Recent conflicts have highlighted how religion and identity are central to security issues. The question remains as to what extent individual conflict zones are facets of a wider, transnational war which pits the ‘West’ against al Qaeda?
Washington cannot unilaterally deal with the mayhem that the Islamic civil war has unleashed. The U.S. must enlist allies in multilateral responses to jihadist threats. Often, events can only be influenced at the margins. At times, the most prudent policy may be to do nothing at all.
Just as intervening in Afghanistan and Iraq did not lead the United States to victory, neither will withdrawing from these countries. Although the U.S. is likely to endure negative consequences from its disengagement, withdrawal need not mean defeat.
van Linschoten and Kuehn’s detailed accounts of the early development of the international jihadists and the Taliban is a wide ranging and useful addition to post 9/11 literature.
Young Muslim activists have received a new standard for challenging the old order, and a new form of protest, one that discredits terrorism as the easy and ineffective path.
The nature of the terror threat is shifting and the question that has not been properly answered is whether we are seeing a threat that is finally in decline or continues to ascend.
Al Qaeda no longer poses a serious international threat, due to key developments in the strategic, political and public realms after 9/11 which have severely limited its capacity to conduct international terrorism.
The global terrorist threat is diversifying. After embracing al Qaeda tactics and ideology, more local groups seek to emulate al Qaeda. Groups are planning domestic and international operations to cause mass casualties.
Memogate reveals that Pakistan’s politics is as dysfunctional as ever. American policymakers and pundits have become so vehement about Pakistan’s failure to cooperate on counterterrorism that more pressing problems in the country have been overlooked.
The Arab Spring’s impact on the Global Jihad Movement is ironic. Al Qaeda, its associated groups and home-grown cells are no longer the agents of change. In the eyes of the people, this most powerful grouping of violent entities remains marginalized.
Before you download your free e-book, please consider donating to support open access publishing.
E-IR is an independent non-profit publisher run by an all volunteer team. Your donations allow us to invest in new open access titles and pay our bandwidth bills to ensure we keep our existing titles free to view. Any amount, in any currency, is appreciated. Many thanks!
Donations are voluntary and not required to download the e-book - your link to download is below.
