Even knippen en plakken.
De reden waarom er geen grote aanslagen zijn geweest moet je zoek in het uiteenvallen van de structuur van Al-Qaida.
De oorlog in Afghanistan heeft de organisatie rake klappen toegebracht. Verscheidene hoge kopstukken zijn opgepakt of vermoord. Zo is de nummer 3 van Al-Qaida, Sjeik Khalid Mohammed in Pakistan opgepakt en waarschijnlijk utgeleverd aan de VS. Hij was het brein achter de aanslagen in de VS. Daarom was het dus ook een waardevolle vangst.
Ook zijn afgelopen week de kopstukken van Al-Qaida in Algerije en Saudi-Arabië vermoord.
Je moet Al-Qaida zien als een organisatie met allemaal cellen. Die cellen zijn nu los van elkaar aan het opereren, hoeveel er zijn en in hoeverre ze allemaal actief zijn is onbekend.
Inlichtingendiensten gaan er vanuit dat Al-Qaida een inktvlek is die door de oorlog tegen het terrorisme is uitgesmeerd. Groter, maar minder dik. Dus zitten Al-Qaida leden nu overal of minder geconcentreerd dan eerst en operen ze los van elkaar.
Kijk maar eens na de aanslagen van de laatste maanden. Ze worden altijd toegeschreven en opgeist door aan Al-Qaida verwante groepen, niet aan Al-Qaida zelf dus. Bin Laden is de inspirator, meer niet.
Het is duidelijk dat een versnipperde organisatie niet de mogelijkheden heeft om nog echt grote aanslagen te plegen.
Hier zijn de redenen waarom Al-Qaida minder krachtig is dan eerst:
Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan:
-- Eliminated the repressive Taliban regime
-- Denied al-Qaida safe-haven from which to plan, train, and conduct operations
Pursuit of Global Terror Network:
-- Since September 2001, over 3,000 al-Qaida suspects have been detained in over 90 countries
-- Almost all of those directly involved in orchestrating the September 11th attacks are now in custody or confirmed dead
-- Of the senior al-Qaida leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators we have been tracking, 65 percent have been captured or killed
In the global war on terrorism, the United States and its allies have:
-- Denied al-Qaida its sanctuary in Afghanistan
-- Removed the Taliban regime which supported and provided sanctuary to al-Qaida
-- Disrupted al-Qaida's finances
-- Dismantled entire al-Qaida cells throughout the world
-- Captured or killed many of al-Qaida's top leaders from the 9/11 period, including
-- 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaykh Muhammad and key plotters Ramzi bin al Shibh, Abu Zubaydah and Muhammad Atef
-- USS Cole attack planner Walid Ba'Attash
-- Abu Yasir al-Jaz'iri, top al-Qaida facilitator
Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong have all been strong partners in the War on Terrorism, arresting dozens of terrorist leaders with al-Qaida ties
-- Pakistan has taken into custody more than 500 terrorist suspects, including Ramzi bin al Shibh and Khalid Shaykh Mohammad
-- The U.S. is working closely with the Afghan and Pakistani governments to deny sanctuary to terrorists moving into and among their border areas
-- The United Kingdom along with Spain, Italy, Germany, France and other European nations have disrupted al-Qaida cells
-- Many Middle East and North Africa nations have sought and arrested al-Qaida members
-- Yemen has taken action against numerous al-Qaida members. It was in Yemen that al-Harithi was found and killed
-- Jordan arrested two individuals with links to al-Qaida who were responsible for the murder of USAID employee Laurence Foley in Amman
-- Saudi Arabian authorities have uncovered terrorist operations in the holy city of Mecca
-- Saudi Arabian security services captured Abu Bakr al-Azdi, who is believed to be a central figure in the Riyadh bombing of May 12, 2003
-- Security services also killed a major al-Qaida operational planner and fundraiser, known as "Swift Sword"
-- Morocco arrested al-Qaida operatives planning attacks against U.S. shipping
-- Djibouti is hosting the U.S. military as they pursue al-Qaida and others in the Horn of Africa
Since 9/11, the U.S. and other countries have frozen over $137 million, much of which was supporting al-Qaida operations
We have developed partnerships with both Canada and Mexico to stop illicit border crossings and facilitate legitimate trade and travel.
In the United States, al-Qaida associated cells were dismantled in Buffalo, New York, and Portland, Oregon and arrested individuals charged with supporting the Egyptian-based Al-Gamat Al-Islamiyya.
(Ik heb de 'successen' van Irak eruit gehaald, die vond ik niet relevant.)
http://www.useu.be/Terrorism/USResponse/July0103FactSheetTerrorism.html
