UK Counter-Terrorism (merged thread)

[bourbon]

Steve Coll adds a different, long term perspective and ends:

Link:http://www.newyorker.com/talk/commen...#ixzz2LuFQXBpA

In discussions with analysts one conclusion was that a name change for AQ could make CT strategy difficult, which may explain why of late new names appear for what were suspected to be AQ affiliates.

Terrorism is about branding. The AQ brand is either dead or on life support right now.

Pre-9/11 AQ was like the Harvard of terrorism – you had to apply and few were selected. These days AQ is like a community college where anyone can show up so long as they have a pulse and a checkbook.

We are literally finding feeble-minded suspects in the west trying to launch attacks under the AQ brand. Actual frittata's – I swear some of these guys will burn their lips on an exhaust pipe trying to blow-up a bus.

[davidbfpo]

A short article by Andy Liepman, formerly at the US NCTC and now a senior policy analyst at RAND. Amidst is this passage:

Whether in Pakistan after evacuating Afghanistan or its current foray into Syria from its base in Iraq, al Qaeda remains a force to be reckoned with.

Al Qaeda's message has steadily lost resonance, but as long as it takes root among even a tiny minority of potential recruits, it is premature to declare victory. With skill and persistence, a balanced appreciation for the threats that exist, and an enemy that continually shoots itself in the foot, the United States and its allies continue to make steady progress. Al Qaeda's operational capabilities are diminished, yet just one suicide bomber taking down an aircraft full of innocents would change that narrative abruptly.

Link:http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/...-but-dangerous

Although mentioned elsewhere about Syria it is interesting to contrast Andy's article with Bruce Hoffman's - which would not have such a headline:http://www.middleeast-armscontrol.co...rorism-threat/

[Bob's World]

It has never been about any organization, it has always been about the underlying forces of causation that these organizations emerge from and tap into.

To celebrate the "end of AQ" is like celebrating the melting of snow in December...It it is still winter new snow will replace the old. Same with insurgency or with UW organizations such as AQ who tap into the insurgent conditions of others.

Not much, beyond the self-help of Arab Spring, has been done to address the conditions AQ taps into. The West is still chasing symptoms and blaming ideology, poor economies, etc.