The rise of the baby al-Qaidas
Bush's failed strategy in the war on terrorism has spawned more al-Qaidas -- and they're funded by the booming heroin traffic in Afghanistan.
By Husain Haqqani

April 7, 2004 | In the 30 months since President Bush's declaration of war against global terrorism, the U.S. and its allies have ostensibly detained or killed 70 percent of al-Qaida's senior leaders. But the frequency of terrorist acts worldwide attributed to al-Qaida has increased, compared to the pre-9/11 period. Baby al-Qaidas are being spawned in new regions of the world -- striking from Turkey to Spain, from Uzbekistan to Tunisia -- and a new generation of terrorists is stepping up to take the place of those killed in Afghanistan or detained in Guantanamo. Is the U.S. underestimating the enemy and not paying sufficient attention to al-Qaida again? Or are the war in Iraq and the grandiose scheme to democratize and reshape the Middle East it represents distracting the administration from the pursuit of the perpetrators of 9/11?

The State Department's counterterrorism coordinator, J. Cofer Black, testified last week before the House Subcommittee on International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights. In his testimony, the 28-year veteran of the CIA's Directorate of Operations listed "some important successes against the al-Qaida organization" resulting from the coordination of U.S. efforts with those of its allies. Al-Qaida had been deprived of "a vital safe haven" in Afghanistan, most of its known leadership had been decapitated, and it had been "separated from facilities central to its chem-bio and poisons development programs."

But, according to Black, "a new cadre of leaders" and "relatively untested terrorists" has started to emerge. "Al-Qaida's ideology is spreading well beyond the Middle East" and "has been picked up by a number of Islamic extremist movements which exist around the globe." Black also said that "Some groups have gravitated to al-Qaida in recent years, where before such linkages did not exist" -- something that "greatly complicates our task in stamping out al-Qaida".

Iraq was described by the State Department's senior counterterrorism official as the emerging "focal point for the foreign jihadist fighters." According to Black's testimony, "Jihadists view Iraq as a new training ground to build their extremist credentials and hone the skills of the terrorist." In short, the war in Afghanistan struck a severe blow to terrorism, but the war in Iraq may have resuscitated it. The U.S. will prevail against terrorism eventually, but the problem is with us for the foreseeable future. The administration's desire to proclaim "mission accomplished" too quickly might actually have prolonged the war against terrorism.