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| Terror Networks |
| Ex-bin Laden colleague appraises al-Qaeda's waning influence |
| 2011-06-10 |
| Abdullah Anas, a jovial, bearded former Algerian imam, was a close colleague of Bin Laden in the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan. He considered bin Laden a friend, but broke with him over the slaughter of innocent people on 9/11. Today, Anas thinks al-Qaida's grip on the minds of radical Muslim youth is finally ending. "I think the philosophy of al-Qaida is failing now," Anas says. He thinks no one in al-Qaeda can duplicate the role played by bin Laden, whose charisma gave his grim message global appeal. At a London conference on terrorism, Anas and other experts painted a picture of a terrorist group struggling to find its footing after the death of its leader. It is also deeply challenged by the Arab rebellions in Egypt and Tunisia, which disdained al-Qaeda's glorification of suicide bombers. Yet there is a postscript to this hopeful message. One of the main stages for continued al-Qaida carnage is Pakistan. Virulent Pakistani Taliban groups allied with al-Qaeda and hoping for Afghanistan's collapse will continue to undermine the Pakistani military and state. Anas made a plea for NATO troops not to leave Afghanistan before Afghan leaders can reach a political settlement with the Taliban. He is now facilitating the Afghan negotiation process. "I won't be happy to see NATO leave before we solve the political problem," he said. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 Agreed - then + now. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-06-10 22:40 |
| #1 "I won't be happy to see NATO leave before we solve the political problem," he said. Interesting. Very, very interesting. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2011-06-10 15:05 |