Maybe it’s Not Just Because I’m a Londoner: I think it Shouldn’t be Hosting...
Seven years ago almost to the day, the then still Prime Minister Tony Blair stood up in Parliament to announce with jubilation that London had won its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. That evening, in...
View ArticleWhen Compassion Reigns
The picture of the little boy killed by one of the bombs in Boston has gone round the world and is particularly poignant. How could anyone have done such a thing to so innocent a child? This is a...
View ArticleThe Difficulty of Defining Terrorism
Last week’s awful tragedy at Los Angeles International Airport, which by all accounts involved a lone and troubled individual, was notable for the commendable calmness surrounding it. There were no...
View ArticleWhither Surveillance if Terrorism Isn’t as Big a Risk as They Say?
The Supreme Court will ultimately have to resolve the competing rulings, Friday’s from the Southern District of New York and the previous week’s from the D.C. District Court, on the NSA metadata...
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Who Are the Terrorists?
For a generation, the U.S. government, public figures, and the press have been affixing the label “terrorist” or “dangerous extremist” to their least favorite people and causes. Setting subjective...
View ArticleWelcoming More Syrian Refugees Is Good for America
The Obama administration has made the right decision to raise the cap on the number of refugees so as to take in more Syrians seeking to escape the genocidal conflict in their country. It is not only...
View ArticleThe FBI and the Mass Murderer
It is too soon to say much about the horrific mass murder in Orlando. But I cannot resist saying something, so I will ask some genuine questions. The mass murderer – I will not repeat his name, but...
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Assessing Religious Terror
Since 9/11 numerous books have been written about religiously motivated terror. Many have been vitiated by the excessive keenness of their authors to play down the role of Islam in motivating it or...
View ArticleDo We Spend Too Much on Preventing Terrorism? The Comparison with Auto Accidents
One argument often made against taking significant actions against terrorism is that the number of people killed or injured by terrorism is, by comparison with other causes, extremely small. So even...
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Failing to Understand the Terrorists
A police officer walks past the wreckage of a Home Depot pickup truck, a day after it was used in a terror attack, in New York on November 1, 2017. (JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images)If there were one word...
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What’s Missing from The Looming Tower
Jeff Daniels as FBI counterterrorism chief John O'Neill in The Looming Tower. (Legendary Pictures / Hulu)The Looming Tower offers a smart look into the pursuit of bin Laden, but the show misses a...
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Google’s New Slogan: “Don’t Be Good.”
Burlingham/Shutterstock.com.In deciding not to participate in research that may be used to harm others, Google's employees are like pacifists in World War II.
View ArticleWhen Compassion Reigns
Image: Ines Bazdar/Shutterstock.com The picture of the little boy killed by one of the bombs in Boston has gone round the world and is particularly poignant. How could anyone have done such a thing to...
View ArticleThe Difficulty of Defining Terrorism
Image: Ines Bazdar/Shutterstock.comLast week’s awful tragedy at Los Angeles International Airport, which by all accounts involved a lone and troubled individual, was notable for the commendable...
View ArticleWhither Surveillance if Terrorism Isn’t as Big a Risk as They Say?
Image: Ines Bazdar/Shutterstock.comThe Supreme Court will ultimately have to resolve the competing rulings, Friday’s from the Southern District of New York and the previous week’s from the D.C....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Who Are the Terrorists?
For a generation, the U.S. government, public figures, and the press have been affixing the label “terrorist” or “dangerous extremist” to their least favorite people and causes. Setting subjective...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Assessing Religious Terror
Since 9/11 numerous books have been written about religiously motivated terror. Many have been vitiated by the excessive keenness of their authors to play down the role of Islam in motivating it or...
View ArticleWelcoming More Syrian Refugees Is Good for America
Image: Ines Bazdar/Shutterstock.comThe Obama administration has made the right decision to raise the cap on the number of refugees so as to take in more Syrians seeking to escape the genocidal conflict...
View ArticleThe FBI and the Mass Murderer
Image: Ines Bazdar/Shutterstock.comIt is too soon to say much about the horrific mass murder in Orlando. But I cannot resist saying something, so I will ask some genuine questions. The mass murderer...
View ArticleDo We Spend Too Much on Preventing Terrorism? The Comparison with Auto Accidents
Image: Ines Bazdar/Shutterstock.comOne argument often made against taking significant actions against terrorism is that the number of people killed or injured by terrorism is, by comparison with other...
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