Saif Al-Adel: The Next Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
The intelligence community now believes that the plot to bomb cargo planes came from the brain of a man calling himself Saif al-Adel, al-Qaeda’s military chief who returned to North Waziristan in April after spending nine years in Iran. The elite terrorist is now fully back in the game, promoted to overseer of international attacks, free of whatever restraints his Iranian hosts imposed upon him.
Al-Adel is believed to be redesigning al-Qaeda’s strategy. He is making more use of regional affiliates and is focused on quantity over quality of terrorist attacks. An operation doesn’t necessarily have to be carried out as hoped for in order for it to be effective. A near-miss is still a success because of the psychological and economic affects it has. Like a blindfolded man throwing darts, he’ll eventually hit the scoreboard with enough tries. As I previously wrote, the goal is to make Americans know what it is like to be an Israeli.
He believes that a consistent stream of small attacks will convince the people of the West that the war cannot be won. His priority is for al-Qaeda to take over territory in places like Yemen and Somalia and then expand the terrorist group’s reach. In May 2009, I said there were three types of jihadists and al-Qaeda was of the “total” type that immediately attacks everywhere and anywhere. Saif al-Adel has criticized his colleagues for being “random” and is moving the group more into the “near enemy jihadist” category that focuses on winning regional battles. Al-Adel says “the greater objective … is the establishment of a state.”
“The new attrition strategy marks the triumph of a minority faction within al-Qaeda who had opposed the 9/11 attacks, arguing that the inevitable U.S. retaliation against Afghanistan would cost the jihadist movement its only secure base,” writes the Telegraph. There is no evidence that al-Adel opposed the 9/11 attacks and he clearly doesn’t want to write off Europe and the U.S. as targets, but it is probable that he sees smaller but more frequent attacks as ideal for undermining morale without provoking a renewed determination on the part of al-Qaeda’s enemies. If Osama bin Laden chose al-Adel for this role, then it is an unstated admission that his current strategy isn’t working and perhaps that even 9/11 was a strategic mistake.
Only someone with al-Adel’s resume could be respected enough by Osama bin Laden for his criticism to be taken seriously. He has served as a colonel in Egypt’s special forces and was arrested in 1987 for drawing up plans for sophisticated attacks including truck bombings and the slamming of a plane into the parliament building. He later became wanted by the FBI for the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa. In May 2003, he gave the orders to carry out the bombings in Riyadh that caused the Saudis to crack down on al-Qaeda.
It is believed that al-Adel was released in April from “house arrest” in Iran along with other al-Qaeda leaders in return for the release of Heshmatollah Attarzadeh, an Iranian diplomat in Pakistan kidnapped by the terrorist group last year. This clash is just the latest episode in the tumultuous relationship between Iran and al-Qaeda and should not be seen as a severance of the links between the two.
“Perhaps it’s time to target those 150 terrorist training camps in Pakistan that the U.S. military has identified.”
Perhaps it’s time to target all our enemies; that is subsequent to properly identifying our real enemy: Islam (I know, there are ‘good’ Muslims), but those 150 training camps would be a good start. Then we’d target the jihadi camps in the US and go from there.
Imagine a world devoid of Muslim terrorists and airport security checks, and the TSA.
Lets roll … well, let’s be real here, we’ll never win this war. We (our beloved government) don’t have the c.o.jones to finish or even start the job.
What are we fighting for?
Well said, Mr Ackerman.
Also, it fits in with my oft-mentioned scheme of isolation/containment of Islam, with American off-shore capability to effect lightning strikes and withdrawal without that horrific blood-cost of massed troops permanently stationed inside that endless landmass.
Selected allies may apply, but will be expected to keep their commitments.
“Al-Adel says “the greater objective … is the establishment of a state.”
