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French expert sez politics in the key to defeating jihadis
The recent terrorist attacks in London and Egypt have plunged the world into a state of "permananent conflict" against a Islamist "globalised guerrilla" whose ultimate defeat hinges on the spread of democracy in the Arab world and a peaceful resolution to the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and the Palestinian territories. "The conflict is a global one because the organisations that use al-Qaeda as their reference point, apply the concept of international jihad," says Dominique Thomas, a Paris-based Islamic terrorism expert, and author of several essays and books on Islamic radicalism. Thomas, speaking to Adnkronos International (AKI) following Saturday's deadly bombings at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, attributes the development of the "international jihad" strategy to a top al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The Egyptian born al-Zawahiri, considered to be Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, developed the strategy as a two-pronged approach. "On the one hand attacks target the 'nearby enemy', that is the Arab states whose political power al-Qaeda considers illegitimate; on the other hand the target is the West, with the aim to drive it out of Iraq and Afghanistan and to halt its support of Israel" Thomas explained. While many of the jihadist groups look to al-Qaeda for inspiration, "they lack a unitary political direction," says Thomas. But, he adds, they do have a distinct advantage that makes them difficult to combat: "They don't regard a single territory as their battlefield. The attacks can, and in fact do, occur anywhere. It's difficult if not impossible to predict where the next strike will take place. That's the strength of al-Qaeda." Despite this glum outlook, Thomas believes that the jihadists can be vanquished, but it will take time. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-07-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=124967 |