Counter al Qa'eda with a new strategy

Since the September 11 attacks, there have been a decreasing number of external operations staged by al Qa'eda, thanks to tight security measures taken worldwide, opined the lead opinion article of the London-based newspaper Al Quds al Arabi. Yet the group remains free and at large, which threatens the national security of the US and its allies. Apparently, al Qa'eda has changed tactics and no longer lists overseas attacks as its top priority. What it did, in fact, was to trap the US in a war of attrition in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Al Qa'eda emerged powerful as it succeeded in rebuilding itself after it found a safe haven in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group received wide support in Waziristan along the borders with Pakistan and among the Taliban who have a stronghold over two thirds of Afghan territory and enjoy a strong influence on tribes in Pakistan itself. "Before the September 11 events, al Qa'eda was based in one area: the mountainous areas of Tora Bora in Afghanistan. But now it has gone through a significant transformation after winning the loyalty of many terrorist groups in the Arabian Peninsula, the Maghreb, Somalia and Europe." As al Qa'eda is turning into a transborder organisation, Americans has to revise all their former strategies, because none of them has been successful. Instead, they only elicited a growing antagonism between the Muslim world and the US.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, seems to be engaged in a "brokering game". He sometimes agrees on temporary freezing of settlement activities, and at other times rejects the proposal altogether, wrote Bassam al Dhaw in an opinion article for the Qatari newspaper Al Watan. He often asks for more reassurance, while he is less ready to give concessions.

"By adopting this harmful policy, Israel continues to bite into the remaining land and to restrict chances for establishing a viable Palestinian state." Diplomatic and media debates over freezing settlements in return for normalising relations have thus turned to a mockery that requires of Arabs to stand firm together and say to the US president Barack Obama: "The settlement game hampers the peace process  and would impede the progress of  peace initiatives, including the US proposal."

US officials stated that the president would look forward to negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state in two years' time. Already one year of his term has elapsed without any concrete results and the remaining three years are supposedly for overseeing direct peace talks. So there is only a small chance for success because negotiations may fail or may not take place at all." And the outcome could be: "no fair negotiations, no just peace, and ultimately no Palestinian state".

"A new surge of violence in Iraq last month has had a deep psychological impact on Iraqis, who were left utterly confused about such an unprecedented turn of events," opined the UAE newspaper Al Bayan. "In view of what happened, the government, together with various political parties, needs to demonstrate a high degree of political maturity and should understand that sectarian conflict, if it continues, would jeopardise all security achievements made previously."

"It seems that the main goal of latest attacks was to drag Iraq again into a sectarian war, but this time Iraqis have learnt their lesson and they have rejected all forms of provocation." To consolidate such a growing awareness of Iraqis, there is an urgent need for laying down a comprehensive strategy to eradicate what can lead to a dispute based on partisan grounds. "No matter how much the government invests in security efforts, this is not a key to achieve stability. The situation needs courage in addressing the most urgent and fundamental issue, which is national reconciliation. So far, initiatives made in this direction have been less likely to yield the wished-for results." Luckily, Iraq has a chance through the upcoming elections to revive itself again. "If all political parties and other social actors seize this opportunity correctly, they will put the country back on the right track."

"Iran's reply to the international community about its nuclear programme came void of substance. Tehran, instead of giving concrete information about its nuclear project, proposed a number of initiatives to solve regional as well as international issues. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that discussing his country's nuclear programme was over," wrote Tariq Alhomayed in an opinion piece that appeared in the London-based newspaper Al Sharq al Awsat.

By offering its services to solve such pressing issues as terrorism, the Palestinian cause, Iraq and Afghanistan, Iran has appointed itself as the leading power of the whole region. "This means that Tehran has had a part in events taking place in the region; if not, how can we explain its keen interest in solving our own problems?" Tehran is in fact trying to get around the main issue here -the nuclear project - which is a threat to the countries of the region. Probably the first reaction would be from Israel, which is laying in ambush to strike Iran. "This has been seen lately in Israeli intensified diplomatic contacts, and the increasing military exercises it has undertaken. All these lead us to think that the spectre of war is looming ahead."

* Digest compiled by Mostapha Elmouloudi melouloudi@thenational.ae