| Submit your comments on this article |
| Terror Networks |
| Analysts say 2005 is a good year for terrorists |
| 2005-12-29 |
| BRITAIN, Egypt and Jordan suffered their worst terrorist attacks this year and hundreds more lives were lost in bombings elsewhere, making 2005 a good year for groups like al-Qaeda, analysts said. At the same time, police and intelligence authorities also enjoyed success, arresting hundreds of suspects in numerous operations over the past 12 months. But more violence looks likely in 2006, with Italy seen as a prime target as it hosts the Winter Olympics and prepares for an election, analysts warned. This year began fairly peacefully on the attack front, aside from the daily carnage in Iraq, which is still an effective war zone nearly three years after the US-led invasion. The relative serenity was shattered on July 7 in London when four presumed Islamist suicide bombers blew up rucksacks packed with explosives on three rush-hour subway trains and a bus killing themselves and 52 other people. Hundreds more commuters were injured, some horrifically, in Britain's deadliest terrorist strike and the first suicide bombing in western Europe. Two weeks later, a second band of four would-be bombers failed in an attempt to repeat the July 7 carnage. The alleged attackers and a number of presumed accomplices have been arrested, charged and are awaiting trial. But questions remain about whether the two strikes were linked and if a mastermind is still roaming free. The Al-Qaeda network, headed by the world's most wanted man Osama bin Laden, claimed responsibility for the London blasts as well as a string of others. Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh was ripped apart on July 23 when three suicide bombers unleased a trail of destruction that left some 70 people dead, including more than a dozen foreign tourists. The al-Qaeda Organisation in the Levant and Egypt said it carried out the multiple bombings – the worst it Egypt's history. They struck the area less than one year after a previous attack further up the Sinai peninsula. Separately, the Iraqi branch of al-Qaeda, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed a triple hotel bombing in Jordan's capital Amman on November 9 in which 59 people died. Summing up 2005, Robert Ayers, a security expert for the London-based think tank Chatham House, described it as a victory for terror groups over democracy. "I think it is a win for the terrorists," Mr Ayers said. "We are seeing democratic governments becoming increasingly non-democratic with regard to their people and their response to terrorism," he said. Following the London bombings, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government compiled tough new laws to crack down on Islamic extremism in the country after it emerged that the July 7 attackers were home-grown Islamists. However, Magnus Ranstorp, a terrorism expert at St Andrews University in Scotland, noted that the government had to water down its proposals because of opposition to their impact on human rights. He said the authorities this year, particularly in Britain, learned a lot about how to handle Islamic extremism. "While it was a good year for the terrorists it was also a good year for the authorities," Mr Ranstorp said. Britain's counter-terrorism policies following July 7 had become a model for the rest of the world, he said. Despite better intelligence-gathering and awareness, attackers still slipped through the net. On October 1, 20 people were killed by three suicide bombers on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali. The bombings came almost three years after a nightclub attack there that left 202 people dead. Both blasts were blamed on the Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah. India also became the target of a major terrorist onslaught, this time linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based guerrilla group. Sixty-two people were killed in the Indian capital New Delhi on October 29 when two bombs tore through markets and a third was detonated on a bus. Turning to next year, Mr Ayers and Mr Ranstorp predicted more of the same. "Pressure will continue to be brought to bear on western Europe and the United States," said Mr Ayers. Mr Ranstorp was more specific. "I think Italy – given that it is host of the Olympic Games and given the Italian elections – is likely to be the next front line in the war on terror," he said. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been a staunch ally of US President George W. Bush since the unprecedented September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #9 AK: What about Iraqi civilian lifes? When terrorists kill Iraqis don't they count in this absurd tally? Not to me. Besides, the terrorists in Iraq used to do the exact same thing when they were in power under Saddam. The only difference today is this - they are killing fewer Iraqis and their targets are shooting back, for a change, with the help of overwhelming American firepower. Funny how AK sympathizes with them today in a way he did not when they were being slaughtered by Saddam. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-12-29 23:54 |
| #8 frankly, it's obvious not enough Greeks have been targetted, Otherwise you wouldn't be arguing. You'd be beaten to a pulp by somebody's widow or daughter. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-29 22:08 |
| #7 I was musing a similar "Hey, wotta 'bout the civilians killed by the asshats?" response, sans the My Morality is Bigger Than Yours quotient, when I saw Aris' post. Made me pretty sure I'd need some nitroglycerin pills. While I was considering which Pharmaceutical stock to buy, Rafael came along, split and doubled up. Too rich for me, now. Combined moral outrage score 8.5. *applause* Though it's not about you guys, it's about the (mostly) innocents of Islam, killed by Islam, in the name of Islam. Waaay too many. My thought processes boggle at the subdued response to the slaughter. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-12-29 20:57 |
| #6 When terrorists kill Iraqis don't they count in this absurd tally? Z.F. is not obligated to care. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2005-12-29 20:40 |
| #5 They killed 3000 Americans. In 2005, they killed about 1000 Americans. What about Iraqi civilian lifes? When terrorists kill Iraqis don't they count in this absurd tally? |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2005-12-29 20:19 |
| #4 In 2005, as in 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, etc., the terrorists built nothing, created nothing, and added not one iota to the sum of human knowledge. |
| Posted by: Matt 2005-12-29 18:59 |
| #3 I'll have to disagree with the headline. 2001 was an excellent year for terrorists. They killed 3000 Americans. In 2005, they killed about 1000 Americans. This is progress, but not the kind of progress the terrorists want. Any which way you slice it, 1000 is less than 3000. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-12-29 18:51 |
| #2 Well put, OS. It's as inane as saying, "1944 was a particularly good year for Germany as they killed far more American soldiers than ever before." For all the blood that Al Qaeda has shed since 2001, they are ever further from accomplishing their military and political goals even with the tacit and not-so-tacit support of Mssrs. Kerry, Rather, Dean, Carter, etc. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2005-12-29 10:16 |
| #1 Good year? More died this year than any year past. Like lemmings they come to Iraq and get gunned down. Terrorists dont do well when confronted by well trained professional soldiers, which is why all their "successes" cited were against civilians guarded by police. So.. a good year? Nope. More AlQaeda and Al Zarqawi's guys have died than US troops, their cash sources are being hunted down and dried up, they have worn out their welcome in a lot of the arab world (the wedding bombing in Jordan was a huge mistake for AlQ). The only places they have any native support left are in Pakistan, Syria and Iran, and Saudi for the money. And the rats nest in Syria is looking to fall this coming year. So a Good year for terrorists? Nah, too many died and they are on the wrong end of the curve; without their allies in the US and foreign press and UN, they'd not have the publicity and apologists they need. Nobody had a "good year" except the brave people of Iraq who managed to vote 3 times, and have their first freely elected democratic government ever. |
| Posted by: Oldspook 2005-12-29 09:40 |