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Friday, January 04, 2008

Back to Basics

Strategypage adds an interesting twist in the increasingly recognized trend of al Qaeda shifting their focus from Iraq to Pakistan:

Meanwhile, al Qaeda has pretty much admitted defeat in Iraq, and moved on to try their luck in Pakistan and Israel.


Israel? Sure, as unlikely as winning in Pakistan is, at least al Qaeda can comfort themselves that they are at least trying to win a bigger prize.

And sure, al Qaeda failed to make Somalia their backup jihad after the Ethiopians swept into town a year ago. They need to go somewhere with Iraq and Afghanistan not working out for them.

But really, focusing on Israel? In what world does this make sense? I cannot think of a harder target. And if al Qaeda is pinning their hopes on the Palestinians to carry them to the glorious caliphate, people who have proven to be the most self-destructive people on the planet, I cannot imagine just how desperate bin Laden is.

Still, when the business is taking a beating, perhaps it is best to get back to that core jihadi business model--killing Jews.