Nexus of Afghan and Iraqi Jihadists Deepens, Posing Serious Danger

By Douglas Farah

Al Qaeda and related groups are increasingly able to coordinate forces and training among groups fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, forming a dangerous and growing nexus on two fronts.

While the al Qaeda contingent in Iraq is not dominant in Iraq's Sunni insurgency, its combatants are gaining valuable experience there and helping breathe new life into the Islamist/jihadist forces in Afghanistan that is now spreading and gaining strength.

For some time now many of us have written about the evidence of transmission of knowledge and tactics from one theater of operation to the other, with groups in each area learning and improving on tactics originated with the other.

This use of trained networks with the facility of movement that these groups have poses a long-term threat, not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in the countries of origin of the combatants.

One can trace the Arab networks that began in Afghanistan to Bosnia, then on to Sudan, Somalia, back to Afghanistan and elsewhere. These are made of cadres of trusted individuals who know each other, have access to different valuable resources and skills who can reach each other. My full blog is here.

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