Denying terrorists sanctuary has become a pillar of U.S. defense strategy since the September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks. Violent extremist organizations in North Africa, such as the group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), have used remote and sparsely populated areas in the Sahara for protection from security forces to conduct a range of terrorist activities, such as training, planning, and logistics.1 Despite the time elapsed since the 9/11 attacks, and the resources dedicated to denying sanctuary globally, the concept of sanctuary remains largely unexplored and poorly understood. This monograph proposes a functional understanding of sanctuary and offers fresh ideas to deny it using a detailed case study of the most notorious of these North African terrorists, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, from his arrival in Mali in the late 1990s, until the French intervention in early 2013. Contents: On Sanctuary Terrain: Geographic and Human Characteristics of Saharan Sanctuary Sanctuary Seekers in the Sahara Denial of Sanctuary: Ends, Ways, and Means

Using a two-tiered framework areas applied to eight case studies from around the globe, the authors of this ground-breaking work seek to understand the conditions that give rise to ungoverned territories and make them conducive to a terrorist or insurgent presence. They also develop strategies to improve the U.S. ability to mitigate their effects on U.S. security interests.

Since the terrorist attacks on the American homeland on September 11, 2001, fighting the menace has become the frontier issue on the U.S.’ national security agenda. In the case of the African Continent, the United States has, and continues to accord major attention to the West African sub-region. This book : Evaluates where we can place West Africa within the broader crucible of the U.S. war on terrorism Establishes the key elements of the U.S.’ counter-terrorism policy in West Africa? Examines the U.S. counter-terrorism strategies in West Africa, and evaluates if they are being pursued both at the bilateral and multilateral levels in the region Interrogates the relationship between stability in the sub-region and the waging of the U.S.’ war on terrorism. Specifically, the book examines the crises of underdevelopment—cultural, economic, environmental, political, security and social—in the sub-region, especially their impact on shaping the conditions that provide the taproots of terrorism. Clearly, addressing these multidimensional crises of underdevelopment is pivotal to the success of the U.S. war on terrorism in the sub-region. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of terrorism, homeland security, African Studies, conflict management, and political violence.

This volume offers a comprehensive overview of international political violence by bringing together foreign policy experts on several regions who examine conflicts in the Fertile Crescent, the Balkans, the Post-Soviet Region, the Himalayas, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. With cogent assessments of civil conflicts that threaten to be part of a ‘global jihad’, each chapter both dissects the historical roots and socio-economic causes that catalyze terrorism in those areas, as well as posits ways for the United States to meet the myriad of foreign policy challenges posed by the growing threat of contemporary international terrorism.

This publication explores current global security issues, their development in West Africa and their potential impact on regional stability. It takes a close look at issues such as terrorism and trafficking, climate change, and the links between security and development.