Commentaries

On October 1, 2017, at 10:08pm Las Vegas time, Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on 22,000 people at the annual Route 91 Harvest Festival in the city. 58 people were killed and over 500 were injured. While law enforcement authorities denied a link to any international terrorist

As part of the development of methods and techniques of the terrorist organizations, we are witnessing the constant exploitation of the limitations of today’s common security measures, especially in regard to passengers’ and hand luggage inspection, detection of homemade explosive materials concealed in baggage, detection

On the night of September 18, 2018, in an unfortunate incident, Syrian air defense mistakenly shot down a Russian military plane while the Syrian regime was targeting multiple missiles flying over Latakia

Commentary by Dr. Ely Karmon

Latest updates on the Sri Lanka attacks by Dr. Ely Karmon

Dr. Ely Karmon in an interview to the Argentinian international website Infobae (September 16, 2019) on the crisis after the bombing of Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities

Dr. Ely Karmon take to Martin Novák’s questions for the Czech news website Aktuáln?.cz

The killing of Qassem Soleimani, the most powerful Iranian military commander, the long-serving head of Iran’s Quds (“Jerusalem”) Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), will have a major impact on the conflict between Iran and the United States and the situation in the Middle

On January 27, 2020, ISIS released a new audio speech by its spokesman Abu Hamzah Al-Qurashi, produced by its media arm Al-Furqan and distributed on social media. Al-Qurashi delivers a defiant message: ISIS is not only surviving, despite the declarations by consecutive U.S. presidents that

As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the world, some radical Islamic clerics believe the virus was perhaps sent by Allah because of the disobedience and sins of mankind. Other clerics claimed that the pandemic is edging the world closer to the Day of Judgement.[1] [1]

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) involves two ICT researchers in a study on  drone threats to metropolitan areas. Ely Karmon & Uri Ben Yaakov

There has been an increasingly disturbing challenge to the authority of Pakistan’s President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, from jihadis inspired by the Neo Taliban and Al Qaeda, who are actively supported by a group of retired officers of the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).  

The assassination of Shamil Basayev marked a watershed of success for Russia’s counter-terrorism efforts in the North Caucasus. However, the turmoil in Chechnya is far from over.

This article aims at discussing the aspect of aviation security, with regard to two security platforms. The first is the ‘Human Eye’ philosophy, which has been Israel’s philosophy for decades until now, regarding the ability to detect suspicious passengers or potential terrorists (the profile method).

The concept of “low intensity conflict” (LIC) – lack of relevancy in a changing Middle-Eastern geopolitical reality.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and the US intention to declare it as a specially designated global terrorist organization: the end of the distinction between sub-national groups and a terrorist state?

Against the background of Syria’s invitation to the Annapolis conference and the eagerness with which politicians and the defense establishment have supported its participation, we should try to analyze the Syrian leadership’s strategic considerations vis-à-vis a peace process with Israel.

Civil unrest in Kenya appears likely to increase as the opposition rejects Kibaki’s rule, which may have serious implications for intra-national conflicts prevalent in the region, Kenya could likely be the ignition for further regional bloodshed. This article was first published in the Jerusalem Post,

This Article discusses approaches to airline defense countermeasure systems in light of the emerging threat of Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). Technological and operational aspects, as well as ecomnomic costs of various countermeasure systems are presented in this comprehensive analysis of recent trends in passenger

The assassination of arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh was welcome news in Washington, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, and, albeit quietly, Beirut and Baghdad. For Hizballah and Damascus, however, the loss of Mughniyeh — who was a brilliant military tactician, a key contact to Tehran, and a successful

The operational spaces for Islamist militancy in States outside Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) demonstrate indications of brisk expansion, even as terrorist violence declines in that State. The most recent arrests in Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Karnataka are an indication that the Pakistan-backed Islamist groups operating

While considerable focus would be on terrorism-related scenarios likely to arise from foreign terrorists, likely scenarios from domestic disgruntled elements should be given adequate attention. Among these one could mention the Uighur jihadi terrorists who have close links with Al Qaeda and the International Islamic

In the past few weeks there have been many media reports that point to the prevalence of confusion and disarray among the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE/Tigers) in the face of heavy losses inflicted by the armed forces of the Government of Sri Lanka.

