INTERVIEW — DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS – Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Areas: Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Radicalization, Global War on Terrorism, Somalia, Islamism, Homegrown Terrorism, Pakistan, Iraq, Al Qaeda, Afghanistan, Energy Security

Biography: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. His professional focus is on understanding how violent non-state actors (VNSAs) are transforming the world, and how states are in turn trying to adapt to this challenge. Gartenstein-Ross has specialized in jihadist movements, including undertaking detailed research into al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS), Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia, Boko Haram, and ISIS’s Wilayat Sinai. He is also the Chief Executive Officer of Valens Global, a consulting firm focused on the challenges posed by VNSAs, as well as a Fellow with Google’s Jigsaw, an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program.
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TOPICS: Latest on Ohio State attack:

> Ohio State University attacker Abdul Razak Ali Artan likely inspired by ISIS and Anwar al-Awlaki, authorities say. (CNN) Authorities believe the Ohio State University student responsible for Monday’s attack on campus was inspired by terrorist propaganda from ISIS and deceased Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, two law enforcement sources said. The sources point to Abdul Razak Ali Artan’s Facebook posts before his short-lived rampage on the Columbus campus. The posts referenced Awlaki, who was a leader of al Qaeda in Yemen. Sources also note the style of the attack was encouraged by ISIS in a recent online magazine. Despite claims from the Islamic State’s purported media wing that Artan was an ISIS soldier, there is no indication so far that Artan communicated with any terror group; evidence points to a lone wolf attack. Investigators are inspecting his computer and cell phone and talking to family and associates, as they try to determine what led him to act. Artan bought knives on the day of the attack, a law enforcement official said. Artan rammed his car into a group of people on the Columbus campus and then got out and charged at passersby with a knife. Ohio State University Police Officer Alan Horujko shot Artan after he failed to obey orders to stop, killing him and stopping the attack. Of the 11 people injured three remain hospitalized, Dr. Andrew Thomas said at a news conference Tuesday. Thomas is chief medical officer of the OSU Wexner Medical Center.

>> ISIS Takes Credit For Attack at Ohio State University. The Islamic State has taken credit for Monday’s attack at the Ohio State University that left 11 people injured. The attacker, a Somalian-born student named Abdul Razak Ali Artan was shot and killed by a campus police officer minutes after plowing his car through a group of students. @Reuters: UPDATE: Islamic State claims responsibility for Ohio State University attack by Somali student – group’s news agency
1:49 PM – 29 Nov 2016

– Ohio University attacker lived in Pakistan for seven years