The Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at the U.S. Miliatary Academy at West Point launched their new online journal dedicated to terrorism and counter-terrorism issues. Erich Marquardt, formerly with the Jamestown Foundation, is leading the project. Mr. Marquardt was the editor of Terrorism Focus and Terrorism Monitor at the Jamestown Foundation (JTF). ( I will comment on both later). The first issue of the CTC Sentinel is dedicated to CTC’s Distinguished Chair, General Wayne A. Downing (RIP) whose moto was adapted from the SAS and was “Who Thinks Wins.”. I think that is a terrific moto in that it reflects the quality of work that the first issue represents. It is obvious that ‘terrorism’ is a complex issue and necessitates a cross disciplinary approach.
One report of note from the first issue is entitled ” Securing Yemen’s Cooperation in the Second Phase of the War on al-Qa’ida” by Gregory Johnson. Yemen is not discussed at all in the media when it comes to the U.S. war on Al’Qa’ida which is not unusual but a shame. I say not unusual since the media for the most part in the U.S. fails at its job to inform the American people on events, people and issues that they need to know about in order to be better informed citizens.
For those interested to learn more about Yemen and the U.S. War on Al’Qa’ida, I would recommend “Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground” By Robert Kaplan. It chronicles his first hand account of time he spent in Yemen post 911. and Mr. Kaplan’s article entitled ” A Tale of Two Colonies.” Robert Kaplan will be joining the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) as a Senior Fellow in March of 2008.
CTC is fortunate to have Mr. Marquardt and it is a loss for Jamestown Foundation (JTF)
JTF is a premier source of quality information on ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorism’ related issues. I read as much of their reports as possible as I find them to be of top quality, well sourced and up to date. The most recent report from them that I found of interest was written by Chris Zambelis entitled ” Insurrection in Iranian Balochistan.”
Mr. Zembelis Chris Zambelis is an associate with Helios Global, Inc., an international political and security risk analysis and management firm based in the Washington, DC area. He specializes in Middle East politics.
Another very good article from JTF is entitled “Bin Laden Identifies Saudi Arabia as the Enemy of Mujahideen Unity” By Michael Scheuer
According to JTF, “Michael Scheuer served in the CIA for 22 years before resigning in 2004. He served as the Chief of the bin Laden Unit at the Counterterrorist Center from 1996 to 1999. He is the once anonymous author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror and Through Our Enemies’ Eyes: Osama bin Laden, Radical Islam, and the Future of America. Dr. Scheuer is a Senior Fellow with The Jamestown Foundation.
I have read as many reports written by Mr. Scheuer since I find his insight into the thinking of Al’Qa’ida to be very informed. He obviously reads what Al’Qa’ida writes and listens closely to what they say. In his recent article he talks about how Al’Qa’ida has tageted to a greater degree the House of Saud. This coincides with a recent poll done by Terror Free Tomorrow that shows that the Saudi’s are turning away from their support of Bin Laden and Al’Qa’ida
Mike Ostrolenk
