Editor’s Corner

s an “alum” of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, where I spent 1998 to 2000 as a foreign policy researcher, my new role at the helm of JINSA’s flagship publication feels more than a little bit like a homecoming. In many ways, it is also quite a daunting proposition, since my predecessor, Ambassador Harvey Feldman, has left some rather large shoes to fill.

In the four years since its inception, under Harvey’s direction, the Journal has flourished, emerging as an important resource for foreign policy and international security practitioners, both within the Washington Beltway and far beyond it. I plan to build on these successes to make the Journal a truly global forum for public policy and international security debateÑone to which opinion-shapers and the general public alike turn for new ideas about American security and the security of our allies abroad.

As part of this effort, a number of changes are afoot within these pages. The most visible, of course, is the Journal’s new look. With changes to layout, design and format, we are working to make every issue more eye-catching, dynamic and easier to read. The Journal is also expanding its profile and outreach with a new website (www.securityaffairs.org) that boasts a comprehensive archive of articles from previous editions, and periodic postings of content from the issue of the Journal that is currently on newsstands. You will see new names among the authors in the Journal as wellÑpart of our effort to expand the “talent pool” of contributors and stay abreast of rapidly-changing developments in a variety of different geographical and topical areas.

More changes are in store in the months ahead, so stay with us for what promises to be an exciting and eventful year! But now, without further ado, on to business...

Nearly two-and-a-half years after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, the U.S. government and the American public remain deeply focused on the slow and often painful pace of freedom in Iraq. It is instructive to remember, however, that in the run-up to Operation Iraqi Freedom, American officials made clear that the liberation of Iraq constitutes just one front in the larger War on Terror. Building on that logic, this issue of the Journal is dedicated to exploring just what those other “fronts” areÑand what challenges, adversaries and political realities the United States will likely be forced to contend with in the not-so-distant future.

Some of these “future fronts” are geographic. In the Balkans, terrorism analyst Evan Kohlmann details how the brutal legacy of al-Qaeda’s Bosnian jihad during the 1990s continues to reverberate, fueled by a mix of corrupt governance and Islamist infiltration. Michael Radu of the Foreign Policy Research Institute highlights a similar situation in Latin America, where a volatile combination of Marxist radicalism, Islamist encroachment and weak governments is creating fertile ground for instability. Lorenzo Vidino of the Investigative Project gives us a glimpse into Europe’s troubling new role as an incubator of terrorist ideologies and Iraqi insurgents. The National Defense University’s Tyler Rauert weighs in on the topic of Central Asia’s rising Islamist challengeÑthe radical, anti-American populist movement known as Hizb ut-Tahrir. And Ajai Sahni of New Delhi’s Institute for Conflict Management tackles the thorny subject of South Asia’s jihadi movements and the one thing they all have in common: Pakistan.

Others, however, are ideological. In his contribution, Andy McCarthy of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies highlights how old mindsets about law and order are hindering the War on Terror. NDU’s James Robbins, meanwhile, explores the “battle of ideas” now raging within Islam, and the centrality of Iraq to the ideological competition between Western values and al-Qaeda.

We also offer up a pair of tantalizing solutions. Intelligence specialist Jason Freier takes a supply-side look at the terror trade, and curbing the flow of weapons that fuels it. For his part, Evgueni Novikov of the American Foreign Policy Council provides an intriguingÑand controversialÑoverview of the lessons we can learn from the fight against radical Islam underway in Central Asia.

But that’s not all. Our new “Dispatches” section, designed to showcase international developments through the eyes of foreign experts, contains communiqués on Canada’s missile defense mess, Kosovo’s uncertain political status and the emerging personality politics of Eastern Europe. Last but not least, our “Book Reviews” include appraisals of four important recent works dealing with Iran, Middle East diplomacy, nuclear nonproliferation and American grand strategy.

All in all, an issue full of important insights about what lies ahead for the United States.