the CIA has expanded its staff in Yemen, and also enhanced its air bases in the Gulf from which it can launch drone strikes into the country. Only last week, Washington launched a major drone attack which, according to the Yemeni government, killed at least two dozen militants, including foreign fighters, in an al Qaeda training camp in the remote mountainous area of Abyan. Meanwhile in Africa, U.S. forces have also scaled up facilities in numerous states, including Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic. This is intended to allow for greater aerial surveillance coverage and drone strikes --- expect more US interventionist failures.
On Friday, May 2, 2014 1:14:18 PM UTC-5, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > Why is any Western country stupidly permitting Muslims to return? > > > > B > > > > > West's biggest threat: Battle-hardened homegrown terrorists > > http://edition.cnn.com/2014/05/02/opinion/homegrown-terrorism/ > By Andrew Hammond, political analyst, Special to CNN > May 2, 2014 -- Updated 0921 GMT (1721 HKT) > [image: Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has recognized the al-Nusra > Front as the official al Qaeda affiliate in Syria.] > Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has recognized the al-Nusra Front as the > official al Qaeda affiliate in Syria. > STORY HIGHLIGHTS > > • Friday marks third anniversary of assassination of Osama bin Laden in > Pakistan by U.S. forces > > • Al Qaeda is depleted, but danger of home-grown terror on rise, writes > Andrew Hammond > > • 11,000 foreign fighters overall may have fought in Syria, from more than > 70 countries > > • Al Qaeda franchises now focus more on "local" issues, Hammond says, > threatening Western security > > Editor's note: Andrew Hammond is a former UK government special adviser, > and an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics. The views > expressed are solely his own. > London (CNN) -- Friday marks the anniversary of the assassination of Osama > bin Laden in Pakistan by U.S. forces. Three years on, the core organization > of al Qaeda has been significantly depleted. However, the danger from > so-called "home-grown" terrorism may yet be on the rise, fuelled by foreign > nationals returning from key international theatres of war such as Syria. > In the United Kingdom, for instance, Charles Farr, director of the Office > for Security and Counter-terrorism, recently asserted that the threat from > UK nationals travelling to participate in the Syrian conflict is the > "biggest challenge" to UK security services since 9/11. The total number of > UK nationals who have fought in Syria is estimated at up to 366 by the > International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at Kings > College London, with a significant number believed to have been killed > there. > > Moreover, ICSR estimates that as many as 11,000 foreign fighters overall > may have fought in Syria, from more than 70 countries, a number which is > reported to be a higher concentration than anywhere since Afghanistan in > the 1980s. A central concern here is that many of these individuals, which > include potentially as many as 2,000 from Western Europe, plus individuals > from North America, Australia, South-east Asia, and Africa, will return > from Syria to their respective homelands battle hardened with significantly > greater terrorist capability and resolve. > And given that the relatively large number of these foreign fighters makes > them collectively difficult to track with precision, further home-grown > attacks appear increasingly likely. While this offers propaganda value for > al Qaeda, such individuals often lack thorough indoctrination of the > network's core messages, even though some, including last year's > London and Boston terrorists, appear to have been partially motivated or > inspired by them. > This reflects, in part, the continued diminution of al Qaeda's > central organization which is unlikely to be able to provide > operational support for home-grown terrorists. It also means that these > people, while highly dangerous, do not individually represent the same > level of threat to international interests as larger cells and terrorist > groups, and are thus less likely to be able to perform major, > spectacular attacks in the mould of 9/11. > > Thus, while bin Laden's successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has sought to seize > on home-grown Western terrorism, and indeed the chaos in Syria, for > propaganda purposes, this cannot disguise the central al Qaeda > organization's declining fortunes. Al-Zawahiri lacks bin Laden's > personal authority within the terrorist network, and the core has also been > weakened by the assassination of numerous other senior terrorist leaders. > A fundamental challenge for al-Zawahiri is that while the central al Qaeda > leadership appears to remain located largely in Pakistani tribal areas and > borderlands, the wider network has becoming increasingly de-centralized and > dispersed. The problems this can cause were underlined earlier this month > in Syria when a jihadist group called Islamic State of Iraq and Greater > Syria (ISIS) accused al Qaeda of having "deviated from the correct path," > and "divided the mujahedeen in every place." > The origin of the dispute probably lies in an edict from al-Zawahiri > to ISIS to confine its activities to Iraq after it was accused of > abuses of civilians and rival rebels in Syria. Al-Zawahiri has instead > recognized the al-Nusra Front as the official al Qaeda affiliate in Syria > and called for jihadist unity behind it. > Accompanying this dispersal and de-centralization has been shifting the > focus of al Qaeda groups and franchises whose attention is more on "local" > national or regional issues, rather than the broader international designs > of bin Laden. In part, this also reflects the greater difficulty of > attacking key international targets many of whose defences have > significantly hardened since 9/11. > While the central core of al Qaeda has been diminished since bin > Laden's demise, much of the wider terrorist network remains potent > Andrew Hammond > There has also been evolution in the geographical focal points of al Qaeda > activity with terrorist nodes of growing importance, for instance, in key > African and Middle Eastern countries, such as Yemen, where > political upheaval since bin Laden's death has allowed terrorists and other > insurgents to secure greater foothold. And reflecting this changed risk > pattern, U.S. forces are re-deploying as a result. > For instance, the CIA has expanded its staff in Yemen, and also enhanced > its air bases in the Gulf from which it can launch drone strikes into the > country. Only last week, Washington launched a major drone attack > which, according to the Yemeni government, killed at least two dozen > militants, including foreign fighters, in an al Qaeda training camp in the > remote mountainous area of Abyan. > Meanwhile in Africa, U.S. forces have also scaled up facilities > in numerous states, including Kenya, Ethiopia, and the Central > African Republic. This is intended to allow for greater aerial > surveillance coverage and drone strikes, especially in North Africa, plus > sites for military hardware storage. > So while the central core of al Qaeda has been diminished since > bin Laden's demise, much of the wider terrorist network remains > potent, albeit more focused on local grievances than grander > international ambitions. However, danger may be growing from > home-grown threats fueled by battle-hardened individuals returning from > foreign theaters of war, especially Syria, with greater terrorist resolve > and capabilities. > > > > > > > __._,_.___ > > > Visit Your > Group<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmbDZxNTUwBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzEzOTkwNTEwODU-> > > > > [image: Yahoo! > Groups]<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlamRhdnZqBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTM5OTA1MTA4NQ--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of > Use<https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
