Tag / Al Qaeda
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How to Debate Non-Interventionists
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard people say “the U.S. should mind its own business” or “we should leave the Middle East alone” or “alliances with none, trade with all.” Every time I do, I cringe a bit; not only because I disagree, but also because points like that are quite difficult to…
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Syria: Home of a New al-Qaeda?
BY NAHUEL FEFER Despite the world’s best efforts, The Syrian Civil War is proving difficult to ignore; this March it will enter its third year. Government and rebel forces are at a stalemate, and the civilians are those suffering the most from constant urban, guerilla warfare. Thus far over half a million have fled, and…
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Carrots and Sticks
A stable, cooperative Pakistan is both a prerequisite for eradicating al-Qaeda and a key for NATO success in Afghanistan. As Michael Mullen has emphasized, “there is no solution in the region without Pakistan, and no stable future in the region without a partnership.” Historically, however, US policy toward Pakistan has consisted of flooding the country…
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Our 9/11 Narrative
For current college students, September 11th, 2001 was a beginning of sorts. It was a beginning of consciousness. It was a beginning of memory. Only in elementary school at the time, we can recall with great clarity where we were and what we were doing when the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers fell. Most of…
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Violence Sweeps Baghdad
Violence has escalated in Baghdad in the weeks after the Iraqi parliamentary elections, leading to civilian casualties and a growing concern over the Iraqi government’s capacity to instill security, with the exit of many United States combat troops from the region slated for the end of this summer. This Tuesday, seven bombings in residential areas…
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A War of Words?
When President George W. Bush first declared the War on Terror, he famously promised the American people “boots on the ground” to decisively bring those responsible for terrorism to justice. Yet in a January 5, 2009 interview with Foreign Policy, General David Petraeus, Commander of U.S. Central Command, stated that the United States “cannot kill…
