Generation Jihad

The war with Iran is far from over, and the fight extends well beyond the Strait of Hormuz. Bill Roggio is joined by FDD Senior Fellow and former British Ambassador to Yemen Edmund Fitton-Brown to assess the status of the US-Iran conflict, Tehran's efforts to break the American naval blockade, and the growing role of its terrorist proxies. They discuss why the fighting in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq,...

The Houthis are on the offensive in Yemen, threatening one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints and bringing the war back to Saudi Arabia's doorstep. Bill Roggio is joined by FDD research analyst and Long War Journal contributor Bridget Toomey to discuss the Iranian-backed group's renewed campaign to conquer Yemen, its advances along the Red Sea coast, and its siege of th...

The world's most critical shipping lanes are becoming battlegrounds as Iran targets commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the Houthis threaten shipping through the Bab al Mandab, and Russia and Ukraine wage an escalating maritime war in the Black Sea. Generation Jihad host Bill Roggio is joined by Dr. Sal Mercogliano, host of What's Going On With Shipping? , to discuss how these conf...

Three years after Hezbollah entered the war against Israel, the Iranian-backed terrorist group has suffered devastating losses, including much of its senior leadership, command structure, and military infrastructure. But Hezbollah remains a formidable force, and its decision to join Hamas's war against Israel may prove to be one of the greatest strategic miscalculations in the group's hist...

Five years after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban is stronger than ever, Al Qaeda continues to operate under its protection, and Pakistan is learning the hard way that supporting jihadists comes with a price. Bill Roggio is joined by retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and Long War Journal contributor Will Selber to assess the state of the Taliban's Islamic Emirate, the frac...

Was Operation Enduring Freedom—the US invasion of Afghanistan launched in October 2001 to kill or capture Al Qaeda’s leaders and oust the Taliban from power—a success or a failure? With the Taliban currently in control of Afghanistan and Al Qaeda operating training camps throughout the country, the answer seems obvious. Generation Jihad host Bill Roggio, an FDD senior fellow and the editor of FDD’...

Chinese President Xi Jinping is in Washington, shaking hands and smiling as the People’s Liberation Army prepares for aggression in the Pacific. Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to try to play the victim while continuing his brutal invasion of Ukraine. The regime in Iran is severely weakened but continues to menace commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. And North Korean leader Kim J...

Hezbollah no longer owns every road in South Lebanon. In mixed villages that kept the group out and brought the Lebanese Army in, daily life looks almost normal—and Israel’s deployment in Lebanon bends around instead of through them. This could mark the start of Lebanon asserting its sovereignty in the south, spelling the beginning of the end of Hezbollah’s demise. But given Beirut’s inertia, it’s...

Conflicts continue in Europe and the Middle East, and Beijing is sprinting to prepare for potential aggression in the Pacific. Meanwhile, the United States confronts a military munitions crisis—but few Americans understand what is really going on. What is the true nature of America’s munitions crisis? What are the consequences of the current challenges? How did we get into this position? And what...

The UN Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team’s latest 1267 report traces a $50 million ransom from JNIM in the Sahel to Al Qaeda’s senior leadership, puts the Islamic State at a “lower ebb” after the killing of two of its deputy leaders, and finds that about two-thirds of both jihadist groups’ fighters are now in Africa. It also draws attention to risks from cross-border hostilities bet...

China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are engaged in “unprecedented” cooperation, and that is empowering Russian aggression in Ukraine and making the regime in Iran more lethal and resilient. Axis security cooperation is iterative and flowing in both directions across the bilateral relationships within the Axis, making its militaries more formidable and eroding the margin of safety for Americans an...

Twenty-five years after 9/11, analysts still can't agree on whether Al Qaeda is a spent force or a resurgent threat. Generation Jihad's Bill Roggio and co-host Will Selber speak with guest Graeme Wood, staff writer at The Atlantic, and unpack his new article on the group's uncertain legacy. The conversation digs into Al Qaeda's true objectives, the blurred line between its "cor...

The latest report by the United Nations Security Council Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team states that Africa has become the main battlefield for both the Islamic State and Al Qaeda, that Al Qaeda’s senior leadership remains marginalized, and that Al Qaeda is collaborating with the Afghan Taliban and TTP to project threats into Pakistan. Generation Jihad’s Bill Roggio and Edmund Fit...

