Africa, often called the “forgotten front” in the global war on terror, has been on FDD’s radar screen since its founding. The six countries that make up the Horn of Africa—Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan—have become the next major front in the war being waged by militant Islamism. Radical Islamists in Somalia and Ethiopia threaten fierce guerilla warfare to impose a Taliban-like theocracy. In the Sudan, the genocide of Black Muslim Sudanese by the Arab Islamist national government continues unhindered. And even oil-rich Nigeria has found itself in the terrorist crosshairs as radical Islamist activity targets Christians, threatening national unity and increasing violence.

FDD Senior Fellow Dr. J. Peter Pham, one of the first to raise the alarm about the militant Islamist threat in Africa and to call for a comprehensive U.S. national security strategy, leads FDD’s work on Africa. His activities include testifying before congressional committees, consulting with U.S. and international officials, participating in conferences of government and academic experts, conducting research, and writing articles for major newspapers and publications, and developing policy recommendations to better address the security threats in the region.