Has Qaeda Shifted its Operations to the Gulf Countries?
Kuwait and other Gulf states make a grave mistake if they were to underestimate the seriousness of the Failaka Island attack and focus all their efforts and interest on hunting down the remaining members of the sleeper cell which carried out the attack against the US marines on the island, viewing the problem as merely one of a group of individuals who have undergone certain training in Afghanistan and have been waiting for the signal to declare the zero hour. An even greater mistake is if we believe that a security approach coupled with a ready rhetoric attack on the Islamists is the solution, and the problem is over. The more important question now - the question that should be given greater attention and concentration - is: Has the Al Qaeda network moved its operations to the Gulf states? If that has in fact happened it will be a development that has not been taken into account in Al Qaeda's tactics and operations that target US interests and which previously used to take place in distant countries. Thus we are facing a very dangerous spark and if we fail to contain it we will not be safe from its repercussions, particularly as US interests in our countries are numerous and their locations are not isolated in the midst of
The significance of such disagreement is much deeper than a mere jurisprudential disagreement over the method of burial and prayers for the dead. It is a disagreement that confirms the existence of moral acceptance of the operation, and that constitutes a ready incubator for producing more than one active cell and more than one sleeper cell. What these two young men have done is an example which others are waiting to emulate. Those who believe that the group of friends which openly encouraged the action of the two young attackers is a minor individual phenomenon exclusive to Kuwait are mistaken. It is a group that possesses greater boldness than others enabling it to openly declare its stands. That does not mean such a group is alone in the Gulf Cooperation Council states in holding such views. We all know that Al Qaeda ideology has gained acceptance in varying degrees among the youth of our Gulf states. our cities and streets and close to our homes. The cell that was apprehended had intended to attack such interests in the Kuwaiti capital. Will the confrontation move to our countries? The result is that everyone loses the cream of the country's youth in areas far from fields that greatly needed their efforts. The result now is the great pain suffered by the families which brought up their sons at great cost and effort to see them on their graduation day as one of the soldiers of this homeland who together with their brother compatriots build its glory, development, and prosperity - and then suddenly are compelled to bury them amid bewildered questions in the eyes of their relatives, brothers and mothe
Some common words found in the essay are:
God Consequently, Al Qaeda's, Failaka Island, Al Qaeda, Kuwaiti Gulf, Kuwait Gulf, Cooperation Council, security approach, failaka island attack, extent effect, island attack, al qaeda, effect thinking, sleeper cell, local authorities, failaka island,
Approximate Word count = 1089
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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