Astute piece on the making of Jihadi John by my friend Amil Khan. He rightly – in my view – points out that the lure of al-Qaeda is not in its ideology per se, more in its ability to mould injustices, local grievances and conflicts to its own agenda, providing a ready-made set of solutions … More The making of Jihadi John
There was a revealing moment in the testimony of Zarein Ahmedzay last week in the trial of Abid Naseer. No-one else in the Brooklyn courthouse paid it much heed. But it gave this former Pakistan correspondent an opportunity for a wry smile. Ahmedzay was one of three young American Muslims – two of Pakistani and Afghan extraction and one … More How Pakistan deals with Americans trying to join the Taliban…
You’d think security officials, terrorist experts and American presidents would steer clear of basketball metaphors after that unfortunate WMD slam dunk business. You’d be wrong. Earlier this year Barack Obama had this to say about al-Qaeda’s strength, after senior figures such as Osama bin Laden had been taken out but a number of regional franchises … More Double dribbing with terrorists, or something
Laura Seay – better known to me as @texasinafrica – has rightly taken issue with simplistic coverage of Mali and comparisons with other conflicts involving Islamist movements: Among the most egregious — and inaccurate — claims about the crisis to emerge is the idea that Mali could become France’s Afghanistan. Apparently based on the understanding … More On Afrighanistan
A few months ago I met the man who demolished Osama bin Laden’s last hide-out – the three-storey villa in Abbottabad where the al-Qaeda leader was shot in the face at short range. Shakeel Ahmed was selling off the bricks in bulk for building projects or giving away handfuls to souvenir hunters. His yard had … More Bin Laden’s ashtray
Stuff I’ve been reading since Ayman al-Zawahiri took over as emir of al-Qaeda Zawahiri at the Helm – Lawrence Wright says al-Qaeda will now turn its focus back towards Eygpt, at a crucial time in the country’s history Osama bin Laden a ‘ranting chief executive’ – how the relationship between leader and deputy deteriorated The … More Ayman al-Zawahiri
Erm, so this is awkward. On Saturday morning The Wall Street Journal runs a story on splits within the US administration over drone strikes, with the American ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, or his friends, briefing that he is among those wanting a slow-down, to mollify Pakistani anger at the raids… U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan … More The Drones Work
Unhappy new year in Somalia. This just in from the UNHCR… The number of Somali casualties and displaced civilians continues to grow as fighting in central areas of Somalia rages on. Since the beginning of the year, fighting and general insecurity have displaced an estimated 63,000 people in Somalia. As the world wakes up to Yemen’s problems and … More Somalia and Yemen
Today’s Standard splashes on mounting suspicion that someone in Kenya’s anti-terror police unit tipped off Fazul Abdulla Mohammed, a key terror suspect, just as officers were about to swoop. They arrested a family thought to be hosting Fazul in Malindi even as his dinner was cooling on the table. But there was no sign of … More Chasing Shadows
From time to time governments in this part of world claim to have uncovered a coup plot or a terrorist cell, round-up dozens of harmless opposition supporters, lock ’em up and throw away the key. So in August I initially dismissed reports of a terrorist plot in Khartoum. President Bashir, it seemed, was taking the … More Al Qaeda and Darfur
South of West 