To save time, let me tell you what is going to happen: War will continue a few days or a couple weeks. Then, fearing domestic impact of rising gas prices, increasing regional chaos and not having a plan for what's next, Trump will cut a deal with whoever's in charge in Tehran.

Pentagon Official Rejects Plea Deal in U.S.S. Cole Bombing Case

Breaking News: A Pentagon official has rejected a proposal to settle the USS Cole bombing case with a plea agreement and a sentence of up to life in prison, setting the stage for the first death penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay to start this summer.

Graveyard of Clerics | Stanford University Press The inside story of political protest in Saudi Arabia—on the ground, in the suburbs, and in the face of increasing state repression.

Just finished Pascal Menoret’s ‘Graveyard of Clerics’ (2020), an ethnographic account of the Sahwa movement in Saudi Arabia. Highly recommended! www.sup.org/books/middle...

Afghan-Arab veteran, Mustafa Hamid, passed away at 81, says message from his family

If you’re having trouble accessing my book The Taliban Courts: War through Law, feel free to contact me. It’s been unavailable and, since OUP won’t do a paperback, the hardback is very expensive for individuals. I’m happy to help you find a way to read it.

Just Security Is Hiring: Editorial Assistant - Democracy and Rule of Law Just Security is seeking strongly qualified candidates to fill a full-time Executive Assistant/Editorial Assistant (EA) role.

We’re hiring! JS is seeking a full-time Editorial Assistant to support our democracy and rule of law initiatives and help advance our broader work and mission.

Application deadline is September 15. Early applications are highly encouraged. Apply here: www.justsecurity.org/just-securit...

Senior Researcher - Middle East (281512) | Norwegian Institute of International Affairs Job title: Senior Researcher - Middle East (281512), Employer: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Deadline: Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Job in Oslo: Senior researcher Middle East at NUPI www.jobbnorge.no/en/available...

Job opening: Ombudsperson, Security Council ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee careers.un.org/jobSearchDes...

** JOB ALERT **
Research position (3 years) at Queen's University Belfast to conduct research on project “Governing Jihad in Africa”. This position is to do comparative fieldwork on the ideology of at least two jihadi groups in Africa. Details here: hr.apps.qub.ac.uk/jobs/job_des...

The end of Jihadi Salafism? The religious governance of HTS, the Post-Jihadi rebel ruler in Northern Syria Jihadis differentiate themselves from other Muslims by their demand for an Islamic state based on their interpretation of Islamic law as well as their legitimization of violence against Muslim dome...

New article by @jeromed.bsky.social et al., The end of Jihadi Salafism? The religious governance of HTS, the Post-Jihadi rebel ruler in Northern Syria www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Congratulations!

There are many academic hiring freezes right now, but not everywhere! The Nunn Schoool at Georgia Tech is searching for a tenure-track assistant professor specializing in intelligence and international security, starting in Fall 25.
careers.hprod.onehcm.usg.edu/psp/careers/...

The dog that didn't bark: Strategic intelligence in Northern Ireland Saturday’s Belfast Telegraph has an interesting piece from Sam McBride about archival releases on the Northern Ireland peace process. It’s an opportunity too good to pass up to return to the subject t...

On intelligence and peace processes open.substack.com/pub/intellig...

New Vacancy: Editor in Chief for journal Perspectives on Terrorism pt.icct.nl/announcement...

📢Job Opening: @icrc.org Adviser on Digital Tech of Warfare (in Kyiv).

Help us analyze and monitor the digitalization of warfare, understand its impact on people, and engage with state and non-state actors.

Unique and important role – do apply

careers.icrc.org/job/Kyiv-%28...

Five years in the making, based on dozens of travel to Idlib under HTS control, multiple interviews with Ahmad al-Sharaa, his closest associates, other factions, ministers, dissidents, opponents, civil society, diplomats, and more
www.hurstpublishers.com/book/transfo...

Syria's al-Qa'ida Affiliate Dissolves Itself Translation of Statement and Overview

Syria’s al-Qaida affiliate dissolves itself - from Aymenn al-Tamimi at Substack - open.substack.com/pub/aymennal...

Trump Says U.S. Will Hold Migrants at Guantánamo Bay (Gift Article) The president suggested 30,000 migrants could be housed on the base. It is unclear how the plan will take shape.

I am told that this story is now open for comments.
Based on my inbox, some of you have a lot to say.

Guantánamo’s Other History - Boston Review For decades Haitian migrants have been subjected to brutal mistreatment by the U.S. government, much of it at Cuban detention facilities.

Some useful historical context - Guantanamo’s other history (2021), by @bostonreview.bsky.social
www.bostonreview.net/articles/gua...

Two Americans held in Afghanistan traded for Taliban prisoner in final Biden deal delayed until Trump took office | CNN Politics In the very last hours of President Joe Biden’s time in office, a prisoner exchange years in the making was finally struck: the Taliban agreed to swap two Americans being held in Afghanistan for one T...

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2025/01/...

NYT: «Mr. Trump also said he plans to quickly release the classified files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.»
www.nytimes.com/2025/01/19/u...

Birds of a Feather, in Ideology: What is the relationship between the Islamic Emirate and Hamas? Before the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel and Israel’s continuing war in Gaza, the relationship of the Islamic Emirate towards Hamas could be described as cordial, but not actively supporti...

Taliban and Hamas - by @thomasruttig.bsky.social www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/r...

Recommended Reads from AAN Writers: The poetry of peace, magical realism in Logar, class in Nuristan, Sufis We thought we would start 2025 by asking AAN writers and friends to recommend books about Afghanistan. Their choices are eclectic, ranging across the academic and journalistic, memoirs and fiction, bo...

Some good book recommendations on Afghanistan- by AAN @aanafgh.bsky.social - www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/c...

The International Criminal Court at Risk of Collapse – PRIO Blogs As many are by now acutely aware, the International Criminal Court (ICC) relies on state cooperation to investigate and arrest individuals charged with international crimes. This is not new. What is n...

An important warning!

For the Archives: Into the heart of Jihadism a milestone for the jihadi project

Interesting from Tam Hussein, about HTS and the future of the jihadism (Dec 2024) open.substack.com/pub/tamhusse...

Guantánamo Bay Explained: The Costs, the Captives and Why It’s Still Open Just 15 men remain at the prison, down from hundreds when it opened 23 years ago. But the costly operation could go on for years.

Guantánamo Bay Explained www.nytimes.com/2025/01/09/u...

Differentiating Hybrid Threats against the High North and Baltic Sea regions | NUPI Russlands fysiske og digitale gråsonetrusler og -angrep er en stor bekymring for nabolandene. Denne policybriefen ser nærmere på hvordan slike hybride trusler påvirker land i Nordområdene og Østersjø-...

More on hybrid threats - against the High North and Baltic Sea regions - by @nupinytt.bsky.social www.nupi.no/publikasjone...

How Hybrid Tactics Targeted NATO Allies in 2024: Drones, Exploding Parcels, Sabotage Russia and other hostile states have become increasingly brazen in adopting “gray zone” attacks against Europe and the United States, leaving defense officials with a dilemma: How to respond?

NYT on hybrid warfare in Europe www.nytimes.com/2025/01/04/w...

Guantánamo Convict Sues to Stop U.S. Plan to Send Him to Prison in Iraq A court filing said the prisoner was at risk for abuse and might not be able to get adequate health care if transferred.

In 2022 I issued this UN communication on Nashwan al-Tamir, Ref, AL USA 26/2022.
He was frail and
vulnerable then - all the more so now.
This is Guantánamo Convict Sues to Stop U.S. Plan to Send Him to Prison in Iraq www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/u...