All Policy Analysis by Michael Jacobson

As efforts to disrupt al-Qaeda and its affiliates continue, the U.S. government has slowly come to realize that military force alone cannot defeat radical extremism. Although al-Qaeda's ideas and those of like-minded groups must be challenged, it is clear that a single, overarching counternarrative cannot be expected to work across

On August 13, President Barack Obama announced that his administration was reviewing the U.S. export control system to determine what reforms were needed to bring the regime up to date. Although the United States has stepped up its enforcement efforts in this area over the past several years -- particularly

This past week, Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner traveled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for his first official visit to the Middle East since assuming his current position. Although in many respects the Obama administration is off to a bumpy start with Saudi Arabia, Geithner praised Saudi efforts

In April 2009, the U.S. State Department and the European Union released their annual terrorism reports, which paint a varied picture of international counterterrorism efforts to date, with clear progress in some areas and deterioration in others. The reports also illustrate how the rapidly evolving terrorist threat presents an ongoing

On April 7, 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department designated as a proliferator Li Fangwei, the commercial manager for the Chinese company Limmt, for providing support for Iran's missile program. Treasury also blacklisted eight aliases of Limmt, which was originally designated in 2006, in addition to six other Iranian entities. The

As the Obama administration begins formulating its national security strategy, the incoming team will assess the terrorist threat and counterterrorism environment they have inherited. To that end, The Washington Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence has compiled and analyzed six new lectures in an ongoing Institute series featuring senior

Last week, the Treasury Department issued terrorist designations for three senior al-Qaeda operatives who spent time in Iran, including Usama bin Laden's son, Saad. But the action, which targeted individuals unlikely to have assets in the United States or to move money in their own names, appears to be linked

On November 17, 2008, Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson addressed a Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. Dr. Levitt is a senior fellow and director of the Institute's Stein Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence. Michael Jacobson is a senior fellow in the Stein Program. The following is a rapporteur's

U.S. and international efforts to combat the financing of terrorism are an under-appreciated and little-understood aspect of the global counterterrorism campaign. But since terrorist attacks are often inexpensive to mount -- the September 11 attacks were staged for less than $500,000 -- why should governments devote so much attention to

On October 27, 2008, Institute senior fellows Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson addressed the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research in Abu Dhabi to discuss how financial measures can help achieve a diplomatic resolution of the ongoing crisis over the Iranian nuclear program. Read a summary of their remarks

Featured presentations: Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Energy Dept. director of intelligence, on nuclear terrorism Donald Kerr, principal deputy DNI, on emerging threats and challenges in the Middle East Charles Allen, under-secretary of homeland security, on terrorism's 21st-century evolution Juan Zarate, deputy national security advisor, on U.S. successes and challenges in the war