“Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are jockeying for influence with Syria’s
Islamist government, hoping to gain an advantage on rivals in the strategically
positioned country despite misgivings about the jihadist past of its new
leaders. The kingdom, along with Jordan and Qatar, is rushing humanitarian aid
and energy assistance to Syria’s war-weary population. The Arab states are
betting that doing so could advance both narrow and strategic goals—from
cutting the flow of drugs and radical fighters across Syria’s borders, to
countering the influence of competitors such as Turkey and Iran. “Governments
in the region are worried by the new rulers’ Islamist pedigree but also that
their popularity could have a contagious effect among their own population,”
said Fabrice Balanche, a Syria expert and professor at University Lyon 2 in
France.”











<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



Eye on Extremism



January 10, 2025



The Wall Street Journal: Arab States Race Turkey For Influence In New Syria
<[link removed]>



“Saudi Arabia and other Arab states are jockeying for influence with Syria’s
Islamist government, hoping to gain an advantage on rivals in the strategically
positioned country despite misgivings about the jihadist past of its new
leaders. The kingdom, along with Jordan and Qatar, is rushing humanitarian aid
and energy assistance to Syria’s war-weary population. The Arab states are
betting that doing so could advance both narrow and strategic goals—from
cutting the flow of drugs and radical fighters across Syria’s borders, to
countering the influence of competitors such as Turkey and Iran. “Governments
in the region are worried by the new rulers’ Islamist pedigree but also that
their popularity could have a contagious effect among their own population,”
said Fabrice Balanche, a Syria expert and professor at University Lyon 2 in
France.”



USA Today: Recent Attacks Place New Focus On Connections Between Extremism And
The U.S. Military
<[link removed]>



“Two recent attacks — one in New Orleans that killed 14 people and another in
Las Vegas in which a man blew up his vehicle and took his own life — were both
carried out by men with military backgrounds. The New Orleans attacker, who
also injured at least 35 people when he plowed a truck into a New Year’s Eve
party on storied Bourbon Street, was an Army veteran who served from 2006 to
2015, including a tour in Afghanistan. He was shot and killed during a gunfight
with police. The Las Vegas bomber was an active-duty Green Beret. Both left
messages indicating political motives. The attacks shine new light on the U.S.
military’s long-discussed problem of extremist activity in the ranks and among
veterans.”




Recent CEP Press Releases

*
Antisemitic Violence Instigated by Pro-Palestinian Protestors in Amsterdam
<[link removed]>

*
Statement on the Death of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar
<[link removed]>

*
One Year After October 7
<[link removed]>

*
CEP Report: Civilian Counterterrorism Militias Take Action, Introduce New
Challenges To Combatting Violent Extremism In Africa
<[link removed]>

*
Counter Extremism Project Statement Marking 9/11
<[link removed]>




CEP Mentions



Daily Kos: ‘The Base’: Neo-Nazi/White Nationalist Paramilitary Group Training
For Race War
<[link removed]>



“... The Counter Extremism Project, pointed out that The Base is “influenced
by the race war called for in the book Siege by neo-Nazi James Mason.” The
group claims it trains it members for a ‘hypothetical time in the future when
law & order breaks down to such an extreme degree … that the authorities are
unable or unwilling to restore it’” (https
://www.counterextremism.com/supremacy/base). In its profile of The Base, the
counter extremism website pointed out recent statements by Rinaldo Nazzaro on
Telegram.”



NOLA: ISIS Touts Bourbon Street Attack In New Orleans, Citing Its Online
Propaganda Network
<[link removed]>



“... A translation of ISIS’s Al-Naba newsletter provided by the Counter
Extremism Project shows ISIS wrote a wide-ranging piece on the attack. The
piece said Jabbar had been influenced by its discourse and propaganda, noting
the costs of the attack were negligible. The group said that Jabbar used modern
technology to monitor and film, but questioned why he didn’t turn on Meta
glasses investigators say he was wearing at the time to broadcast the attack.
"ISIS's al-Naba statement confirmed that the terrorist group's propaganda
helped inspire the New Year's Eve attacker and noted the significance of his
claim of allegiance to the organization,” said Joshua Fisher-Birch, researcher
at the Counter Extremism Project.”



