you do not often hear: countries that have joined the U.N. Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Financing (sponsored by France) have an obligation under international law to prosecute terrorist financing they uncover in their territories. That... The Value of Aggressive EnforcementBy Jeffrey BreinholtI liked Frank Hyland’s recent CT Blog post, “Ex-Gov. Spitzer - Unfinished Business.” It reminds us that there are serious national security issues - and counterterrorism opportunities - even when it appears that the mischief involves something as banal as... Of Telecoms, and "Twisting Slowly, Slowly in the Wind": Watergate ReprisedBy Jeffrey BreinholtAs Congress continues to consider the regulatory regime necessary to “permit” the President to engage in national security-based wiretaps, it is important to put the current debates into historical perspective. The canvass upon which the wiretap authority is now being... I Strongly DisagreeBy Jeffrey BreinholtAt the Counterterrorism Blog, we try to foster respect for dialogue. Individual contributing experts are responsible for their own postings, and not subject to any editorial oversight. True to the blog ethos, we believe the best response to a disagreeable... The AWOL Secular HumanistsBy Jeffrey BreinholtToday in Family Security Matters, I have an article on a topic I have been thinking about for some time: the silence of our reliable secular social critics in arguments over the threat of political Islam. There are plenty of... The Wacky World of Tariq RamadanBy Jeffrey BreinholtTariq Ramadan is an enigma. The grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al Banna and the son of the late top Brotherhood leader in Europe, the Swiss academic is the probably the most celebrated Muslim public "intellectual" on the planet... Like a Rolling StoneBy Jeffrey BreinholtI have written about the increased tendency of journalists to transform clear U.S. law enforcement victories into crushing defeats, by giving a platform to those who argue the government should not have prosecuted certain people who were ultimately convicted. To... Pardon the Interruption, But This Should Be a Campaign IssueBy Jeffrey BreinholtHere's a novel idea for people who follow counterterrorism: let's have the mainstream media ask the current presidential candidates to commit that they will not pardon anyone who has been convicted of killing an American, where their guilt is beyond... What's Really at Issue in the Intelligence BillBy Jeffrey BreinholtDennis Lormel is absolutely right in his recent post about the FISA renewal bill being held hostage to politics. I think there’s something going on that is even more worrisome. When the PATRIOT Act was going through its controversy, I... Finally, Some Sanity (and Accuracy) in Assessing DOJ Terrorist Financing EffortsBy Jeffrey BreinholtThere has been quite a bit of gloating over the last few years about so-called Department of Justice failures in terrorist financing enforcement since 9/11. These public statements typically claim that the government has failed to win any terrorist financing... The Bank Secrecy Act for BeginnersBy Jeffrey BreinholtThe Counterterrorism Blog has carried some excellent commentary on terrorist financing. Posts by Matt Levitt, Mike Jacobsen, Dennis Lormel and others have provided some good perspective on the challenges of preventing it. An unrelated website, the Terror Finance Blog, is... Exporting "Desperate Housewives" to the Arab WorldBy Jeffrey BreinholtIt looks like the Hollywood Writer’s strike is finally over, which is a good thing for those tired of prime-time game shows and “American Gladiator.” The labor dispute involved financial remuneration for the redistribution of entertainment programming. The writers’ problem... A Review of Ronald Kessler's "Terrorist Watch"By Jeffrey BreinholtBooks are an important source of information on American counterterrorism efforts. Unfortunately, many people who claim to be experts (and who are critical of these efforts) either do not keep up with revelations that come out in book form, or... A New Report on Bank Terrorism LiabilityBy Jeffrey BreinholtOne of the benefits of being on a sabbatical from my government job is more time to interact with students interested in careers in national security. I often tell them they should not assume their ideas have ever been considered... The Secret Evidence CanardBy Jeffrey BreinholtIn one of the 2000 Presidential debates, Gov. George W. Bush bemoaned the fact that secret evidence was sometimes used in American immigration proceedings. Later, it was suggested that this reference was the result of lobbying by American Muslim organizations... Coughlin for BeginnersBy Jeffrey BreinholtMajor Steve Coughlin has been in the news lately. Little of the attention has focused on his ideas, rather than the intrigue surrounding the non-renewal of his contact as a briefer for the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, supposedly because he... Loss of a FriendBy Jeffrey BreinholtIt is with great sadness that I report the death of my friend Bryan Sierra yesterday, following his long bout with cancer. The American counterterrorism community knew Bryan as the Department of Justice's main public spokesman on international terrorism prosecutions,... Lawfare Lawyers Storming the CourtsBy Jeffrey Breinholt"Lawfare." It is a term that has received extensive attention in national security commentary over the last few years. Defined as the efforts to achieve military objectives through legal tools, it is a term I did not coin, though I... NEFA Report: Web 2.0 Tools and CounterterrorismBy Jeffrey BreinholtSomething amazing happened on the day of the London subway bombings, which occurred at 8:50 a.m. on July 7, 2005. By the end of the day, as authorities continued to pick up body parts, the most comprehensive account of what... Boys Will Be Boys: A Review of Dina Temple-Ralston’s "The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in The Age of Terror"By Jeffrey BreinholtHere’s a little secret: the United States government would rather Americans in search of adventure not travel abroad to join some other country’s army, to fight in wars to which we are not a party, or (worse) fight against U.S.... IASC Report: Islam in American Courts - 2007 Year in ReviewBy Jeffrey BreinholtNote: this article report is a shortened version of a study I conducted under the auspices of the International Assessment and Strategy Center (IASC). Readers who would like to see the charts and the case citations which are omitted from... Why the Boim Ruling is a Pyrrhic Victory for the Islamic CharitiesBy Jeffrey BreinholtThe