Despite the Islamic State’s loss of territory in Iraq and Syria, an increasingly diffuse Salafi-jihadist movement is far from defeated.
This report constructs a data set of groups and fighters from 1980 to 2018, including from the Islamic State and al-Qaeda. It finds that the number of Salafi-jihadists in 2018 declined somewhat from a high in 2016, but is still at near-peak levels since 1980.
Category Archives: Middle East
Afghanistan Then and Now
Primer:In September of 1963, the King and Queen of Afghanistan visited Washington DC as guests of President Kennedy.
55 years later, this month, the United States and allies have entered the 17th year of military conflict in Afghanistan. The target is the Taliban. Under the Obama regime, several attempts were made to normalize relationship with the Taliban leadership including swapping one treasonous soldier for 5 senior Taliban leaders from Guantanamo. At the same time, the United States coordinated with Qatar to pay for a Taliban consulate operation in Qatar. It remains today.
The Other Facts about Jamal Khashoggi
The media is hardly revealing the other facts regarding Khashoggi. My buddy over at GMBDW did the work I was about to do. Hat tip to them.
First it should be mentioned that Saudi Arabia declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terror organization in 2014. Another key item is Jamal Khashoggi has been in self-imposed exile, living in Virginia for at least a year or more. He is quite critical of the Saudi Kingdom for quite some time. Remember, the Saudi royalty has been slowly and methodically working to alter the religious doctrine in the country, of which Khashoggi is against.
United States Withdraws from the Treaty of Amity/Iran
The International Court of Justice at the United Nations has issued an “order” Tuesday demanding that the United States lift sanctions against Iran re-imposed after the Trump administration decided to pull out of a nuclear proliferation treaty inked with Iran during the Obama years.
Iran apparently requested that the ICJ force the United States to rescind measures banning the sale and transport of certain “humanitarian goods” to the region, including medical supplies, emergency food, and mechanical and airplane parts.
Syrian FM Calls for Volunteer Return of Refugees
Syria’s Foreign Minister, Walid al-Moualem, told the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday that the country was ready for the voluntary return of refugees who fled during the conflict.
“We welcome any assistance with reconstruction from those countries that were not part of the aggression on Syria,” said al-Moualem, who is also the Deputy Prime Minister.
“The countries that offer only conditional assistance or continue to support terrorism, they are neither invited nor welcome to help.”