The purpose of this monograph is to investigate the nature of militant Islam in the context of a global ideological threat; to further examine the strategic concepts associated with the theory of containment developed to win the Cold War; and...
This monograph examines the Arab Spring in light of the past half century of efforts in transnational Arab identity formation and thus considers its links to Arab Nationalism and Pan-Islamism. Then, with a focus on Syria and the sectarian nature of...
One of the effects from the September 11th terrorist attacks was an intensified United States strategic partnership with the Central Asian states. Geographically, Central Asia is critical to the GWOT. In support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)...
In the contemporary environment of Global War on Terror, there is a growing perception of a linkage between Islamic teachings and terrorism. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the vulnerability of Islamic doctrine and teachings to...
Usama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, declared war on the United States in a statement issued in August 1996. With the words, "It is a duty now on every tribe in the Arab Peninsula to fight in the cause of Allah and to cleanse the land from...
With the rise of Al Qaeda and like-minded militant groups, there have been many discussions and misrepresentations of the term Islamic way of warfare. It is important to understand that anything, to be qualified as Islamic, has to have a reference...
To succeed in the Long War, the United States and its allies will need to develop new strategic approaches, adaptive operational concepts, and more cost-effective methods of coalition and Interagency coordination. As was the Cold War, the Long War...
In 1979 the age old struggle for the control of Islam between the Shiite and Sunni sects re-emerged in the Middle East. Four events occurred in 1979 that defined the context of contemporary Middle Eastern politics: the Islamic revolution in Iran,...
Al Qaeda is a significant threat to the national security of the United States and its allies. This makes it important for individuals in these countries, both military and civilian, to understand the evolution of this threat. This thesis analyzes...
The al Ikhwan al Muslimim, the Society of Muslim Brothers or Muslim Brotherhood, (MB) is an international Islamist organization with over fifty national branches. Its motto reflects its Salafi jihadist motives and methods: "Allah is our objective....
This study investigates Afghanistan influences in the Tajikistan civil war. Ongoing conflict in Afghanistan overlaps the Tajikistan conflict developing after the USSR's 1991 breakup. The Tajikistan civil war includes elements of ethnic, religious...
War, diplomacy and economic sanctions are three cornerstones of strategy that have, in the past, successfully coerced rogue regimes to capitulate. However, it may be time to look beyond these persuasion techniques and develop a new method that can...
Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri enticed tens of thousands of Muslims from around the world to travel to Afghanistan, swear allegiance to bin Laden and the cause of Al Qaeda, fight and even die for that cause. Bin Laden united faithful...
This paper explores some of the vulnerabilities that are present within terrorist organizations that the United States can exploit in order to deter, dismantle, dissuade, and defeat terrorist organizations. In addition, the paper will explore the...
The response of U.S. foreign policy to the volatile rise of global jihadism in the wake of the 9/11 attacks has been sweeping and multifaceted. One key pillar of U.S. strategic response has been the active promotion of Western representative...
While in the past two decades, the region of West Africa has experienced various armed conflicts, a new security threat that has emerged is the growing threat of violence by radical Islamist groups. This phenomenon has assumed prominence in the...
While the outcome of the Iraq war seems to have validated the U.S. Army's counterinsurgency manual, FM 3-24, the war in Afghanistan seems to indicate there are fundamental problems associated with its historical principles and concepts. Dr....
This thesis addresses the overarching question of whether or not Pakistan’s education system significantly affects the spread of the jihadist ideology. The thesis continues to address how to affect the spread of the jihadist ideology, and how...
Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States (US) has waged a Global War
on Terror (GWOT) based upon the flawed strategy of countering a tactic, terrorism, as opposed to a strategy built on understanding and identifying its enemy. By...
This monograph discusses the relevant components of the Islamic financial sector, otherwise known as Shari’ah Compliant Finance, in order to gain a better understanding of an industry quickly spreading around the globe and the greater...