Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Is Al Qaeda Coming Back?

Image: Flag of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Wikipedia

Al Qaeda’s Arab Comeback: Capitalizing on Chaos in Syria, Mali -- Bruce Riedel, Daily Beast

Destroying Timbuktu in Mali, exploiting the turmoil in Syria, successfully attacking in the Sinai—at the operational level, al Qaeda is stronger than it’s ever been, says Bruce Riedel.

Al Qaeda has exploited the Arab Spring to create is largest safe havens and operational bases in more than a decade across the Arab world. In the 18 months since the Arab revolutions first began, al Qaeda has grown stronger, despite founder Osama bin Laden’s death and a lack of mass appeal.

Like the rest of the world, the terror organization was surprised by the revolutions that toppled dictators in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen. Its ideology of violence and jihad initially was challenged by the largely nonviolent revolutionary movements that swept across North Africa and the Middle East. But al Qaeda is adaptive, and it has exploited the chaos and turmoil of revolutionary change to create bases and new strongholds from one end of the Arab world to the other.

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My Comment: I guess reports of Al Qaeda's demise were 'greatly exaggerated'.

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