Dragon at the fount of Africa

Fresh off important visits to the U.S., Saudi Arabia and Morocco, Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to arrive in Nigeria later this week to meet with Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and several key legislators to discuss bilateral relations and issues of common interest. During his visit, President Hu will also deliver a much anticipated …

Soul-trying times

Decision Brief                                       No. 06-D 10                            2006-03-01 (Washington, D.C.): Recent headlines call to mind a notable turn of phrase by Revolutionary War patriot Thomas Paine: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Actually, what today’s events are likely to “try” (or test, in today’s parlance) is our national resolve. Hanging in the balance …

Port of entry

How would you feel if, in the aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. government had decided to contract out airport security to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the country where most of the operational planning and financing of the attacks occurred? It seems a safe bet that you, like most Americans, would think it a lunatic …

Energizing America

Decision Brief                                          No. 06-D 04                          2006-01-23 (Washington , D.C.): One week from tomorrow, President Bush has an opportunity to make a truly historically significant State of the Union address. He can do so by setting forth a program for energy security that will play against type for a man from the “Oil …

Tablighi Jamaat: Jihad’s stealthy legions

Every fall, over a million almost identically dressed, bearded Muslim men from around the world descend on the small Pakistani town of Raiwind for a three-day celebration of faith. Similar gatherings take place annually outside of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and Bhopal, India. These pilgrims are no ordinary Muslims, though; they belong to a movement called Tablighi …

The winning alternative

Decision Brief     No. 05-D 60                                       2005-11-21 (Washington, D.C.): Call it the Week that Was. In the course of four days, official Washington was wracked by congressional initiatives that threaten immeasurable harm to the war effort, precipitating bitter personal attacks across the aisle and across Capitol Hill. The effect has been greatly to intensify divisions there …

Our war with Iran

Decision Brief     No. 05-D 55                                       2005-10-31 (Washington, D.C.): On October 26th, the new president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, made international headlines by declaring that "Israel must be wiped off the map." Leaders from around the world tut-tutted that such things really should not be said, ignoring the fact that this goal has been a cornerstone …

War footing or GODSAVEUS

In light of the Bush Administration’s reported renaming of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) as the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism (GSAVE), Center for Security Policy President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., warns in a column distributed today by National Review Online that "the changes in focus implied by this new nomenclature could give rise …

War footing

The wave of bomb attacks that shattered the morning rush hour in London today should also destroy the complacency with which many Americans had come to view the war being waged against us by terror-wielding foes. The death and destruction in the subway system known as the "Tube" below ground and on a bus above …

The red continent?

By Fred Stakelbeck China’s rapid ascension as an influential economic and political force in Africa is raising complex questions concerning the security of the African continent and the future of its people. China’s involvement on the continent has increased dramatically over the past several years, fueled by Africa’s growing demand for cheap Chinese products and …