Word: qaeda
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
President Barack Obama prioritized the conflict in Afghanistan soon after taking office, but he made it clear that the U.S. would scale down its ambitions there. The objective of the mission would be to defeat al-Qaeda and its supporters in the Taliban, rather than trying to turn Afghanistan into a modern, well-governed state. "We are not going to be able to rebuild Afghanistan into a Jeffersonian democracy," the new President said. (Read "The Taliban Threat to Disrupt the Afghan Election...
Interior Minister Malik warned on Monday, Aug. 10, that al-Qaeda is trying to install its own "chief terrorist" as the next leader while the Pakistani Taliban lies in disarray. "It will take some time for [the Pakistani Taliban] to regroup," he said. "The other thing which is a bit worrying is that al-Qaeda is getting grouped in the same place, and now they are trying to find out somebody to install him as the leader ..." Al-Qaeda has long wielded influence over Mehsud and the Pakistani Taliban, using the tribal areas along the Afghan border as a hiding...
...unlikely that al-Qaeda will install one of its own members in the leadership slot. "All Taliban groups have links with al-Qaeda," says Amir Rana, an expert on Islamist militancy. "But at the same time, they want to keep their identity independent. They don't mix in the structure of the Taliban. They want to avoid any confrontation with them. They want to stay there, use their facilities for training while providing ideological leadership." The Pashtun-dominated Taliban are also unlikely to accept an Arab jihadist as their leader...
...same area. The attacks are in Kurdish-controlled areas of Mosul and appear to be aimed at straining the already tenuous peace between Kurdish and Arab Iraqis (the Shabak, for example, have a strong affinity for the Kurds). The northern city remains a strong base for al-Qaeda and other insurgent groups, with the insurgents demanding protection money from companies and construction firms doing business in the city. (See a chronology of the war in Iraq...
...side of a road, in cars and in a minibus. Many of the dead were day laborers on a tea break at a construction site as well as residents of both Sunni and Shi'ite neighborhoods. Despite the mayhem, Baghdad's citizens aren't so sure that al-Qaeda has the strength to bring the country to near civil chaos, as it did in 2006-07. Iraqis are beginning to believe that the Islamist radicals of al-Qaeda are too weak to coordinate the massive attacks of the past, and certainly not in Baghdad. But others appear to be picking...