John Campbell explains Boko Haram's presence in Nigeria and potential implications for U.S. foreign policy.

Jendayi Frazer argues that the United States "should work closely with Kenya to the East/Horn of Africa coalition against terrorism."

"Life has not been the same in Eastleigh since the Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) invaded war-torn Somalia to hunt down the al-Shabab terror group in 2011. Since then, explosions halt, at times violently, the buying and selling in this market town."

"In the summer of last year, an al‑Qaeda affiliate known as AQIM, for "al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," took over Gao and made it the capital of the rump state the group created after forcing the Malian army out of the north."

This timeline looks at the history of Al-Shabab from 2004 to present.

Al-Shabab's deadly Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi is unlikely to alter Kenya's foreign policy, but the incident could encourage tighter U.S.-Kenya relations and reinforce Washington's engagement with the broader region, says CFR's Jendayi Frazer.

Ed Husain argues for the creation of a global venture to support local and community organizations throughout the Middle East that forward counternarratives to violent extremism.

"Mueller has remade the Bureau from top to bottom, transforming its intelligence capabilities, focusing it on counterterrorism and cybercrime, and growing it internationally in ways Hoover never could have imagined. With little public note, the FBI under Mueller has become the first truly global police force, transforming the domestic agency created to combat interstate crime into one focused increasingly on transnational crime, especially in the arenas of cybercrime and counterterrorism."

As the United States draws down forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban insurgency continues to challenge the government in Kabul while holding out the prospect of a negotiated settlement, explains this Backgrounder.

Max Boot explains what Prince Alexander Bariatinsky's success against Chechen rebels in the nineteenth century can teach us about counterinsurgency today.

The Taliban believes it will have the upper hand in potential negotiations with the Afghan government and its partner in Washington, but it remains unclear what the insurgent group's goals are in any settlement, says expert Amin Tarzi.

Matt Waxman argues that even if President Obama is able close Guantanamo, nothing he has done so far will prevent the creation of another detention facility.

Both the Bush and Obama administrations have sought to justify controversial domestic surveillance programs amid pointed criticism from Congress and rights activists, explains this Backgrounder.

Annual reports from the Department of State with regional overviews and topical chapters on terrorist organizations, etc.

President Obama's counterterrorism speech made strides toward greater transparency but missed opportunities to articulate a vision for moving beyond a perpetual war footing, says CFR's John Bellinger.

President Obama signed this directive on May 23, 2013, which he said in a speech at the National Defense University is a framework that governs the use of force by United States against terrorists.

John Campbell examines Nigeria's ongoing problems: an Islamic insurgency, a security crackdown, and sectarian clashes.

In President Obama's upcoming counterterrorism speech, Robert Chesney and Matthew Waxman explain that the president should focus on three areas that his administration has not followed through in a serious way: closing Guantanamo, working with Congress to put forceful counterterrorism actions on sound legal footing, and making targeted killing more transparent.

A state of emergency in Nigeria's northeast signals that Islamist violence and the government's brutal response have rendered the region ungovernable, says CFR's John Campbell.