In light of the escalation of fighting between Israel and the Palestinians throughout the month of February 2008, the Liberation Party (Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami – HT) called to seek vengeance against the Jews (“the siblings of the apes and pigs”) and Israel (the “the Jewish

In 2010, Canada will host at least three major events with a significant international profile, inluding the Winter Olympics, the G8 meetings and the Security and Prosperity Partnership meetings. Numerous groups have already begun violent activities and further organization that may occur against the background

The LTTE has recently experienced a series of tactical failures and defeats by the Government Security Forces, which gained effective control of the Eastern Province in July 2007, and have now been pushing the LTTE further north in their endeavour to completely wipe out the

Ever since the American-led ouster of the Taliban regime from Kabul in 2001, pro-Taliban tribals in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) have been stirred up to join their Pashtun brethren in Afghanistan, waging jihad against the Americans and the Karzai regime. These border regions

In remarks given in November of 2007, President George W. Bush, reminded the Congress that the United States of America remained in a state of war – the so-called War on Terror: “We are at war – and we cannot win this war by wishing

To meet the great demand for academic and public policy resources on this subject, the publishing industry has been releasing a plethora of books on terrorism in general, the groups that engage in terrorist warfare, the radical religious movements that drive individuals to join terrorist

An arrested terrorist has revealed that the Mumbai terror attack operation was planned about six months in advance.

Al-Qaeda and its local affiliated terror groups adopted suicide attacks and have used this mode of operation as part of their terrorism repertoire. In fact, Al-Qaeda has become the dominant group in the global arena with regard to suicide terrorism. While this modus operandi remains

Islamabad’s response to the Mumbai attack highlights its unwillingness to accept the involvement of Pakistani entities. Such an attitude diminishes further the credibility of Pakistan’s commitment to counter-terrorism and has longer-term implications for South Asian security. Paper was first published at www.stratpost.com

Currently, Sri Lanka is at the threshold of being the second example of an absolute victory over a terrorist group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The defeat of the LTTE is much a success of the Sri Lankan military as it is a grave

After months of ‘preparation’ – massive and often indiscriminate bombings in the region, as well as the massing of Forces, blockades and endless curfews – there are now credible reports that the Pakistan Army is poised to ‘storm’ the principal strongholds of the Islamist terrorist

Pakistani Special Service Group (SSG) officers, serving and retired, have gravitated to the world of terrorism. New evidence suggests that elements of both the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the SSG are facilitating knowledge of commando-style operations among Pakistan’s jihadi arena.  First Published in the

In a daring suicide attack barely a hundred yards from the Frontier Constabulary (FC) Headquarters in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP, formerly the North West Frontier Province), a 15-year-old boy blew himself up, killing the FC chief, Sifwat Ghayoor, along with three

First published as “Israel: hope for the best, prepare for the worst,” Longitude, The Italian Monthly on World Affairs, May 2011, pp. 59-66. Not often does Israel finds itself a passive bystander amid Middle East turmoil. But as history shows, whether or not the Jewish state is

First published in Tel-Aviv Notes, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University.   On June 16, 2011, Ayman al-Zawahiri was named Usama Bin Ladin’s successor as al-Qa‘ida’s leader. His appointment was not taken for granted and had to be approved

First published in the CST Blog When Anders Behring Breivik set out to commit mass murder last Friday, he left behind a huge amount of material explaining his motivations, intentions and preparations: mainly in the form of a 1,516-page written manifesto and a 12 minute video.

The US strategy in Afghanistan has seen a decade of unrelenting failure. The US has sought to repackage the killing of Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda-Taliban leaders as a grand strategic success and a prelude to an ordered withdrawal from Afghanistan. The truth

In recent days, there has been heavy American pressure at the highest level on Israel to apologize to Turkey for the deadly results of the May 2010 “humanitarian” flotilla led by the Turkish Islamist organization IHH, in which nine Turkish citizens were killed during their

Iran has been transferring in recent years large amounts of weapons to well-known terrorist groups in Lebanon and Gaza by various means. One of the ways Iran has found to be very effective is using maritime containers which ship through intermediate ports on their way

Despite the US-Pakistan relationship approaching its nadir, and Pakistan’s continuing domestic crises, there is little to suggest that Pakistan is going correct course and to improve, in the foreseeable future, its current rank, as the 12th among the countries approaching state failure. Indeed, available indices

On 26 February 1993, a thunderous blast rocked Tower One of the World Trade Center in New York. A car bomb in the underground parking had been intended to bring down Tower One in such a way that it would collapse into Tower Two, potentially