A CNN commentary 'Terrorism at a moment of transition' by an ex-CIA officer, John McLaughlin, for an Aspen event:http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/0...of-transition/
Remarkably the only focus is on an evolving AQ, as if it was the only terrorist group. It does have some succinct passages, like:This one struck me as odd, read first:So this is a highly fluid moment of transition for international terrorism – when we can confidently discern trends but cannot predict end states with any assurance.I think it is significant that the In Amenas attack needed such a range of fanatics; we invariably miss that so few Muslims are attracted to the violent Jihad. It is a sign of weakness IMHO.It is no accident that the two most significant terrorist attacks in the last six months occurred here: the assault on the U.S. base in Benghazi, Libya, and the attack on the In Amenas natural gas plant in Algeria.
Emblematic of the freedom that terrorists have here, the leader of the latter attack was able to use networks across the region to gather weapons and recruit fighters from Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Nigeria, and Mauritania.
Maybe a minor point, but why use 'the U.S. base in Benghazi', my emphasis. It was a diplomatic building, although we now know some murky activity was under-way elsewhere.
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