Is that new terrorist state going to be Pakistan, a country that is armed with nuclear weapons? If al Qaeda and the Taliban are able to overthrow the Pakistani government, they become a nuclear power overnight. Whether or not the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI, allows that to happen is another story. But given all the gains the Taliban have made over the past two years, the idea of them taking over Pakistan is not impossible. If the civilian government in Pakistan falls, India will probably also attack in a matter of days as well. India does NOT want a nuclear-armed government filled with radical Islamists on its border and I really can’t blame them. Iran may fund al Qaeda and support it, but the key is Pakistan. Something needs to be done to prove to the Pakistanis that it is in their best interest to destroy al Qaeda, or else the Pakistani government will be destroyed by them. Time, I’m afraid, is rapidly running out and it’s time for the Pakistanis to decide what it is they want to do.
Things are building to a major confrontation, the failure of the US to finish Saddam in Gulf War I lead the Moslems to believe we are weak, the election of Obama leads them to think we can be scared into surrendering. I have no idea what is coming next but it isn’t going to be good for anyone.
I don’t believe that “new terrorist state” is to be Pakistan. From what I’ve read, it’s supposed to be Palestine…which is why we cannot allow them create themselves and force themselves on Israel, without having to at least state that they will respect their neighboring state (which I won’t believe anyway). Actually, their taqiyyah allows them to say anything and commit to nothing.
Might be helpful if the rules of engagement gave us a little help; that, a warrior general and a declaration of who the name of the enemy.
While the TSA is busy scaning and groping nuns, this predator roams Pakistan. The Muslim world and the states dominated by it are either indifferent to the radicals in their midst or are openly abeting their violence. The struggle between the islamists and the non islamists continues as it has for over a thousand years.
At some point the west is going to have to realise our culture and way of life are under assault. Muslims don’t seem to believe in tolerance of other cultures and religions. The states that aid and abet need to start paying a price. If there are nonradicalized muslims and they are the majority, as we are told, then they had best start asserting themselves and straightening out their house. Evidence shows that it is unlikely that the moderates will do anything to stem the violence and restore order.
That means that the west is going to have to react. Iran harbored this piece of filth for 9 years at no cost. Iran should be held accountable for any acts he initiates. The same goes for the Paks and the other abeters. It is more than high time the west starts to realise the nature of the enemy and the fight they are bringing to us. The time to fight back happened about 30 years ago. It’s time adopt a different set of rules when it comes to the abeters.
Where is the S.A.D. Mr. Penetta? Hmmm? This is precisely why the SAD exists, to deal with this sort of threat. Anywhere, anyplace, anytime. This guy should’ve been on a slab five minutes after he walked out of his house. You have the asset…USE IT, you stinking political hack.
Better still, step down and give the job to a real man, Leon.
It has been a long time since I read the manuals on terror and guerrilla war but the early stage of this type of war is to terrorize the governments until they turn oppressive, this is stage 1. When this happens the terrorists retreat to a place where they can turn into conventional guerrillas and start drawing more support, this is stage 2. At the same time they try to develop a sanctuary in which they can train as well plan and launch attacks, eventually they will build a large enough force to take to the field as conventional soldiers, the latter action is stage 3. While this classic terror to conventional war program doesn’t fully apply to the Moslems you can see what they are doing by paying attention to their actions. I realize this is an over simplification of the classical plan, and that I have probably made mistakes but like I said it has been a long time since I read the manual.
Gee, I wonder how the ancient Romans would have handled Jimmy Carter’s Iranian hostage crisis with our technology today? Well, for starters, Ted Coppel would never have made it to Night Line, a program created to cover the hostage crisis for the ensuing year. A week after the hostage taking, the embassy would have been glowing in the dark. Dead hostages make lousy hostages and poor late night programing. Illegal, disproportionate use of force? So was the hostage taking. I wonder how many planes would have been hijacked or blown up by Muslims over the years if, after each incident, a major Muslim city went poof, into the dustbin of history? Yeah, I know, it would just create more fanatics, like the Nazis, and we’d have another failed “imperial presidency.” So, all there’s left to do is bend over, spread your cheeks, and fly United in the friendly skies. Given the suicide plastic keester bomber the Saudi experienced recently, I’m sure the universal preflight proctology exam is next. At least you’ll get your prostate massaged, courtesy of Saif Al-Adel.
I suggest staying squared away. The CFR controled State Deparment can’t get the enemy inside America fast enough.
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