United States



CBS News: Appeals Court Pauses Plea Proceedings In Alleged 9/11 Architect
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's Case
<[link removed]>



“A plea hearing to enable alleged 9/11 terror attack mastermind Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed to avoid the death penalty will not go forward Friday, after the D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals decided Thursday to pause the proceedings to allow the
court to receive full briefings and hear arguments in the case on an expedited
basis. The court did not rule on whether Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has the
power to reverse the plea agreements with Mohammed and other defendants, but
instead said it needs more time to make that decision. The U.S. government had
filed a motion earlier this week seeking to stop a military tribunal in
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from accepting the plea agreements offered to three men
accused of planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, including Mohammed.”



The Guardian: Extremism In US Military Is ‘Sleeping Danger’ Says Author Of
Pentagon Report
<[link removed]>



“The decorated combat veteran who led the Biden administration’s efforts to
counter extremist activity in the US military has warned there could be further
domestic attacks by individuals with current or past military ties if the
Pentagon fails to take the threat seriously. Both of the deadly incidents on
New Year’s Day were carried out by discharged or serving members of the armed
forces. The driver of a pickup truck who killed 14 revellers in New Orleans was
a veteran with 13 years service in the US army, while the man who blew up a
Tesla Cybertruck outside the Las Vegas Trump hotel, killing himself, was an
active-duty Green Beret.”



Syria



Associated Press: Conflict Between Turkey And Kurdish Groups Rises Around Key
Dam In Northern Syria
<[link removed]>



“A key dam in northern Syria has become a flash point in the conflict between
Kurdish forces and Turkish-backed armed groups, which has intensified in the
weeks since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in a lightning
offensive. Over a thousand protesters from Kurdish areas in northeast Syria
gathered Wednesday afternoon at the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River in
Aleppo province, a critical source of both water and electricity that has been
at the center of clashes. Protesters called for an end to Turkish airstrikes,
which they said are damaging vital infrastructure and endangering civilian
lives. Turkish drones and warplanes remained in the air during the protest, and
airstrikes targeted areas near the march route, according to participants and a
war monitor.”



Iran



Associated Press: Iran Says Swiss National Held On Espionage Charges Kills
Himself In Prison
<[link removed]>



“A Swiss national detained in Iran on espionage charges killed himself
Thursday at a prison in rural Semnan province, state media reported. The report
by the Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency did not identify the man, only
saying the man had asked his cellmate to bring him food and then killed himself
while he was alone. “Efforts to save him were unsuccessful,” Mizan quoted
Mohammad Sadegh Akbari, the head of the province’s justice department, as
saying. Semnan prison is some 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of Tehran, Iran’s
capital. Pierre-Alain Eltschinger, a spokesman for the Swiss Federal Department
of Foreign Affairs, confirmed the death in an e-mail.”



Associated Press: Iran Holds Military Drills As It Faces Rising Economic
Pressures And Trump’s Return
<[link removed]>



“Iran is reeling from a cratering economy and stinging military setbacks
across its sphere of influence in the Middle East. Its bad times are likely to
get worse once President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House with his
policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran. Facing difficulties at home and abroad,
Iran last week began an unusual two-month-long military drill. It includes
testing air defenses near a key nuclear facility and preparing for exercises in
waterways vital to the global oil trade. The military flexing seems aimed at
projecting strength, but doubts about its power are high after the past year’s
setbacks. The December overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who Iran
supported for years with money and troops, was a major blow to its
self-described “Axis of Resistance” across the region.”



