Al-Qaeda Is Weak and Bungling…..or Is It?

As I’ve discussed in earlier blogs, the central premise of my novel is that al-Qaeda has become ineffective – at least that’s what bin Laden and his successor (in my book), Nasi Ahsan hope to have the world think. Meanwhile the terrorist franchise is planning an attack that will make the 9/11 attacks seem insignificant.

In my research I found numerous articles in respected journals and websites that discuss exactly this – al-Qaeda IS weak and bungling. I will from time to time share some of these articles that helped in my creation of my story.

One of the more recent (2/25/2013) examples of this was written by Andy Liepman former principal deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center and currently a senior policy analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. According to Mr. Leipman:

“…(if we look at) the evolution of the al-Qaeda brand over the past 12 years, what is clear is a pattern of al Qaeda (or some quasi-organized group acting in its name) pushing into a vacuum, overplaying its hand, and retreating back into the bush when it meets resistance. In Iraq, in Yemen, in Somalia, and now in Algeria, al-Qaeda wannabes and copycats, even those truly committed to bin Laden’s global jihad, have repeatedly made the same mistakes and have sown the seeds of their own eventual destruction.”

He warns that we can’t take our eye off of them but in Deadly Beliefs the administration does just that – everyone except one very intelligent and committed Department of Homeland Security Arabic expert, Teddy Brewer and a group of private citizens that observe some things that just don’t seem right. This type of diligent watch is exactly what Liepman says is important to eventually defeat this enemy:  “Public resilience in the face of this diminished threat will be an important factor…”

Here is a link to read this article written by someone who is clearly an expert on counterintelligence: Al-Qaeda Is Weak and Bungling – but Still Dangerous .