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President Obama recently outlined a re-oriented counter terrorism strategy that aimed at trimming down the predominance that counter-terrorism had occupied in US policymaking. The speech also made public Obama's intention to scale down the drone campaign, subject it to tighter scrutiny and oversight.

India has said that the regional efforts to counter terrorism in South Asia continue to face significant challenges though there are various SAARC frameworks on suppression of terrorism since 1987.

What are the imperatives if the international community has to ultimately prevail over international jihadi terrorism of the Al Qaeda brand?

Since April, 2005, there has been a co-ordinated escalation of acts of jihadi terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Jammu and Kashmir (J) State of India. It is my assessment that the coming months will see more and not less incidents of jihadi terrorism in these three areas.

This paper proposes a counter-terrorism (CT) framework in terms of three types of CT policies—i.e., offensive, defensive, and confidence-building measures (CBMs)— targeted at a terror outfit that is either resource-constrained or resource-abundant. It argues that defensive measures are a ubiquitous element of CT, as these can prove effective irrespective of whether the targeted terrorist group is resource-abundant or resource-constrained. On

What are the gains that diplomacy on counter-terrorism, resolutions of the UN Security Council and other such multilateral instruments bring to the table?

The idea was to capture the different dimensions of the war on terror as has been perceived and to locate the war in the larger geo political context in order to appreciate and understand the consequences, according to Dr Ashley Tellis, a well-known senior US policy analyst.

There has rarely been a period in modern history, when the world has not been confronted with terrorism; somewhere or the other, in some form or another, for some reason or the other. As a mean of coercion through violence, terrorism ebbs and flows and keeps undergoing many mutations.

While New Delhi is getting more diplomatic support for its position, it is doing little to change the threat Pakistan poses.

Conventional theories have become insufficient in explaining the complexities of terrorist action. This brief offers an integrative approach that borrows from psychology, inter-group conflict theory and neuroscience to understand the mind of a terrorist and, by extension, inform counterterrorism strategies. It provides evidence against popular beliefs about terrorists as principally being religious extremists who lack a moral compass and belong t

Narcoterrorism—or the trafficking of illicit drugs by terrorist and insurgent groups—has long threatened India’s national security. Security agencies are attempting to address this challenge, which involves various groups like Khalistani terrorist organisations, Kashmir’s separatist militants, and insurgent groups in the Northeast; their efforts have achieved mixed results. This brief examines recent trends in drug trafficking and narcote

A detailed report by the US Senate Intelligence Committee recently has told us once again that torture doesn?t work. India should aspire to become a civilised democracy by putting an immediate legislative ban on torture. It will give our security organisations incentive to develop the interrogation and forensic skills, which are far more efficacious in countering terrorism.

This paper examines the environmental and policy-level challenges to the actualisation of US-India counterterrorism cooperation. Indeed, despite their seeming convergence on the imperative of effective counterterrorism, there has been limited cooperation between the two countries. While the US’ sense of “American exceptionalism” and its hegemon status purports a utilitarian notion of the adversary, India’s regional power status makes its

November 2003 was a black month for Turkey, which has been grappling with problems arising out of its geo-strategic location in the Middle East and its Islamic identity and its close proximity to the Western world. Even before the country could recover from the terrorist blasts outside the Beit Israel and Neve Shalom synagogues in Istanbul that killed 25 innocent civilians and wounded

India and the United States (US) are realigning their respective foreign policies to prioritise stronger ties in counterterrorism cooperation. However, challenges arise from differing national security perspectives, particularly regarding regional threats posed by entities like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Following massive terrorist attacks, this collaboration has intensified, encompassing various activities that include intelligence sharing and jo

The 9/11 Commission Report has been made public and has, since then, witnessed intense scrutiny and commentary in the international media. The Indian media and analysts have been exceptionally vocal about its findings on Pakistan¿s possible linkages with the 9/11 attackers and conspirators.

Clearly, the prime minister is very good at making speeches.

Indian counter-terror thinking needs strengthening from the ground up without care of international levers, FATF, and other multilateral security mechanisms

There is a serious terror threat posed by ISIS fighters returning to their home countries after losing the Syria expedition. While it was important to trace the routes taken by these foreign fighters — both in and out of Syria — one needn’t go to Syria to become radicalised through the ISIS ideology.

On 15 and 16 March 2007, Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi, and the Center on Global Counter-Terrorism Cooperation of the Fourth Freedom Forum, USA, convened a two-day South Asia Regional Workshop, "Security and Liberty," which examined the relationship between human rights and counter-terrorism. This Chairmen's Report highlights some of the themes and recommendations put forward during the workshop.

