Terrorism

The military and technical capacities of the Islamic State have been weakened by series of defeats on the battlefield. As a result, some fighters who fought on the side of the so-called Caliphate have begun to return clandestinely to Central Asia. Following the liberation of Fallujah and Manbij in Iraq and Aleppo in Syria, the number of extremists returning to their home countries is increasing. With the return of these now-veterans fighters, the threat of terrorist attacks has increased, causing deep concerns among the ruling regimes in Central Asia.

The United States should cut off financial and military aid to Pakistan's government, a U.S. lawmaker said this week, because Pakistan's powerful military establishment and intelligence services have not broken off their links to terrorist groups.

In order to usher in stability, the United States needs a region-by-region approach to Syria that builds from the bottom up and leaves Syria with a weak central government but strong regionally-based power centers backed by local populations.

Hours after the Islamic State confirmed the death of Georgian-born Abu Omar al-Shishani — one of the group’s most ruthless and influential battlefield commanders — the top defense official from his country of birth hailed his killing as an important but perhaps fleeting victory in the global fight against the terrorist outfi