Why didn’t al-Qaeda wait until U.S. forces left before mounting its latest round of attacks?
Reader Challenge: Why Did al Qaeda Jump the Gun on U.S. Retreat From Iraq?
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al-Qaeda
Hostility to Plans for New Mosques
It has been said before that Al-Qaeda’s greatest victory was not September 11th but Abu Ghraib. Indeed, the images of Americans reveling in the humiliation of Arab prisoners enhanced the potency of al-Qaeda’s narrative and won it scores of new recruits. But to achieve this propaganda victory, the terrorist organization first had to accomplish something more basic: provoking a vigorous hatred of Arabs and of Islam among Americans.
Outraged by Drone Strikes? Some Drone Operators Are Too
Some CIA officers involved in the agency’s drone strikes program in Pakistan and elsewhere are privately expressing their opposition to the program within the agency, because it is helping al Qaeda and its allies recruit.
The Problems of Partnering with Yemen
The March capture in San`a of a New Jersey man with alleged ties to al-Qaeda has renewed public concern over potential threats of terrorism from Yemen. On March 14 and 15, Yemen’s air force again carried out airstrikes against what the government said were terrorist hideouts in Abyan province, in the south of the country. But as in other countries where terrorist organizations coexist with corrupt and repressive central governments and home-grown insurgencies, the fight against terrorism in Yemen is fraught with the pitfalls that come with a rampant disregard for human rights.
Time for Change in Afghanistan
We certainly should aid Afghanistan’s reconstruction after its latest civil war, but we can’t do that until the war ends. Al-Qaeda has left Afghanistan. We should leave, too, before another soldier or civilian dies without purpose.
Afghanistan: War Trumps Elections
The official results of Afghanistan’s presidential elections won’t be known for weeks. The ballots cast around the country need to be brought to Kabul — some by donkey and helicopter — and counted. Nevertheless, U.S. officials have rushed to celebrate the process, and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen heralded the elections as "a testimony to the determination of the Afghan people to build democracy." This despite more than 75 reported incidents of violence throughout the country, an estimated 26 civilians and security forces dead, reports of more than a handful of districts where no one voted, and complaints about impermanent ink, intimidation, and other irregularities.
The Intelligence Oversight Mess
Americans recently learned that the CIA dreamed up a plan to use “hit teams” of assassins to wipe out terrorist leaders and gather intelligence about them. More than that, congressional overseers of intelligence were deliberately kept in the dark, per orders from Vice President Richard Cheney.
A New Approach to Intelligence?
The Oil Need That Fuels U.S. ‘Outreach’ in Africa
Pakistans American Problem
The United States is struggling with Pakistan. The problem is manifold, encompassing a resurgent al-Qaeda, a Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan with bases in Pakistan, and Islamist militancy in Pakistan’s tribal areas and North-West Frontier Province.