Latest Articles

How Do Palestinians Define "Terrorism"?

September 12, 2017  •  Wall Street Journal

The Taylor Force Act is gathering momentum in Congress. Named for a West Point graduate who was stabbed to death by a Palestinian during a 2016 trip to Israel, the bill would cut American aid to the Palestinian Authority until it takes "credible steps to end acts of violence" and stops paying stipends to convicted terrorists. The legislation recently passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with rare bipartisan support, and last week Sen. Lindsey Graham attached it to the 2018 Foreign Operations budget, all but guaranteeing it will go into effect next year.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Trump's right: It's time to end the timetables for Afghanistan

August 22, 2017  •  The Hill

The long slog in Afghanistan just got longer. But at least this time we are not certain that the war will end in an American defeat.

The president's speech Monday night made it clear that the Obama administration's non-strategy of a planned exit was no longer an option in Afghanistan. Trump refuses to allow Afghanistan to fall into the hands of the Taliban, the Haqqani network, Iran, or al Qaeda.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Qatar's Support of The Worst of the Worst In Libya Must End

August 6, 2017  •  Newsweek

Libya's eastern-based government joined Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt in cutting ties with Qatar in June, with Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Deri asserting that Doha was "harboring terrorism." The move reflected longstanding grievances expressed by Libya's non-Islamist forces about Qatar's sponsorship of extremists in the war-torn country. And while the meddling in Libya doesn't get a lot of coverage, it remains one of the key grievances of Qatar's foes in the current diplomatic crisis.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Hamas to Remain on the EU Terror List

August 2, 2017  •  Real Clear Defense

The Palestinian-Israeli conflict may be raging over the Temple Mount, but another front has just opened in Brussels.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on July 26 rejected the assessment of its advocate general who had concluded in September that the right paperwork was not filed in the evidence that kept Hamas on Europe's terrorism list between 2010 and 2014.

The decision was a blow to Hamas. The group was already celebrating a bureaucratic if inconsequential victory. At issue was not whether Hamas is a violent extremist group. Rather, the question was whether the supporting documentation for Hamas's terror listing between 2010 and 2014 was based too heavily on media reports rather than on its own investigations.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

These days, it's the clash of the Arabian Gulf cash in Washington

June 23, 2017  •  The Hill

A nasty internecine conflict has erupted in the Arabian Gulf. Led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a gaggle of Arab states have singled out the tiny emirate of Qatar for backing a wide range of terrorist groups and fomenting regional unrest through its sponsorship of the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar's opponents have severed diplomatic ties and neighboring states even took the extraordinary measure of cutting off air, land and maritime routes to Qatar.

Both sides have now lawyered-up, and they're taking their battle to Washington. It's the clash of the Gulf cash.

Continue to the full article  |  More articles

Books by Jonathan Schanzer