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| Terror Networks & Islam |
| Coalition warfare: How al-Qaeda uses the World Islamic Front |
| 2005-04-05 |
| Created in February 1998, Osama bin Laden's "World Islamic Front Against Crusaders and Jews" is the vehicle bin Laden uses to build working relationships between al-Qaeda and other Islamist groups. The number of groups now under the WIF is small: al-Qaeda, the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, a group from Pakistan and one from Bangladesh, Algeria's Salafist Group for Call and Combat, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's organization. Because bin Laden clearly attaches importance to the coalition, it is worth asking how he views and what he expects from it. Does he see it as a unified, coordinated alliance, taking direction from himself and other al-Qaeda's leaders? Does he want more than a paper alliance? What impact does he want and expect from the coalition's contribution to the anti-U.S. war? We will answer these questions in this article by analyzing al-Qaeda's doctrine for managing coalition warfare. In part two of this article, to appear in the next Terrorism Focus, we will examine the al-Qaeda-Zarqawi relationship to see how the doctrine works in practice. As with most al-Qaeda-related issues, bin Laden, his lieutenants, and the organization's Internet journals provide the basis for understanding their doctrine. A review of these materials shows three discernible tenets of coalition warfare for al-Qaeda: - Command: Bin Laden is the inciter-in-chief, not commander-in-chief. - Management: Impose only a few clear and simple rules. - Goals: Disrupt U.S. leaders' focus; disperse U.S. military/intelligence forces. From his first public words in 1996, bin Laden has rejected the idea that he was -- or would become -- the commander-in-chief of all Sunni militant groups in their war against the United States and the West. Bin Ladin clearly commands al-Qaeda, but he has not sought the same control of other groups. He has insisted, rather, that his role and al-Qaeda's is that of "inciter" or "instigator" of jihad in the Muslim world. In an interview bin Laden made on September 28, 2001, posted on the Ummat website, he said "I must say that my duty is just to awaken the Muslims, to tell them as to what is good for them." He made similar comments on his role which appeared on al-Jazeera in June 1999, "...to instigate the nation [ummah] to get up and liberate its land, to fight for the sake of God, and to make Islamic law, the highest law, and the word of God the highest word of all." . |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |