The return of Al-Qaeda

April 1, 2014April 1, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Back in 2011 many thought Al-Qaeda was finished. Battered by America’s ferocious response to 9/11 and relentlessly targeted by drones, the organisation was gasping for breath. The death of Bin Laden, it seemed, delivered the final blow.And yet today Al-Qaeda is resurgent.The relative weakness of the Al-Qaeda leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan is deceptive. The organisation’s strength now lies at the periphery. Today the Al-Nusra front controls huge tracts of Syrian territory. And there are signs that the jihadis there have learnt an important lesson: if they want the consent of the people, it’s best not to murder too many … Continue reading The return of Al-Qaeda

Turkey walking a tightrope over Crimea

March 10, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

By Dorian Jones The Russian-Ukrainian crisis over Crimea is forcing Turkey into a delicate balancing act: Ankara feels a need to be seen as a protector of the peninsula’s Tatar minority, yet it does not want to vex Russia’s paramount leader Vladimir Putin in a way that complicates Turkish-Russian economic arrangements. There are abundant reasons why Turkey is taking a close interest in Crimean developments. Crimea operated as a vassal khanate of Ottoman Empire from the 1470s until 1783. In addition, Turks are bound by a strong cultural connection to Crimean Tatars, an ethnic minority group that comprises roughly 15% … Continue reading Turkey walking a tightrope over Crimea

Levels of outrage

March 4, 2014 Mohammed Abbasi

Owen Bennett-Jones I was asked the other day why the people of Pakistan were not more outraged by the beheading of the 23 Frontier Constabulary men in Mohmand. Good question. The person asking had her own explanation. The people of Pakistan, she argued, despair of American imperialism and the violent conduct Pakistan’s own army. Through bitter experience they have come to see that the methods used by the US and the Pakistani military will never produce long-term solutions. The deaths of … Continue reading Levels of outrage