The weapons flowing through the Axis of Aggressors don't move in one direction—they boomerang. In the second installment of this two-part episode, Generation Jihad's Bill Roggio continues his conversation with Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD's Center on Military and Political Power, and Ryan Brobst, CMPP deputy director, digging deeper into the mechanics of authoritarian converg...

China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea aren't just aligned in rhetoric—they're actively coordinating to erode American military, economic, and cyber dominance. In this episode, Generation Jihad's Bill Roggio sits down with Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, and Ryan Brobst, CMPP deputy director, to unpack the real-world mechanics behind this...

The US is losing leverage in Somalia — and may be about to repeat the mistake in Mali. Bill Roggio and Caleb Weiss, a Long War Journal editor and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, break down why Washington's frustration with Mogadishu is putting critical African Union support at risk, what that means for Al Shabaab's grip on southern Somalia, and whether Puntland and Emirati-ba...

Former Marine and New York Times journalist Thomas Gibbons-Neff recently returned to Afghanistan to find accountability and closure, specifically seeking out Mullah Abdul Rahim Gulab, a Taliban commander he had battled in 2010. His article, “Why I Sought Out a Taliban Commander I Had Fought,” inspired Generation Jihad’s Bill Roggio to seek out Will Selber, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel...

In part two of their conversation, Generation Jihad’s Bill Roggio, FDD CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman, and FDD Senior Analyst Cameron McMillan ask a tough question following months of kinetic warfare with Iran: What’s the Pentagon’s readiness for the next battle? The US currently falls dangerously short on munitions supply, a modernized naval fleet, and the manpower to fight in multiple theat...

The US says it's degrading Iran's threat, but as the renewed air campaign approaches the two-week mark, the math still doesn’t check out. In Part 1 of this conversation, Generation Jihad’s Bill Roggio joins FDD CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman and Senior Analyst Cameron McMillan to discuss the real gap between degrading Iran's missile, drone, and naval capabilities and actually elim...

The Iran ceasefire is dead. With the Strait of Hormuz closed and US strikes pounding Iranian military and infrastructure targets, President Trump has reinstated a full naval blockade even as peace talks limp on. FDD Research Analyst Janatan Sayeh and Generation Jihad ’s Bill Roggio discuss whether Europe may finally be turning on Tehran, whether Israel will rejoin the active fight, and whether the...

Iraq's political system is caught in a chokehold, squeezed between fragile reform efforts and the entrenched power of Iran-backed militias. Deep-rooted corruption and patronage networks keep the status quo alive while the US attempts to financially pressure the Iraqi government into action. Can Iraq break free toward real sovereignty—or is it destined to stay locked in Tehran's orbit? FDD...

A new 14-point trilateral framework toward ending hostilities in Lebanon, brokered by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, puts Hezbollah, Iran’s strongest terror proxy, at a crossroads. Disarm and let Lebanon reclaim its southern border—or keep threatening Israel and risk blowing up the fragile US-Iran peace deal. FDD Senior Fellow David Daoud, an expert on Lebanon and Hezbollah, joins Generation J...

One week after President Trump signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran, the 60-day negotiation window is already under pressure — and the concessions are piling up. Iran has gained unblocked oil sales, potential sanctions relief on frozen assets, and signals that Washington may allow Tehran to keep its ballistic missile program. Meanwhile, the US is pressuring Israel to stand...

President Donald Trump said that a two-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the US and the Islamic Republic of Iran that will end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. But will this deal bring about a lasting peace in the region, or has peace just become another five-letter word? FDD Senior Fellow David Daoud and Bill Roggio speculate on what will become of the Middle Ea...

Despite multiple attempts by Israel to quell the fighting in Gaza and decapitate their leadership, Hamas continues a guerilla-style resistance. The IDF now fights on three active fronts, Lebanon, Iran, and Gaza. But it’s perhaps the forgotten war in Gaza that could resume major hostilities if left unchecked. Bill speaks with FDD Research Analyst Samuel Ben-Ur about next steps in Gaza. Was Trump’s...