Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 10, 2020

A man wearing a shirt with an image of Zakir Rashid Bhat, the leader of an al Qaeda affiliate in Kashmir, following a gun battle with Indian security forces, Dadasara, India, May 2019

Danish Ismail / Reuters

Asfandyar Mir and Colin P. Clarke, Foreign Affairs: Al Qaeda’s Franchise Reboot

An Aging Jihadi Brand Still Inspires the Next Generation

Nineteen years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, does al Qaeda still pose a significant threat to U.S. national security? Among researchers, military and intelligence officials, and policymakers who study the group, there is little consensus. But very few experts on Salafi-jihadi movements would dismiss the group outright. So when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confidently declared in a March interview on Fox & Friends that “al Qaeda is a shadow of its former self,” we were startled and concerned.

By portraying al Qaeda as more of a nuisance than a threat, Pompeo helped President Donald Trump’s administration make the case for withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan and making peace with the Taliban. Unfortunately, politically motivated threat assessments can be very dangerous, and Pompeo’s characterization of al Qaeda reflects wishful thinking at best and naiveté at worst. The United States must trade its rose-tinted glasses for a sober assessment of al Qaeda’s trajectory—and of the organization’s enduring ties to the Taliban.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- September 10, 2020

Terrorists behind 9/11 attacks 'stronger than ever' despite multi-trillion war on terror -- Richard Wood, 9 News

9/11 attacks: What's happened to al-Qaeda? -- Mina Al-Lami, BBC

Al Qaeda’s Leader Is Old, Bumbling—and a Terrorist Mastermind -- Colin P. Clarke & Asfandyar Mir, Foreign Policy

In a year of restrictions, virus changes Sept. 11, too -- Jennifer Peltz, AP

From 9/11 to the Great Reset -- Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

Will President Biden increase U.S. involvement in Syria? -- L.A. Times

Did Trump disclose secret US nuclear weapon in interview? -- AFP

Where are Lebanon's reforms? -- Alan MacKenzie, DW

What Is China’s Strategy in the Senkaku Islands? -- Alessio Patalano, War On The Rocks

The opposition in Belarus has faced a campaign of violence and threats from President Alexander Lukashenko. How did it get here? -- ABC News Online

Belarus: what is the mood like in the country? -- The Guardian

Where Navalny’s Poisoning Is Taking Russia, at Home and Abroad -- Alexander Baunov, Moscow Times

What is happening with the Bulgarian protest movement? -- Jana Tsoneva, Al Jazeera

Greek–Turkish Rivalry Is Again Near the Boiling Point -- Victor Davis Hanson, National Review

Is Political Correctness Destroying the Oscars? -- Sumantra Maitra, National Inteerst