Zawahiri, Great Britain and Networks
By Douglas Farah
In the face of intense propaganda and terrorist activities by al Qaeda and its affiliated groups, it is sometimes useful to step back and remind ourselves that, despite the swirl of activity, the enemy is fallible, fails more often than succeeds and is composed of fallible people in fallible networks.
This does not mean we can grow complacent, let down our guard or take the enemy to anything less than deadly serious. The jihadists want to kill us, and will do so by any means at their disposal. But that desire does not mean their advance is inevitable or even remotely likely.
It means we have to become better at detecting the recruits and potential recruits. It means that, if we are prepared, they will make as many or more mistakes than we do. It means they are vulnerable, as we are.
The recent long lecture by Zawahiri to the Muslim faithful threatens more attacks, but also acknowledges shortcomings and mistakes by the jihadist groups, particularly in Iraq.
All is not well elsewhere, although Zawahiri does his best to paint the picture of a triumphant caliphate toppling the old world order.
In Iraq, the Islamist groups are running into the buzzsaw of not only U.S. military efforts but the willingness of local tribes to fight against their radical agenda. Like most of the armed groups that meet with some success, the groups appear to have over-reached and it is costing them. My full blog is here.