This Week, Pure and Uncut: October 10, 2014

Another eventful week of foreign policy news, another weekend here again. Here’s a quick list of some of the more interesting news and analysis articles from this week. Like the rest of Drugs and Thugs Blog, the topics addressed will focus on narcotics trafficking, transnational criminal organizations, insurgencies, and terrorism. 

Even if We Defeat the Islamic State, We’ll Still Lose the Bigger War: From The Washington Post, a piece by Andrew Bacevich on America’s continual failures in the Middle East. Since 1980, we have intervened in 14 Middle Eastern nations, and yet we find ourselves stuck in the region once more. Bacevich ends the article stating that “No matter how long it lasts, America’s war for the Greater Middle East will end in failure. And when it does, Americans will discover that it was also superfluous.” 

Is the Islamic State a Terrorist Group or an Insurgency?: Jerry Meyerle at Defense One describes the distinction between terrorist groups and insurgent groups, noting that as ISIS is an insurgency, our counterterror strategy will not succeed. If we only want to contain ISIS, airstrikes might be enough. But if we truly mean to destroy the insurgency, we need to be willing to make a larger effort. 

The Boko Haram Insurgency, By the Numbers: From The Washington Post’s Monkey Cage Blog, a post by Nathaniel Allen, Peter Lewis, and Hilary Matfess on the casualties inflicted over the years by Boko Haram. Not only is Boko Haram the largest cause of violence in Nigeria, it is also “one of the most significant conflicts in the world. Nigerian casualties are now running more than double those in Afghanistan, and substantially higher than in Iraq just a few years ago.“ 

EU: Balkans Still Plagued by Crime, Corruption, and Censorship: From OCCRP, a not too surprising announcement that the EU considers the non-EU Balkan states as too disorderly to join the Union. Organized crime remains as one of the largest obstacles to membership for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey, although there are other factors for each individual state.

AQAP Suicide Attacks Kill Scores in Sana’a and Hadramout: From Oren Adaki at the Long War Journal, news that the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen killed over 60 in a suicide bombing. One of the biggest news stories to slide under the radar this summer, there continues to be conflict between the Shia Houthis, the Yemeni government, and the Sunni al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, especially now that the Houthis and the Yemeni government have been in negotiations. 

Mexico’s Deadly Narco-Politics: On The New York Times, an article from Ioan Grillo on the horrifying killing of students in Iguala, Mexico, by cartel members and facilitated by the local police. The level of violence, and the cooperation between the cartels and government, is a “terrifying concept”, as Grillo puts it.  

Clandestine Arms Factories Discovered in Mexico: From David Gagne at InSightCrime, reports of the discovery of two Mexican drug cartel weapons factories in Jalisco. These are the first of their kind found in Mexico, which might indicate that cartels have been having more trouble sourcing guns from the United States. 

15,000-Plus for Fighting: The Return of the Foreign Fighters: Finally, from Michael Noonan at War on the Rocks, an article on the history of jihadist foreign fighters, the likelihood of them returning to their home states to commit attacks, and what can be done to confront that possibility. The issue of foreign fighters will continue to be a concern for national security for the foreseeable future; more must be done to prevent such a threat from returning to the US or Europe. 

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Enjoy the weekend, and thanks for reading.