The United States completed its official mission to remove troops from Afghanistan in August. Before the final plane departed the Taliban had already reclaimed Kabul, and with it the governance of the country. In 100 days since the administration took office, there has been little opportunity for quiet thought or reflection, to examine in one […]
Tag: Islamic State
France’s Burkini War: Conflating Islam and Terrorism
On July 28, the French Riviera town of Cannes implemented a new law that would quickly become a trend: they banned the wearing of the “burkini”, a full-body covering swimsuit that allows conservative Muslim women to cover up while at the beach. A number of coastal French towns soon followed suit, leading to incidents such […]
Iraqi National Reconciliation
Iraqi army officers made two attempts on the life of the country’s prime minister, Haider Al-Abadi, before being thwarted by the US Embassy in Baghdad, according to a high-level Iraqi official. This is the latest symptom of the ongoing radicalization and sectarian violence that has plagued post-2003 Iraq. The roots of ISIS’ rise can be […]
Snapchat Terrorism: Liberty and Security in Britain
When two gunmen stormed the central Paris office of Charlie Hebdo in early January, and slaughtered the magazine’s most prominent cartoonists, Europe stood still in shock. Across the English Channel and a mere 2 hour 15 minute journey away by train, policemen poured into sensitive sites across London, visibly increasing their presence in the British […]
A New Reign in Saudi Arabia
On January 23rd, the global political sphere lost one of its longest standing participants when Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away. King Abdullah, by the age of 90, had officially ruled the kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2005, but since the nineties effectively managed domestic, security and foreign policy affairs in […]
Empty Promises: The Impact of ISIS on Kurdish-Turkish Relations
The Battle between the Turks and Kurds has been raging for years, but it seems the relationship between the two has reached an all-time low as a result of the unprecedented rise of the Islamic State (IS). Many are beginning to question Turkey’s devotion to the fight against ISIS. Turkey recently agreed to join the […]