Homecoming

Two years, an underwear bomber, an Arab Spring, a new war, and many memos later, I’ve returned to the private sector and blogging.  At the Department of Defense I tried to find ways to persuade academics to write about terrorism.  At the Department of State, I tried to find ways to persuade angry youth not to give academics something to write about.

In all of that, I benefited greatly from the work here and around the blogosphere.  The proliferation of sites that dispassionately study Islamist militancy has been heartening, if not the increase of the subject’s importance.  Ibn Siqilli’s and Aaron’s blogs are particularly valuable new resources and Clint’s is a refreshing change of pace.  As for my old standbys, they have only gotten better (I’m looking at you Aaron, Leah, Marc, and Ex).  Now if I can figure out this twitter thingamajigger, I can hang out with the cool kids again.

As for the future of Jihadica, Thomas has blessedly agreed to stay on as co-editor and we will continue to be a group blog.  He and I are talking about some interesting changes to the site’s design and content, so stay tuned.

As for my blogging, most of my energy will be reserved for the Center for Strategic Studies at CNA, my new home, but I’ll write when I can.  It’s hard to be quiet when there’s so much happening in Zawahiri’s hometown.