All Security Watch
- Donetsk mine explosion: Conflict hampers aid efforts in east Ukraine
Kiev says that rebels have blocked rescue workers from reaching the mine, where dozens are feared dead.
- Netanyahu says Iran deal will lead to nuclear bomb. But what about no deal?
Israel's prime minister warned Congress that the US should not sign any nuclear deal with Iran until the Islamic Republic becomes a very different place.
- Islamic State: In Iraqi battle for Tikrit, signs of Iran's expanding role
US officials worry that Iran's major role in the fight against IS in Iraq could fuel Shiite-Sunni tensions and drive more Sunni Arabs into the arms of the jihadis.
- Echoes of Obama-Netanyahu tussle in Reagan-Begin showdown of 1981
Then, as now, an Israeli prime minister came to Washington to lobby Congress against a president's foreign policy. Reagan wasn't happy about it, either.
- Netanyahu, Iran, and what he wants out of his speech to Congress
A look at some specific complaints from Israel on a possible nuclear deal with Iran.
- Battle for Tikrit: To recapture Sunni city, Iraq sends mostly Shiite force
Iraq is attacking Tikrit from the north and south in its largest counteroffensive yet against the Islamic State. But the use of Shiite militias could prove problematic.
- Atheist US writer killed in Bangladesh: familiar attack on free expression?
Avijit Roy, who wrote about religion, was murdered on a Dhaka street yesterday. Attacks on free expression are an almost daily occurrence in some parts of the world.
- British government made 'Jihadi John' torture and kidnap prisoners? Really?
There are good reasons to be skeptical about the claims made by supporters of the militant who has now been identified as Mohammed Emwazi.
- Austrian reform singles out Muslims for harsh new requirements
The law requires imams to preach in German, closes mosques of fewer than 300 people, and bars foreign funding of Muslim organizations. The government says it will give Islam an 'Austrian character,' but many say it is anti-Islam.
- As White House, Netanyahu spar over speech to Congress, the gloves come off
Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said Netanyahu's planned speech to Congress on Iran's nuclear program is 'destructive' to the US-Israel relationship.
- Islamic State may have abducted 150 Christians in Syria, activists say
The Sunni militant group, ISIS, has stepped up its attacks on Christians during fierce fighting in Syria's northeast.
- Islamic State seizes Christians again – this time in northeastern Syria
Monitoring groups say militants have kidnapped at least 70 people from Assyrian Christian villages that border territory that IS controls in Iraq. Some speculate IS may be seeking a prisoner swap.
- Questioning the 'root causes' approach to countering violent extremism
It's a tough job at best, and hard to sustain if the proper conditions don't exist.
- Al Shabab mall threats: Officials say main purpose is to garner attention
While they are taking seriously Al Shabab's video threatening attacks on malls in the US, Canada, and Britain, officials say the group does not have capacity to follow through, and that its threats add little on top of the danger posed by 'lone wolves.'
- War, extremism, Islam, and America's language police
The right-wing complaint that Obama isn't emphasizing the 'Islamic' part of the 'Islamic State' enough isn't only misguided, it's dangerous.
- Niger investigates airstrike on Boko Haram that killed 36 civilians
The investigation threatens to fray relations in the multinational coalition against Boko Haram. Nigeria's Air Force is suspected of carrying out the airstrike, having allegedly mistaken the civilians for militant fighters.
- Ukraine forces and EU diplomacy take heavy blow as rebels seize key town
A newly forged cease-fire all but collapsed as government troops withdrew from the transit hub of Debaltseve in what appears to be another implicit victory for Russia's Vladimir Putin.
- Islamic State and America's new war: Some good and not-so-good reading
The US is at war with the Islamic State. A look at some opinions on how to successfully fight the group, and the risks that come with that.
- If a renowned jihadi cleric can't get through to Islamic State, who can?
While the self-described Islamic State's claim that it burned 45 people to death in Iraq yesterday has yet to be confirmed, its obsession with torture and murder continues to rise. And not even a key proponent of global jihad has been able to dissuade them from such gruesome action.
- In fight against Islamic State, Iraqi sectarianism is rising, not falling
A look at what that means for the US strategy in Iraq, and for Iraq's future.