Two days ago, America commemorated the 9/11 attack, the worst incident on the U.S. soil and its people since the Pearl Harbor disaster. The 9/11 marked the beginning of a new era, a new era whereby entire nations, whether weak or strong are no more safe, that is to say terrorism has become more and more frequent and has gained international momentum.
ISIS, Al-Qaida are spread throughout Africa, the Middle East and South Asia; and in recent years, they have claimed more lives because their increasing scope of operation, and also because of the proliferation of weapons after NATO destabilized Libya. In this article, the author is trying to draw the attention of the U.S. to the current successor of Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri who took over in 2011.
He’s saying that America has been relatively indifferent to Zawahiri succession in power and that “al Qaida’s current leader is just as dangerous to the United States as its old one.”He pointed out the fact that ISIS surged out with more notoriety and violence because Zawahiri was criticized for his failure to consolidate the global jihad. But while people see an apparent weakness or failure of Zawahiri, this has actually advanced the cause of al-Qaida. Why? because “the Islamic State became a more immediate target of U.S counterterrorism efforts. As U.S. strikes against the Islamic State intensified, the cohesion of al Qaida’s affiliates and its allies improved.”
So, we can clearly note that what people could see a failure and weakening of al-Qaida, it is actually a blessing in disguise, and we must all watch out for it because the organization is still a major threat to U.S. national security and international security. That’s the bottom line!
I have provided the link for whoever will like to read the full article.
Thank you!
https://www.rand.org/blog/2020/09/is-ayman-al-zawahiri-really-the-future-of-al-qaida.html
Marcus,
I have seen a number of recent articles about the status of al-Qaeda, especially now that ISIS has been dispersed (though I would not say defeated yet). Of course, Zawahiri took over after bin Laden was found and killed, and he has been in deep hiding ever since. In fact, it may be that a large part of the reason for his apparent ineffectiveness is due to the fact that he must constantly be looking over his shoulder and worrying about whether he will be tracked down in a similar fashion.
It may also be the case, however, that some of the ideological fervor that surrounded al-Qaeda during bin Laden’s time has faded and the total number of his followers has therefore been reduced. That said, I certainly would not rule out the possibility of another attempted attack on the scale of what happened on 9/11, and we must therefore remain alert and on guard.
–Professor Wallerstein