waning days of 2007 saw the Seventh Circuit reversing the $156 million judgment granted against various Muslims and Islamic organizations to the family of David Boim, who was killed by Hamas in Israel in 1996. Now that the holidays... The Promise of Mathematics to CounterterrorismBy Jeffrey BreinholtThis last week while I was on vacation in California, two articles caught my attention. On the Counterterrorism Blog, Roderick Jones described how virtual worlds are helping Western governments combat terrorism, by offering realistic computer-based simulations to government personnel involved... Courtroom Jihad: The Defense of "I Am a Muslim"By Jeffrey BreinholtThis week, Family Security Matters published my two-part report on a fascinating aspect of American legal history: Muslim litigants who attempted to explain their conduct by their religious beliefs and mandates. I consider these findings an extension of the "Overlooked... Jobs that Hurt: A Review of Jack Goldsmith’s "The Terror Presidency"By Jeffrey BreinholtIn the summer of 2004, the USA PATRIOT Act was up for renewal. Career counterterrorism officials at the Department of Justice like me were encouraged to accept public speaking engagements to explain how the legislation had assisted our efforts. I... Muslim Asylum Claims in US CourtsBy Jeffrey BreinholtToday, I posted a study conducted under the auspices of the International Assessment and Strategy Center, focusing on the history of Muslim asylum claims in the United States. The study shows that Muslim asylum claims are on the increase, though... A Friend in Dubai?By Jeffrey BreinholtAn interesting counterterrorism development over the last decade is the group of private American lawsuits seeking to hold foreign governments and individuals civilly liable for terrorist attacks that killed Americans. Victims of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attacks in... "Intense Hospitality"- Islam in American Courts and Why It MattersBy Jeffrey BreinholtDuring the week we recognize the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and Congress considers the future of U.S. involvement in Iraq, I want to offer some general observations about an issue I have been writing about - Islam in... More Overlooked History: Muslim Employment DiscriminationBy Jeffrey BreinholtI have posted a study I recently completed on the history of Muslim employment discrimination claims in our courts. Because I anticipate my findings will generate controversy, I included several appendices so critics can replicate my results, and the paper... A Modest PredictionBy Jeffrey BreinholtSometimes without us knowing it, legal standards change suddenly. It happened today, when the Investigative Project on Terrorism launched its public (and free!) website. I was fortunate enough to receive an advance demonstration of it last week, and came away... More Overlooked History: Muslim Charities, Propaganda and Foreign PolicyBy Jeffrey Breinholt“While it may be a cliche, the adage that history oft repeats itself is also true.” This sentence was included in the brief the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), filed on Thursday, August 18, 2007. CAIR probably has no... More Overlooked History: Black ViolenceBy Jeffrey BreinholtIf there was such a distinction as a Mainstream Journalism Award for Understatement, my nominee for 2007 would go to the Washington Post. On Friday, August 10, 2007, it published a front-page article by Karl Vick, entitled “For Some in... A Review of Doug Farah and Steve Braun's New BookBy Jeffrey BreinholtToday in Family Security Matters, I have a review of Doug Farah and Steve Braun's new book Merchant of Death, about Russian arms dealer Victor Bout, a disturbing character who has so far managed to elude our grasp. Doug and... More Overlooked History: The Muslim Libel CasesBy Jeffrey BreinholtTwo news flashes on August 1, 2007. First, the lawyers representing the so-called Flying Imams in their lawsuit against US Airways announced that they were not going after the unnamed passengers whose concerns prompted the men to be pulled off... Overlooked History: Islam, Warrantless Wiretaps, and Organized ViolenceBy Jeffrey BreinholtAs a legal researcher, I am constantly amazed at how many modern issues we think are unique to our time have been debated in the past and are discussed in old American court opinions. A few years ago, I wrote... A Review of Campbell and O'Hanlon's "Hard Power"By Jeffrey BreinholtToday in Family Security Matters, I have a review of the excellent book Hard Power: The New Politics of National Security (Basic Books 2006). Authors Kurt Campbell and Michael O’Hanlon effectively argue that our role as the world’s last superpower... Shari’ah Courts in America?By Jeffrey BreinholtAn issue in Zeyno Baran’s recent Counterterrorism Blog post jumped out at me because of my current research into how Islam has been treated by U.S. courts. Zeyno’s note dealt with the recent appointment of Imam Talal Eid to the... An Interesting Historical MysteryBy Jeffrey BreinholtMy recent post on the Muslim Brotherhood's history in the U.S. courts (here), drew some attention and curiosity. In it, I described a court opinion involving a document seized by American prison officials in 1959, detailing the goals and membership... The History of the Muslim Brotherhood in the U.S. CourtsBy Jeffrey BreinholtThe most pointed and interesting discussions at the recent NEFA Conference on the Muslim Brotherhood involved the issue that is the subject of so much recent public commentary: whether Western governments should embrace the Brotherhood as an effective counterweight to... The Muslim Brotherhood for BeginnersBy Jeffrey BreinholtThose who follow counterterrorism commentary over the last several months have noticed a number articles and media treatments dealing with the Muslim Brotherhood. Much of this commentary assumed familiarity with the Brotherhood and the issues raised by its presence in... Walking in Our Enemies Shoes: A Review of Mike German's Book "Thinking Like a Terrorist"By Jeffrey BreinholtIt used to be that FBI agents rarely published their insights. With very few exceptions, the ghost of J. Edgar Hoover seemed to watch over their shoulders, even after they retired. Things have changed. In the last decade, we have... The Holy Grail of Public-Private Counterterrorism CooperationBy Jeffrey BreinholtIn this, my maiden voyage as a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog, I want to take the opportunity to introduce myself and touch on some important counterterrorism developments masquerading as money laundering issues. For the last several years, I have... |