Terrorism specialist John Schindler, the author of “Unholy Terror: Bosnia, Al-Qa’ida, and the Rise of Global Jihad,” is a professor at the U.S. Naval War College. He discussed the changing global danger Americans face with McClatchy-Tribune foreign-affairs columnist John C. Bersia.

In the aftermath of the Moscow subway bombings that killed or injured more than 100 people — punctuated by deadly subsequent attacks in Russia’s North Caucasus region — questions proliferate:
Who were the perpetrators? What were their goals? Are the incidents connected? Do the bombings portend a resurgence of terrorist violence in Russia? Will Prime [...]

WASHINGTON — Since 9-11, Americans have been rightly concerned about how the numbers stack up in the struggle against terrorism. Whether one calls it a war or something else, a sense of direction is not just necessary but vital.
Along those lines, a new report — “Are We Winning?” — by the bipartisan American Security Project, [...]

The uninvited-guest problem at President Barack Obama’s recent White House state dinner strikes me as more than a mere security lapse. If we were living in a perfect world and no existential threat to the United States presented itself, a publicity-seeking party-crasher at such an event might be dismissed as a minor concern, even an [...]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — In the debate over terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and the threat they present to America’s communities, retired U.S. Air Force Col. Randall Larsen says we may stand in the way of our own safety. This happens, according to him, because we typically pose the wrong questions.
Instead of asking how to [...]

On the eighth anniversary of 9/11, Americans are wasting time squabbling over counter-terrorism bragging rights, with former Bush administration officials hurling criticism and Obama team members attempting to deflect it. Rest assured, the nation’s adversaries relish, rejoice in and reap benefits from the divisiveness.

WASHINGTON — Instead of looking for what the Obama administration accomplished in the first 100 days or what it might achieve in the next 100, we should focus on the longer term. The 1,000-day mark interests me far more than the sprouts of the administration’s early seeds.

You have to wonder what is going on in the minds of Pakistan’s leaders as the Pakistani Taliban seemingly retreat from their defiant occupation of a district dangerously close to the nation’s capital –- a crisis that has left the country and the world on edge.
Are President Asif Ali Zardari and his advisors so confident [...]

Political violence of the kind that recently rocked India will necessarily dominate the agenda of President-elect Barack Obama and his newly announced national security team.
In addition to killing or injuring hundreds of people from various countries, the miscreants in Mumbai assaulted the world’s sense of decency in ways similar to the Sept. 11 perpetrators. Such [...]

Now that both the Democratic and Republican presidential-campaign teams have a strong component of foreign-policy expertise, how will they use it?
They had better act quickly, because time is short. During the few months before Election Day, voters should demand that the presidential contenders address the international challenges facing the United States with clarity and [...]