Author Archives: The LWJ Editors


Losing a war in Afghanistan

Thomas Joscelyn, Bill Roggio, Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Donati, and FDD founder and president Clifford D. May discuss the dire situation in Afghanistan, how we got here, where we are going, and negotiations with the Taliban.


Podcast: The Rise of African Jihadism

Al Qaeda and ISIS have spawned such groups as Boko Haram and Al Shabaab that are spreading their influence across the Sahel, in the Horn of Africa, and beyond. A recent study shows that African jihadists are increasingly attacking Western targets. 
















Strategic retreat

The Obama administration is pulling back from the war on terror, even as al Qaeda and its allies remain a serious threat.


Afghanistan

Coalition forces killed a former Gitmo detainee and “al Qaeda associate” in Nangarhar. Security forces killed and captured several Taliban fighters in Helmand, Khost, Wardak, and Balkh. The Taliban killed two ISAF soldiers in the south.


Iraq

A suicide bomber killed himself in a premature detonation. An “Iranian sniper” killed an Iraqi civilian in Haj Omran. Ninewa police discovered the body of an escaped prisoner.


Yemen

A suicide bomber killed six Yemeni soldiers at a checkpoint in the southern port city of Aden. President Saleh’s son halted negotiations with the opposition and will not support a transition of power.


Somalia

Six people were killed as Somali security forces fought amongst themselves in Mogadishu. African Union soldiers accidentally shot and killed a Malaysian reporter in the Somali capital.


Libya

Rebels have surrounded the pro-Gaddafi towns of Sirte, Bani Walid, Jufra, and Sabha, and have given forces there one week to surrender. Libyan Islamic Fighting Group leader Abdul Hakim Belhaj played down his ties to al Qaeda and Islamists.



On patrol in Karamanda

US Marines from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment and an Afghan policeman cross a wadi as they enter the town of Karamanda in Musa Qala. Photo by Bill Ardolino for The Long War Journal Bill Ardolino published an article on the the US Marines from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment operating near the […]


Counting al Qaeda

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Bill Roggio published an article at The Weekly Standard on recent claims by the CIA and other intelligence agencies that there are merely 50-100 al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan. When CIA director Leon Panetta declared on a Sunday talk show in late June that “we’re looking at maybe 50 to 100” al […]



Bill Ardolino reports from Afghanistan

The Long War Journal is pleased to announce that Bill Ardolino is currently embedded with the US Marines in Musa Qala in Helmand province, Afghanistan. An excellent observer and reporter, Bill has reported for us previously from Fallujah, Iraq, in 2006 and 2007; and from Baghdad in 2008. In Helmand, Bill will be assessing the […]



Pakistan’s Jihad

By Bill Roggio & Thomas Joscelyn. In the war on terror, Islamabad is both with us and against us. Originally published in The Weekly Standard magazine.