Browsing by Subject "Al Qaeda"

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Fighting Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula on all fronts : a U.S. counterterrorism strategy in Yemen
(2014-08) Sharkey, Kaitlin Kelly; Inboden, William, 1972-
The United States needs a long-term counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. Nearly three years in, the faltering Yemeni transition threatens to fall apart in the face of an economic crisis, ongoing internal conflict, and al Qaeda attacks. Unchecked, a failed Yemeni state will provide al Qaeda with a larger recruiting base and an expanded area for operations. To prevent this nightmare scenario, the United States should integrate military restructuring, political reform, and economic development policies into its greater strategy to counter al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This report describes the dynamics of the 2011 Yemeni uprising, the subsequent political transition, and the simultaneous evolution of AQAP. The report then analyzes these phenomena in the context of U.S. national security policy to determine a long-term counterterrorism strategy in Yemen. To succeed in defeating AQAP and stabilizing Yemen, the U.S. government must engage with its Yemeni partners and regional actors; invest in Yemen's military restructuring, political transition, and economic reforms; and continue to attack AQAP through direct action operations and in tandem with Yemeni armed forces.
Terrorism in the Sinai
(2014-05) Richards, Robin Nicole; Suri, Jeremi; Brownlee, Jason, 1974-
This report tracks and analyzes militant activity in the Sinai Peninsula. It focuses on the violence that has occurred since 2011, and particularly on the major increase in violence has been ongoing since July 2013. The project relies on open source intelligence to identify the reasons for the increase in violence and also determine the nature of the violence – who is carrying out the attacks and why. On July 3, 2013, the Egyptian military removed the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi. What followed was an unprecedented increase in violence in the Sinai Peninsula. Since the fall of 2013, the violence has spread from the Sinai Peninsula into the mainland of Egypt. Hundreds of security personnel have been killed or injured since the uptick in the violence. After the coup that removed Morsi, there was a significant shift in the targets of attacks and the tactics used and this shift is indicative of the presence of the global jihadi network in the Sinai. Terrorist groups stopped targeting Israel and turned almost exclusively to Egypt security personnel. There has also been a major increase in suicide attacks, which indicates that there is a connection between the global jihadi network and Egyptian militant groups. The military is once again in control of Egypt’s government yet they have focused on consolidating political control instead of dealing with Egypt’s mounting security problem. The military has consistently insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood is behind the terror and ignored the true cause of the violence. This willful omission has allowed the terrorist groups in the Sinai to flourish and threaten security in mainland Egypt.