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Sara Harmouch

PhD Candidate, School of Public Affairs, American University
Sara Harmouch, a Lebanese national and doctoral candidate at American University’s School of Public Affairs, specializes in counterterrorism and violent extremism. She has firsthand experience with the impacts of terrorism and militancy through her upbringing and extensive fieldwork conducted across the Middle East and North Africa region. Harmouch consults for the U.S. government and the private sector and has recently briefed NATO on religious militant groups. Her research focuses on asymmetric warfare, militant groups, political violence, and threats to democracies. Her work has been featured in War on The Rocks, The Long War Journal, Lawfare, Voice of America, Orion Policy Institute, Irregular Warfare Initiative, Globe Post, and American Intelligence Journal, among others. Follow her on Twitter: @sara_harmouch

Abu Mohammed al-Golani may become the face of post-Assad Syria – but who is he and why does he have $10M US bounty on his head?

Dec 10, 2024 05:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The fall of President Bashar al-Assad has left a critical question: After a half-century of brutal dynastic rule has come to an end, who speaks for Syrians now? One group staking a major claim for that role is Hayat...

What is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And how did the Islamist group evolve into a key player in Syria’s civil war?

Dec 03, 2024 15:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views

A major offensive has seen rebel groups in Syria retake the countrys second city, Aleppo and demonstrated the growing prominence of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the 13-year-long civil war. The surprise...

How Moscow terror attack fits ISIS-K strategy to widen agenda, take fight to its perceived enemies

Mar 25, 2024 05:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Russia is reeling from the worst terror strike on its soil in a generation following an attack on March 22, 2024, that killed at least 137 concertgoers in Moscow. The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group....

Global Geopolitics Series

US raids in Iraq and Syria: How retaliatory airstrikes affect network of Iran-backed militias

Feb 05, 2024 07:18 am UTC| Insights & Views

U.S. bombers struck dozens of sites across Iraq and Syria on Feb. 2, 2024, to avenge a drone attack that killed three American service members just days earlier. The retaliatory strikes were the first following a deadly...

Economy

Trump Imposes 10% Tariff on Global Imports, Markets React Sharply

U.S. customs agents began enforcing President Donald Trumps 10% baseline tariff on imports from multiple countries on Saturday, marking a major shift from post-WWII trade norms. This unilateral move affects goods arriving...

Global Markets Tumble as US-China Trade War Deepens

Global stock markets plunged Friday following Chinas announcement of 34% retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, intensifying trade tensions with the U.S. and raising recession fears. The Nasdaq entered a bear market, falling...

Wall Street Plunges Amid Escalating U.S.-China Trade War and Tariff Fears

Wall Street suffered its steepest two-day drop since the pandemic, as mounting global trade tensions and sweeping tariffs imposed by the Trump administration triggered a major market selloff. The Nasdaq Composite...

China’s Tariffs Push Soybean Trade Towards Brazil, Hitting U.S. Exports

Chinas latest retaliation to U.S. tariffs is intensifying a shift away from American agricultural imports, especially soybeans, with Brazil emerging as the primary beneficiary. On Friday, Beijing imposed additional 34%...

Trade War Escalates: China Strikes Back

In April 2025, the U.S.-China trade war leaped exponentially when China slapped a 34% tariff on everything America exports in retaliation against President Trumps tariffs. The retaliatory tariff is the exact thing the...

Politics

Medicare Declines Coverage Expansion for Obesity Drugs Like Wegovy and Zepbound

The Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it will not proceed with a Biden administration proposal to expand Medicare coverage to include weight-loss drugs such as Novo Nordisks Wegovy and Eli Lillys...

Zelenskiy Criticizes U.S. Embassy’s Response to Russian Missile Strike

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy voiced frustration over the U.S. embassys response to a deadly Russian missile strike that killed 18 people, including nine children, in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih. The attack, which...

Netanyahu to Discuss U.S. Tariffs, Iran, and ICC Warrant in Washington Meeting with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington on Sunday for a high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, aiming to address newly imposed U.S. tariffs and a range of geopolitical concerns....

U.S. Judge Orders Return of Wrongfully Deported Salvadoran Migrant

A U.S. federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legally residing Salvadoran migrant, to the U.S. within three days after he was mistakenly deported to El Salvador. The...

UK PM Starmer Vows Support for Businesses Amid Trump’s Tariff Surge

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced plans to shield British industries from the fallout of U.S. President Donald Trumps new tariff policy, pledging potential state intervention to support the most impacted sectors....

Science

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

What are the chances an asteroid will impact Earth in 2032?

For a few days in mid-February, headlines around the world buzzed about the potential for an asteroid to hit the Earth in 2032 specifically, asteroid 2024 YR4. The chance of this impact rose to a high of 3.1 per cent on...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

Technology

Meta Unveils Llama 4 Maverick and Scout, Boosts AI Ambitions

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) has unveiled its latest AI modelsLlama 4 Maverick and Llama 4 Scoutcalling them its most advanced large language models (LLMs) to date. Designed as multimodal AI systems, they can process and...

Elon Musk’s Lawsuit Against OpenAI Heads to Jury Trial in 2026

Elon Musks high-profile lawsuit against OpenAI is set for a jury trial in spring 2026, as ruled by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The case centers on Musks...

Intel, TSMC Eye Joint Venture Amid U.S. Chip Industry Crisis

Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) are in early talks to form a joint venture to manage Intels U.S. chip factories, according to The Information. TSMC is expected to take a 20% stake in the new entity....

SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin Win $13.5B in Space Force Launch Contracts

The U.S. Space Force has awarded $13.5 billion in rocket launch contracts through 2029 to SpaceX, United Launch Alliance (ULA), and Blue Origin under its National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 3 program. This...

Nintendo Delays U.S. Pre-Orders for Switch 2 Amid Tariff Concerns

Nintendo has announced a delay in U.S. pre-orders for its upcoming Switch 2 gaming console due to uncertainties surrounding new trade tariffs. Originally scheduled to begin on April 9, the pre-order launch is now postponed...