Feature articles in this theme:
By Brian Glyn Williams
26 Oct 2008 |
World Politics Review
For seven years prior to his capture in Afghanistan in November 2001,
Salim Hamdan had been Osama bin Laden's personal driver and bodyguard. Al-Qaida film showed him carrying an AK 47 while
protecting the al-Qaida chief, and pictures at the time of his arrest showed two SAM 7
anti-aircraft missiles on the backseat of his car. The account of how he avoided conviction on the most serious terrorism charges at his military tribunal hearing, as told by an expert witness in his defense, reveals a little-known side of al-Qaida's warfighting capacity.
By Nathan Field
26 Oct 2008 |
World Politics Review
In trying to determine
whether al-Qaida is stronger or weaker today than it was seven years
ago, analysts tend to view the group exclusively
through the theoretical lens of counterterrorism, an approach that
essentially ignores the many social, cultural and historical factors that effect
al-Qaida's relation to its principle constituency. An examination of the organization's socio-cultural and historical context reveals that despite
posing a short-term tactical threat, al-Qaida's long-term
strategic prospects are relatively bleak.
By Joseph Kirschke
26 Oct 2008 |
World Politics Review
While renewed concerns about al-Qaida, reconstituted and ready to plan
new attacks against the U.S., have become the subject of headlines
and presidential debates, the threats posed to American and
international interests by al-Qaida subgroups in places like Chechnya,
Somalia and, most notably, Algeria have gone largely ignored. While experts agree that al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb must be taken seriously, a consensus is emerging that after some initial successes, the North African franchise just might be on the ropes.