Starting this month, TNI’s Managing Editor, Harry Kazianis, will select the day’s top foreign policy, national security, and defense articles for your reading pleasure. From the latest crisis in Syria or the Middle East, to China’s rise, to important matters of U.S. foreign policy and domestic politics, TNI has you covered.

What you need to know for Monday  9/23:

New York Times: Mall Carnage Shows Shabab Resilience - “The Somali militant group could be signaling a wider offensive, despite suffering losses in recent years.”

Foreign Policy: Samantha Power's Problem from Hell -  “Can a humanitarian firebrand help forge a deal with Syria's dictator?”

Foreign Affairs: Jihad Comes to Kenya - “Until recently, experts assumed that al-Shabaab’s recruitment in Kenya was limited to the country’s Somali minority, which numbers roughly a million people. But recent attacks have forced a reassessment; as ex-members testify, now Kenyans are joining up as well.”

American Conservative:  A Tale of Two Movements  - “What do Paul Ryan and Ted Cruz’s divergent paths say about the future of the Republican Party?”

CNN: Bashar al-Assad Says Syrian Rebels may Attack Chemical Weapons Inspectors: From the article:

“Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has suggested that some outside governments may urge rebels to attack international inspectors sent into war-fractured country to secure its arsenal of chemical weapons.

"There might be countries that might ask the terrorists to attack the inspectors to prevent them from doing their job, and blame the Syrian government," he said in an interview aired Sunday by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.”