Pakistan



Voice Of America: Militants Kidnap 16 Government Employees In Northwest
Pakistan
<[link removed]>



“Police and security officials in northwestern Pakistan said Thursday that
militants have abducted at least 16 government workers and set unclear demands
for their release. The group of civilian hostages are employees of a mining
project related to the state-run Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) in
the militancy-hit Lakki Marwat district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The men
were commuting to work on a minibus when they were ambushed and taken hostage
at gunpoint, area police officer Mohammad Ijaz said. The kidnappers then set
the vehicle on fire before fleeing with the captives. The outlawed
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, reportedly took responsibility for the
kidnapping and released a video featuring the kidnapped workers.”



Yemen



Associated Press: Tanker Hit By Houthi Rebels That Threatened A Red Sea Oil
Spill Has Been Salvaged
<[link removed]>



“An oil tanker that burned for weeks in the Red Sea after being attacked by
Yemen’s Houthi rebels and threatening a massive oil spill has been salvaged, a
security firm said Friday. The Sounion had been a disaster-in-waiting in the
waterway, with 1 million barrels of crude oil aboard that had been struck and
later sabotaged with explosives by the Iranian-backed Houthis as part of their
campaign over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. It took months for
salvagers to tow the vessel away, extinguish the fires and offload the
remaining crude oil. “Over three challenging weeks, the fires were
extinguished, cargo tanks patched and pressurised with inert gas, and the
vessel declared safe,” said the private security firm Ambrey, which helped lead
the response alongside a European naval force and salvagers.”



Lebanon



The New York Times: Lebanon Turns A Political Page As Hezbollah’s Hold Is
Weakened
<[link removed]>



“For decades, Hezbollah’s grip on Lebanon was iron tight. With its vast
arsenal, the militant group was more powerful than the country’s national
military. It controlled or held sway over Lebanon’s most important government
agencies as well as critical infrastructure, like its border with Syria and
commercial port. Almost no major political decisions could be made without its
backing, and no political party could seriously challenge any move it, or its
patron Iran, made. But that longstanding status quo has now been shaken — a
turnabout for Hezbollah that has opened a new political chapter in Lebanon.
Fourteen months of fighting against Israel has left the once untouchable Shiite
Muslim group battered. Rebels toppled its main ally in neighboring Syria, the
dictator Bashar al-Assad.”



The Washington Post: Lebanese Parliament Elects Joseph Aoun President After
2-Year Deadlock
<[link removed]>



“Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect Gen. Joseph Aoun, commander of
the Lebanese Armed Forces, as the country’s new president, ending a years-long
leadership vacuum that hobbled the government, delayed key reforms and raised
fears of a wider collapse as the nation faced numerous crises. Aoun, 60, was
widely seen as the preferred candidate of the United States, which funds,
trains and arms the Lebanese military and helped broker a ceasefire between
Israel and the militant group Hezbollah in November. He received 99 out of 128
votes from across the political spectrum, including Hezbollah lawmakers and
their rivals in parliament. As soon as it was clear he had enough votes, the
chamber erupted into applause.”



Middle East



Associated Press: Middle East Latest: Body Recovered In Gaza Confirmed To Be
Of 23-Year-Old Hostage Hamzah Alzayadni
<[link removed]>



“Israel’s army confirmed Friday that one of the bodies recovered from Gaza
earlier this week was that of 23-year-old hostage Hamzah AlZayadni. His body
was retrieved with that of his father, Yosef AlZayadni, who were taken together
when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel 15 months ago. His father
was quickly identified, while his son’s remains were sent for verification. In
recent weeks, Israel and Hamas have appeared to inch closer to an agreement for
a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Palestinians and family members of
hostages who were killed in captivity have been imploring the Israeli
government and world leaders for a ceasefire deal.”



