Dr. Walid Phares

al Qaeda has the initiative in attacking US national security

In 2001, one would-be shoe bomber forced millions of travelers to take off their shoes. In 2006, terrorists planned to bring down aircraft on transatlantic flights by smuggling liquid explosives onto planes. They were thwarted but they succeeded in preventing passengers from bringing liquids into airline terminals.

Abdelmutalib: A Jihadi Human Missile

In the Arab world there is a saying: “Take their truth from their crazies.” I didn’t think it would fully apply in geopolitics until I heard Libya’s dictator, Moammar Qadhafi, claiming on al Jazeera few years ago that Bin Laden had acquired intercontinental missiles.

Christmas is Not Negotiable

On the eve of this Christmas 2008, I shifted from my ongoing field of research and commentary in Terrorism, international and ethnic conflict and global strategies to address a subject dear to the heart of many among us, and dream maker to most of us, i.e., the children: Christmas. On the eve of the 2009 celebration I will reiterate this assertion: Christmas as a celebration is not negotiable.

Where Is the OIC When Mosques Are Attacked?

According to the Associated Press, Jihadi terrorists "stormed a mosque in Rawalpindi, killing at least 36 worshippers, including six military officers, during Friday prayers as they sprayed gunfire and threw grenades before blowing themselves up," Pakistani officials said.

One Wall Falls, Another Rises

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was a benchmark that made an impression on me, as it did on millions of people around the world. The sight of thousands of East Germans pouring into West Berlin, particularly the youths who had never experienced freedom before, was a surreal scene not only for the people of Europe, but also for those of us born in the Middle East.Westerners looked with shock at the peoples of East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union surging against totalitarianism.

Fort Hood: The largest “Terror act” since 9/11

The Fort Hood killings, perpetrated by Major Malik Nadal Hasan, a psychiatric by training, no matter what the judiciary reports will conclude is for now the largest single Terror act in America since 9/11. This quantitative finding will take into consideration dramatic change in the data released by authorities.

Taliban’s War on Pakistan

The war between the Taliban and Pakistan continues to accelerate. Just last weekend, Pakistan’s army responded to a long string of Taliban attacks by launching a massive ground operation in Waziristan.

Nobel Committee Pulls Oil Plug on Democracy

As soon as the Oslo committee issued its Nobel Peace Prize to President Barack Obama, an expected debate raged in America about the legitimacy of such a move so very early in a U.S. presidential term.

Jihad like Yoga?

Following is an interview with Professor Walid Phares in Nowe Panstwo (Our Times), a Politics and History Journal in Poland, conducted by Olga Doleśniak-Harczuk. The title of the interview in Polish is "ihad jak joga" which translate to "Jihad like Yoga." In this extensive discussion, Professor Phares addresses the strategic structure of al Qaeda, Europe's readiness to confront the threat, the Obama Administration ability to win a war of ideas over the Jihadists, the necessary Western Rethinking of the conflict, indoctrination and penetration in the US, the role of Oil lobbies, the influence of theological texts on Jihadists, the numbers of Islamists in Europe, Western inability to fight this war, and Polish American relations in the war with the Jihadists.

World Must Sustain Push Against Iran’s Human Rights Abuses

As the United States and the international community meet Iran’s diplomats and hope for the nuclear crisis to be resolved, another critical front should be opened: an investigation into the Iranian regime for abuse of human rights of its own people.