Showing results by author "Daniel Byman" in All Categories

The downing of a Russian passenger plane over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula last October, for which the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) claimed responsibility, may ultimately prove more consequential than the horrific attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, that followed. Western security officials had long worried that their countries’ own citizens would conduct attacks after returning home from Iraq or Syria or strike out as “lone wolf” terrorists.

Washington needs a real Middle East policy.

ISIS' army has attracted a stream of Western volunteers, but there is no reason to panic about their return home. Some may come back as terrorists, but the danger has been exaggerated, and the United States and the EU know how to handle such problems.

The product of painstaking research and countless interviews, A High Price offers a nuanced, definitive historical account of Israel's bold but often failed efforts to fight terrorist groups. Israel's debacles in Lebanon against groups like the Lebanese Hizballah are examined in-depth, as is the country's problematic response to Jewish terrorist groups that have struck at Arabs and Israelis seeking peace.

What if the U.S. government treated domestic extremist groups as it treats Americans suspected of being involved with jihadist organizations like ISIS?

The United States is best off keeping a residual force in Afghanistan—but not escalating, as President Donald Trump plans to do.

To make lone wolf attacks less likely and prepare for those that do occur, governments should keep them isolated, build strong relationships between Muslim communities and law enforcement, monitor social media, and discredit the ideology that lone wolves embrace.

In this sweeping, authoritative account, Daniel Byman traces the key moments in the white power movement’s evolution in the United States and around the world and then details its many facets today. Using a wide range of sources, Byman explodes several myths about white power terrorism and identifies dangerous gaps in current policies. Spreading Hate will be essential listening for anyone worried about this increasingly networked movement that threatens to grow more dangerous in the years to come.