Syrian Uprising Shifts Toward Suicide Bombings. Al Qaeda’s Handiwork?

Quoted by Nicholas Blanford, The Christian Science Monitor

“The only Al Qaeda cells that operate in Syria are those manipulated by Assad’s security apparatuses,” said Ammar Abdulhamid, a US-based Syrian opposition activist in an online newsletter emailed today. “The suicide bombings are directly staged or facilitated by them. Issues pertaining to the timing and the real beneficiaries, and everything we know about the Assads’ involvement in terror networks, all point in this direction.”

Mr. Abdulhamid’s post carried a YouTube link that quotes Walid Muallem, Syria’s foreign minister, telling a news conference in Damascus in December that suicide bombings would not be an “embarrassment” for the government but would bestow “credibility” upon its claim that it is under threat from Islamist militants.

Al-Qaeda Leader Publicly Sides with Syrian Opposition

Quoted by Patrick Martin, The Globe and Mail – Canada

“Al-Qaeda has no sympathizers among the protesters,” said Ammar Abdulhamid, a Syrian activist and fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington. “The protesters’ goal remains the establishment of a democratic civil state,” he said, and “they all understand that al-Qaeda involvement would ultimately undermine this goal.” … “Al-Qaeda and the Assads are two faces of the same coin of sectarian hatred,” said Mr. Abdulhamid, the Syrian activist. “Both seek to stoke fires that we want to extinguish.”

The Future of the Christian Communities in the Muslim World

One manifestation of the troubled state of current identity politics within Muslim communities is evident in the way some elements are targeting the region’s Christian communities. While Al-Qaeda style violence might the new development in this regard, the trend itself is not that new. Continue reading “The Future of the Christian Communities in the Muslim World” →

The errors in America’s ‘war on terror’

The Daily Star

Despite two invasions and numerous air strikes against targets in other countries, and despite security cooperation with several states across the Middle East and North Africa, the United States still finds itself unable to make serious progress in its global “war on terror.” Even though the United States has imbued its policies with militarism and pragmatism, Al-Qaeda remains an elusive target as it continues to inspire surrogates and attract converts or wannabes even on American soil.

Continue reading “The errors in America’s ‘war on terror’” →