Yaman Mukhaddab, a Jihadi pundit who’s appeared on this blog several times, has translated the summary of the new RAND study, How Terrorist Groups End: Lessons for Countering al Qa’ida. It’s a fast turnaround for a translation, given that the existence of the study was first reported in Western media on July 28 and Yaman [...]
Archive for the ‘Western Analysts’ Category
Jihadi Pundit Translates, Analyzes RAND Study
Posted: 4th August 2008 by Will McCants in Jihadi Book Club, Strategy, Western Analysts, Western booksTags: RAND, Strategy, Yaman Mukhaddab
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Economist Article on al-Qaeda
Posted: 22nd July 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, Western AnalystsTags: al-Qaeda, Economist
If you only have time to read one article on the current state of al-Qaeda, read the new special report in the Economist. Not only does the author, Anton La Guardia, have great taste (Jihadica and some CTC products I worked on are listed in the sources), but he has done a masterful job of [...]
Scheuer and the Salafi Stew
Posted: 20th July 2008 by Will McCants in Saudi Arabia, Western AnalystsTags: Salafism, Saudi, Scheuer
In a new Jamestown article, Michael Scheuer has refined some of the arguments he made in May in response to the al-Qaeda-is-almost-defeated meme that has been going around since April. He and I had a brief exchange about it here (look in the comments), so I won’t reprise all of it. But I do want [...]
Smackdown! Sageman vs. Hoffman
Posted: 8th June 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, Pakistan, terrorism, Western AnalystsTags: Bruce Hoffman, Marc Sageman
That’s how the New York Times sets up the Sageman/Hoffman argument today: Two powerful academics are feuding over whether al-Qaeda is a leaderless movement (Sageman) or a hierarchical terrorist organization (Hoffman). There are billions in federal dollars hanging in the balance. And best yet, the two guys can’t stand each other. There’s a lot more [...]
AQ on the Ropes
Posted: 29th May 2008 by Will McCants in AQ Leadership, Western AnalystsTags: clerical criticism
The meme going around the past few weeks is that al-Qaeda is on the ropes. One of the first places I saw it in the mainstream press was an LA Times story from April, the main themes of which have been echoed recently in the Bergen/Cruickshank and Wright pieces. The main evidence offered is that [...]