Inside America
Washington DC - Freedom came under attack on Wednesday. Masked armed men, allegedly shouting the words Alahu Akbar - or God Is Great - stormed the offices of a satirical French newspaper shooting at least a dozen people and journalists dead.
There is little doubt that the newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had drawn cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, came under attack by people inspired by the radical Islamist ideology that has given rise to the brutal extremist group known as the Islamic State (or Isis).
The brutal attack in Paris came at a time when Isis is being pushed back by moderate forces in both Iraq and Syria.
In northern Iraq, Kurdish Peshmarga forces have recaptured most of the towns and villages they lost to Isis in August. And no one now expects Kobani to fall.
This is what Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon Spokesman said on Jan 7.
"We very much see ISIL largely in a defensive posture inside Iraq, that whatever momentum they had been enjoying has been halted, has been blunted. That has stayed steady over the last couple of weeks.”
Today we are going to discuss the following
What is the motivation for the attack in Paris? How dangerous has the threat of Islamic radicalism become in Western countries and how prepared are they to deal with it?
And finally, is Isis genuinely in decline? If so, what are the primary causes for its diminished might?
In our Washington studios, Rudaw’s Namo Abdulla talks to:
- Thomas Sanderson, co-director and senior fellow in the CSIS Transnational Threats Project, where he works on terrorism and intelligence issues.
- Douglas Ollivant, a Senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation.
- Nicholas A. Heras, Research Associate, Middle East Security Program, Center for a New American Security.
There is little doubt that the newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had drawn cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, came under attack by people inspired by the radical Islamist ideology that has given rise to the brutal extremist group known as the Islamic State (or Isis).
The brutal attack in Paris came at a time when Isis is being pushed back by moderate forces in both Iraq and Syria.
In northern Iraq, Kurdish Peshmarga forces have recaptured most of the towns and villages they lost to Isis in August. And no one now expects Kobani to fall.
This is what Rear Admiral John Kirby, the Pentagon Spokesman said on Jan 7.
"We very much see ISIL largely in a defensive posture inside Iraq, that whatever momentum they had been enjoying has been halted, has been blunted. That has stayed steady over the last couple of weeks.”
Today we are going to discuss the following
What is the motivation for the attack in Paris? How dangerous has the threat of Islamic radicalism become in Western countries and how prepared are they to deal with it?
And finally, is Isis genuinely in decline? If so, what are the primary causes for its diminished might?
In our Washington studios, Rudaw’s Namo Abdulla talks to:
- Thomas Sanderson, co-director and senior fellow in the CSIS Transnational Threats Project, where he works on terrorism and intelligence issues.
- Douglas Ollivant, a Senior National Security Studies Fellow at the New America Foundation.
- Nicholas A. Heras, Research Associate, Middle East Security Program, Center for a New American Security.
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