A two-day workshop on international terrorism in the South-East Asian region and its likely implications for South Asia was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) at its headquarters at New Delhi on April 28 and 29, 2004, under its International Terrorism Watch Project.

The ISIS has the potential to become the unifying terrorist force in the South East Asia region, posing a bigger threat to the region, according to terrorism expert Mr. Vikram Rajakumar. He also pointed out the emerging pro and anti ISIS factions in the region, counter balancing the ISIS.

To expect that an activity which draws on all the ills of the world — fanaticism, crime, bloodshed and illegal trade — will not have a corrosive impact beyond its intended arena is unrealistic.

करते परवान गुरुद्वारे पर हमले ने अफ़ग़ानिस्तान में भारत की हालिया सक्रियता पर नए सिरे से सवाल खड़े कर दिए हैं क्योंकि काबुल में तालिबान के काबिज होने के बाद नई दिल्ली उसके

ORF examines the causes and consequences of the 26/11 attacks in this volume of articles (click thumbnail above) that focus on the multiple dimensions of this crisis and its aftermath: strategic, operational and tactical.

कोई भी खुफिया जानकारी- चाहे वह कितनी भी छोटी क्यों न हो- नजरअंदाज नहीं की जानी चाहिए. 26/11 से पहले भी एक दर्जन से अधिक खुफिया चेतावनियां दी गई थीं. लेकिन उन्हें गंभीरता से नहीं ल�

अलीकडे इस्रायलवर झालेल्या धक्कादायक दहशतवादी हल्ल्याचे परिणाम आता उलगडून लागले आहेत. हा हल्ला हराकाह अल-मुकावामाह अल-इस्लामिया किंवा हमास ने केला आहे.

The fact that a renewed idea of nation-building for Syria is now down to a non-traditional political entity with roots in extremism keeps the trajectory of the state’s future in suspension

The 2008 terrorist attack came during a sustained period of high economic growth in India.

The killings in Kashmir suggests that the terror eco-system has been taking its cue from Pakistani army chief with an eye towards bringing back some international attention to the conflict

Separatism, extremism, and terrorism originating in Afghanistan compelled the neighbouring countries to form the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in 2001. However, instead of presenting a united front, the SCO is rife with disagreements. Increased divergences and mistrust among the members have helped the Taliban regain power in Afghanistan and strengthen its influence in the heart of Eurasia. The Taliban have taken advantage of the trust

JD Vance’s visit speeds up the recalibration of India-US ties

Beijing’s position paper, on its policy in Afghanistan, is reflective of its recent efforts to present China as a nation that is now heavily invested in addressing ‘international hot button issues’

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's address to the nation on July 22 - as the people of London reeled from a second series of blasts at underground train stations - betrayed a sense of anxiety, a clear shift to address the Islamic community and an unwitting admission of failure in the war on terrorism.Wilson John

Together, Russia, India and China occupy around 50 percent of Asia's landmass. The three countries constitute some of the largest economies in Asia. There are a lot of potential synergies among the three countries, making a compelling case for their collaboration.

Both the U.S. and India are exploring additional combinations of partnerships in the Middle East.

With India and Russia having a common interest in Afghanistan’s stability, the ensuing big power competition, which is pushing Moscow into a tight Chinese economic embrace, is increasingly turning out to be a challenge.

The presence of foreign fighters in Afghanistan presents a serious challenge in securing counterterrorism gains of the past, while ensuring that the Taliban delivers on the promise of ensuring non-use of Afghan soil to plan attacks against the US or its allies.  

The key is to achieve peace within the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan — a system that is defined by its core values related to human rights, women’s rights, democracy, rule of law and political inclusion.

As geopolitical tensions rise, African nations are increasingly aligning with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative. The framework, which promotes non-interference, respecting sovereignty, and development-focused security, is appealing to African countries as an alternative to Western-led interventions. Through military cooperation, peacekeeping missions, counterterrorism assistance, and non-conditional security aid, among o

What impact the capture of Saddam Hussein by the US troops on the night of December 13,2003, would have on the ground situation in Iraq? Would it lead to a petering out of the resistance movement and the acts of terrorism against the coalition troops, their Iraqi collaborators and foreign organisations? Would it weaken the Iraqi opposition to the occupation of Iraq by the US and allied troops? Would it mark the beginning of the return of normalcy

Cut this any which way you like, the US still holds all the aces and can influence different outcomes in AfPak region depending on how it defines its interests.