Quote Originally Posted by davidbfpo View Post
The NYT Sunday Review has a succinct article, with many good quotes, for example Will McCants:

The penultimate sentence:

The last sentence reflects a focus on the Middle East, when IMHO it ignores the sustenance provided by some within stable, governed territory (KSA, Gulf sheikhdoms etc) for militancy elsewhere. The Yemen has been a nearby "sideshow" for years, then there is the 'sore" of Iraq and now Syria. None of them appear to mobilise beyond a small militant minority, which we all too often overlook in our fear.

Link:http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/su...aeda.html?_r=0
David, is it ungoverned territory if Al-Qaeda or affiliated group governs that space? This was addressed in the "Management of Strategy," which is one of the Islamist strategy books. Kilcullen developed a theory to address this for terrorists, criminals, and insurgents, called "the theory of competitive control." I tried to spur a discussion on this topic earlier to no avail, but in my opinion the spread of AQ is all about competitive control.