Associated Press: Middle East Latest: Gaza War Deaths Pass 46,000 And Lebanon
Ends Presidential Deadlock
<[link removed]>



“Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that more than 46,000 Palestinians have
been killed in the Israel-Hamas war, with no end in sight to the 15-month
conflict. The ministry said a total of 46,006 Palestinians have been killed and
109,378 wounded. It has said women and children make up more than half the
fatalities, but does not say how many of the dead were fighters or civilians.
The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without
providing evidence. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it says
militants operate in residential areas. Israel’s air and ground operations have
driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians into sprawling tent camps along
the coast with limited access to food and other essentials.”



Nigeria



Reuters: Nigeria, China Deepen Ties With Pledge On Security, Finance And
Economic Growth
<[link removed]>



“Nigeria and China plan to deepen cooperation in areas such as clean energy,
defence and finance, with China pledging support for Nigeria's issuance of
Panda bonds to fund infrastructure, the two countries' foreign ministers said
on Thursday. Nigerian Foreign Minister Yusuf Tuggar and his Chinese counterpart
Wang Yi also outlined efforts to address regional security challenges. Wang was
visiting Nigeria as part of a wider four-nation tour of Africa, an annual
journey seen as aimed at advancing Beijing's already considerable influence on
the continent. His visit to Nigeria follows recent high-level exchanges,
including intergovernmental committee talks in Beijing last June and Nigerian
President Bola Tinubu's state visit to China in September.”



Africa



BBC: Chad Foils Attempt To Destabilise Country - Minister
<[link removed]>



“Chad's government has said security forces had thwarted an alleged effort to
destabilise the country on Wednesday night, after a group of people attacked
the presidential palace in the capital, N'Djamena. "An attempt at
destabilisation has been foiled. Nineteen people died and six were injured,
including 18 assailants and one soldier," Foreign Minister Abderaman
Koulamallah told state TV. He added that 24 individuals armed with knives,
rather than guns, had attacked the guards around the presidential palace. Calm
has now returned to N'Djamena. Earlier, sources close to the government had
said clashes had occurred between security forces and "terrorist elements". But
Koulamallah described the attack as a "disordered and incomprehensible attempt"
carried out by people who were intoxicated.”



United Kingdom



Politico: UK Rejects Trump Team’s Call To Repatriate ‘ISIS Bride’
<[link removed]>



“Shamima Begum, who left the U.K. to join ISIS while at school, will not be
allowed to leave Syria and return to Britain, the government’s top diplomat
confirmed Thursday — despite urging from Donald Trump’s incoming team. Foreign
Secretary David Lammy was asked about Begum’s future after the U.S.
president-elect’s pick for Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka
said the U.K. should repatriate British members of the Islamist terror group
currently held in Syrian detention camps. “Any nation which wishes to be seen
as a serious ally and friend of the most powerful nation in the world should
act in a fashion that reflects that serious commitment,” Gorka told the Times
newspaper, stressing that this applied “doubly so for the U.K.””



Europe



Associated Press: Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads To Syria To Encourage
Post-Assad Transition
<[link removed]>



“Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he will travel to Syria on
Friday to encourage the country’s transition following the ouster of President
Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents, and said Europe should review its
sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed. Tajani
presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from
five countries — Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States — after
speaking earlier by telephone with his counterparts from Turkey and Saudi
Arabia. The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives,
with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for
the Syrian population.”



Associated Press: Polish Government Adopts Resolution Protecting Netanyahu
From Arrest If He Attends Auschwitz Event
<[link removed]>



“The Polish government adopted a resolution on Thursday vowing to ensure the
free and safe participation of the highest representatives of Israel —
including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who choose to attend
commemorations for the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau
later this month. Netanyahu became an internationally wanted suspect last year
after the International Criminal Court, the world’s top war crimes court,
issued an arrest warrant for him and others in connection with the war in Gaza,
accusing them of crimes against humanity.”



The Counter Extremism Project depends on the generosity of its supporters. If
you value what we do, please consider making a donation.

DONATE NOW
<[link removed]>
 




Click here to unsubscribe.
<[link removed]>