Word: qaeda
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Sanger's behind-the-scenes account of the Bush Administration's foreign policy is laced with scoops and secret conversations about a world spinning out of America's control. He tracks scientists in Pakistan trying to keep nuclear material out of al-Qaeda's hands; commandos at Fort Bragg blasting a Cabinet official for the lack of a strategy to get Osama bin Laden; and Condoleezza Rice telling George W. Bush, "I don't think you can invade another Muslim country ... even for the best of reasons." Sanger uncovers a sheaf of covert operations, like an effort to sabotage Iran...
...wanted to be killed by terrorists then, and no one wants a depression now. You have a leader with sky-high approval ratings (which the media are monetizing with all those commemorative issues and Inaugural Ball broadcasts). You have a lot of unknowables: then, about the capabilities of al-Qaeda, now, about how you can stimulate your way out of recession...
...Like the U.S. in Iraq, the Ethiopians won't admit defeat or miscalculation, but are seeking to withdraw as honorably as possible. But what will they leave behind? In Iraq, the U.S. has taken confidence from the emergence of the Sunni Awakening movement, former insurgents who drove al-Qaeda out of their communities (even if their relations with the Shi'ite-led Iraqi government remain tense). A similar movement has begun to emerge in Mogadishu, reflecting the moderate, tolerant Islam that has traditionally prevailed in Somalia. But Somalia hasn't had a government to speak of for 18 years. There...
...then there's the complication of the Shabaab's links to al-Qaeda, a fact that means occasional U.S. air strikes are likely to continue even after the Ethiopians have gone. That could complicate stabilization and reconstruction efforts, since anti-American hostility makes any Western presence - even aid organizations or journalists - a target for the Shabaab. (See pictures of al-Qaeda...
Meanwhile, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Israel in a television interview that Israel's attack on Gaza is "sowing seeds of extremism" around the Arab world. His words may prove prophetic: yesterday an audio message purportedly from al-Qaeda's fugitive leader, Osama bin Laden, surfaced calling on Muslims to wage a holy war against Israel. With reporting by Jamil Hamad/Bethlehem and Aaron J. Klein/Jerusalem...