Al-Qaeda’s Post-9/11 Devolution: The Failed Jihadist Struggle Against the Near and Far Enemy

Description

This examination of al-Qaeda's decline since the 9/11 attacks focuses on the terror organization's mutation and fragmentation. It looks at its partnership with the local and regional jihadist networks that played a pivotal role in the Madrid, London, and Fort Hood attacks, arguing that, although initially successful, such alliances actually unraveled following both anti-terror policies and a growing rejection of violent jihadism in the Muslim world. Challenging conventional theories about al-Qaeda and homegrown terrorism, the book claims that jihadist attacks are now organized by overlapping international and regional networks that have become frustrated in their inability to enforce regime change and their ideological goals. The discussion spans the war on terror, analyzing major post 9/11 attacks, the failed jihadist struggle in Iraq, al-Qaeda's affiliates, and the organization's future prospects after the death of Osama Bin Laden and the Arab Spring. This assessment of the future of the jihadist struggle against Muslim governments and homegrown Islamic terrorism in the West will be an invaluable resource to anyone studying terrorism and Islamic extremism. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Al-Qaeda’s Post-9/11 Devolution and Its Diffuse Network of “Associates,” “Affiliates,” Insurgents, and “Homegrown” Terrorists The book’s organization and argument 1 Al-Qaeda’s Jihadist Worldview Al-Qaeda’s ideological and religious origins The war within the Muslim world The Islamist response to foreign domination Maududi and Qutb Qutb’s ideological descendants take the war to the far enemy as frustration begets desperation 2 Al-Qaeda’s Formation and Its Far Enemy Strategy Introduction Al-Qaeda’s progenitor: Abdullah Azzam and his defensive jihad doctrine The first Gulf War and the far enemy strategy Husan al-Turabi and Sudanese patronage 1992–6 Organizational and ideological foundations of the Taliban-al-Qaeda partnership 1996–2001 Al-Qaeda’s war trajectory against the United States 3 Al-Qaeda’s Post-9/11 Strategy and Organizational Devolution Introduction The destruction of the Taliban sanctuary and al-Qaeda’s predicament Al-Qaeda’s post-9/11 strategy: The jihadist doctrines of Abu Musab Suri and Abu Bakr Naji Al-Qaeda’s post-9/11 strategy of vexation and exhaustion: The critical role of insurgents, associates, and affiliates The al-Qaeda-JI partnership and the Bali attacks 4 Al-Qaeda’s Role in the Madrid and London Bombings Introduction The Sageman-Hoffman debate The “bunch of guys” theory fails to explain 3/11 Al-Qaeda’s Moroccan and Algerian associates The 3/11 network: International and regional Jihadist connections Al-Qaeda post-9/11 plan: From Istanbul to Casablanca to Madrid to London Al-Qaeda’s network in post-3/11 Spain: The omnipresent Jihadist threat “Londinstan” and the United Kingdom’s Jihadist microculture The 7/7 network and the London attacks Al-Qaeda involvement in July 7th attacks Post-7/7 al-Qaeda plots and attacks in the United Kingdom Madrid and London: Al-Qaeda’s “zenith” in Europe 5 Zarqawi: Al-Qaeda’s Tragic Antihero and the Destructive Role of the Iraqi Jihad From young hoodlum to “Arab Afghan” Zarqawi return to fight the near enemy Early al-Qaeda connections and Zarqawi’s Herat camp 9/11 and escape to Iran Al-Qaeda and Ansar al Islam Zarqawi’s strategy to defeat the Americans in post-Saddam Iraq Zarqawi’s desire to unleash a sectarian civil war Zarqawi’s renewed fight against the Jordanian apostate regime The war against the Shia Zarqawi’s fall and al-Qaeda’s collapse in Anbar Province Al-Qaeda in post-Zarqawi Iraq and the US withdraw The Syrian Jihad against the Assad regime 2011–13 6 Al-Qaeda’s Affiliates and Insurgent Groups in Somalia, Yemen, and the Maghreb Al-Shabaab AQAP AQIM Conclusion 7 West Africa: The Latest Jihadist War Introduction Boko Haram West Africa’s Afghanistan: Northern Mali, AD, and the MUJWA Assessing West Africa’s jihadist capabilities 8 Al-Qaeda Plots and Attacks against the United States after 9/11 Bin Laden’s far enemy strategy and the doctrine’s “durability” within the al-Qaeda’s network The transcendental utility of attacking the United States Al-Qaeda’s difficulties in implementing its post-9/11 far enemy strategy Bin Laden’s most “loyal” but “imperfect ” branch AQAP and its far enemy strategy Externally assisted post-9/11 attacks and conspiracies involving American citizens, immigrants, and foreign agents Recent al-Qaeda plots against NYC public transport systems 9 Is Al-Qaeda on the Brink of Defeat? Bin Laden’s Death and the Impact of the Arab Spring Is al-Qaeda on the brink of defeat? Bin Laden: Wanted dead or alive! The mystery of Bin Laden and America’s unfulfilled desire for justice Obama’s drone war against al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies The weakening of al-Qaeda’s Pakistani Taliban, Uzbek, and Haqqani protectors Al-Qaeda and the Arab Spring Whither al-Qaeda? Notes Bibliography Index