Tag Archives: Al-Qaeda

Al Qaeda Resurgent

Read Richard Whelan on Al Qaeda Resurgent, on how the Arab Spring and clumsy strategic responses by the West, have given radical Islamic terrorism the kiss of life – Village magazine Dec 2013-January 2014 issue www.villagemagazine.ie.

In May 1, 2011, when US Navy Seals and CIA agents tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden in his hideout in Pakistan, President Obama immediately linked his death to the 9/11 attacks on America. Justice had been done; Al Qaeda had suffered a devastating blow, the president proclaimed.

Continue reading

Tagged

Drugs Money and Crime Make the World Go Round

Introduction

My purpose is to draw attention to the phenomenon of a new form of crime network, in effect the globalisation of crime aided by terrorism, sometimes energised by “anti political” governments, and the hijacking of freedom movements in the developing world by people with very dubious agendas.

In the early years of his first presidency, Vladimir Putin predicted that the confluence of major criminal networks with terrorism would prove to be a major challenge for the world.

I begin by examining important recent research published by two reputable international bodies. Both show that Russia’s current prime minister got it right. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Global Strategic Review

The Global Strategic Review, the annual conference of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, took place in Geneva, Switzerland, on 9 to 11 September 2011.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice

Terrorism and Political Violence July-August 2011

Jarret M. Brachman. Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice. London: Routledge, 2009. 212 pp., $41.95 paper. ISBN: 978-0-415-45242-7.
Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

All You Need to Know About the New Al Qaeda chief, Ayman Al-Zawahiri

The recent statement from Al Qaeda that Ayman al-Zawahiri has taken over as leader after the assassination of Osama bin Laden is not a surprise.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , ,

Danger is Bin Laden’s Ideas Will Survive His Death

This article first appeared in the 3 May 2011 edition of The Irish Times and is reproduced here with their kind permission.

ANALYSIS: The death of the figurehead leader of al-Qaeda does not presage the end of the worldwide campaign of terror he inspired

OSAMA BIN Laden’s legacy is that the ideology of al-Qaeda will endure. Al-Qaeda is a group of like-minded people, not a global military structure directed from a notional centre. In fact, the “Arab spring” we are witnessing is a much greater threat to al-Qaeda than the loss of its figurehead, iconic though he may have been.

To understand the significance of bin Laden’s death, we need to take a few steps back.

Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Is this really an Arab Spring and if so what does it mean?

The latest issue of Survival (April – May 2011), the bimonthly journal of The International Institute for Strategic Studies, has a cluster of interesting articles addressing this question. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Al Qaeda Absent from Popular Uprisings in Middle East, Gulf, and North Africa: Why Did This Particular Dog Not Bite or Even Bark?

Al Qaeda’s “home-ground” is the Middle East, Gulf and North Africa, the location of the recent popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya, and now Syria. Despite all its terrorist activities and its endless propaganda, it has been effectively “missing in action” in all the popular uprisings in these countries over the last three months.

Why? Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Key Omission in the Israeli Gaza Flotilla Report

The Israeli inquiry commission report issued Sunday 23rd January 2011 defended Israel’s actions when Israeli marines boarded the large Turkish cruise ship, the Mavi Marmara, in the early hours of 31 May 2010. Continue reading

Tagged , , , , , , , ,