A Look Back: 7 years and 15
To me, the Jihadist War started on February 26, 1993, with the bombing of the World Trade Center. More than a thousand were injured; six died.
Our primary enemy is the group of jihadists loosely under the umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood. It's aimed primarily at the US. Israel, too, but the MB's fixation on the US predates Israel's existence.
Ayman al Zawahiri, #2 (at least) of al Qaida, has been a Muslim Brotherhood member for more than forty years. He met Sayyid Qutb, a major shaper of MB's hatred for the West, in jail in Egypt. Usama bin Ladin studied under Qutb's brother in Saudi Arabia. Various MB spinoffs, from al Qaida to Islamic Jihad to dozens of others continue their efforts to construct a global caliphate and eliminate all other religions, including the "imperfect" Islam of all Muslims but themselves.
They are quite serious. We've harmed them a great deal in Iraq, where al Qaida is apparently in serious trouble and down to a third or less of its effective force --- but we have a long way to go yet. Pakistan's new government under Zardari seems likely to be helpful here.
Seven years ago today was the first major attack of the Jihadist War on US soil. But they have been killing Americans for years longer than that. The Cole bombing, the Bali night club, the US embassies, the London bombings, the more recent airline plots, and many foiled attempts in the US are all part of this same threat, involving a number of overlapping players and state supporters.
It's interesting that in the days immediately following the 2001 attack, no one expected that we would go a year before being attacked again. Most expected the next blow in days, or weeks.
For seven years, we have not been successfully attacked in the US. That is extraordinary. But the world has not been safe, and we certainly are not. One odd aspect of our success so far is that the issue drops out of peoples' thoughts. But the Jihadist War is very much in my thoughts -- I know too much about these people to ignore them. As they put it in their charter: "Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
And I write in somber tribute to those that have died, from the thousands of innocent victims of jihadists to our soldiers that have gone into harm's way to defend us.
===|==============/ Level Head
Our primary enemy is the group of jihadists loosely under the umbrella of the Muslim Brotherhood. It's aimed primarily at the US. Israel, too, but the MB's fixation on the US predates Israel's existence.
Ayman al Zawahiri, #2 (at least) of al Qaida, has been a Muslim Brotherhood member for more than forty years. He met Sayyid Qutb, a major shaper of MB's hatred for the West, in jail in Egypt. Usama bin Ladin studied under Qutb's brother in Saudi Arabia. Various MB spinoffs, from al Qaida to Islamic Jihad to dozens of others continue their efforts to construct a global caliphate and eliminate all other religions, including the "imperfect" Islam of all Muslims but themselves.
They are quite serious. We've harmed them a great deal in Iraq, where al Qaida is apparently in serious trouble and down to a third or less of its effective force --- but we have a long way to go yet. Pakistan's new government under Zardari seems likely to be helpful here.
Seven years ago today was the first major attack of the Jihadist War on US soil. But they have been killing Americans for years longer than that. The Cole bombing, the Bali night club, the US embassies, the London bombings, the more recent airline plots, and many foiled attempts in the US are all part of this same threat, involving a number of overlapping players and state supporters.
It's interesting that in the days immediately following the 2001 attack, no one expected that we would go a year before being attacked again. Most expected the next blow in days, or weeks.
For seven years, we have not been successfully attacked in the US. That is extraordinary. But the world has not been safe, and we certainly are not. One odd aspect of our success so far is that the issue drops out of peoples' thoughts. But the Jihadist War is very much in my thoughts -- I know too much about these people to ignore them. As they put it in their charter: "Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope."
And I write in somber tribute to those that have died, from the thousands of innocent victims of jihadists to our soldiers that have gone into harm's way to defend us.
===|==============/ Level Head