Ay, there’s the rub. Experts disagree, and certainly non-experts and the terrorized have mental images of much higher numbers. Part of terrorism’s modus operandi, in fact.

Regarding their MO, these guys are pretty unoriginal in their thinking. Let’s see … kill crusaders … topple governments and establish the caliphate … bomb civilian passenger jets. You’d think after years of this BS they’d come up with a different set of objectives. Cookie Cutter Terrorism at its finest. The only new idea to come out of AQAP is the fruit-of-the-booms underwear bomb! It would be funny if it weren’t so deadly.

“Meanwhile in Yemen – the ancestral home of Bin Laden – Sunni militants took advantage of the weak central government, whose authority does not extend far outside the capital Sanaa, and established strongholds in its largely autonomous tribal regions.”

Except for Yemen, Sanaa and “ancestral home of Bin Laden” that describes Pakistan extremely well, and Afghanistan, as well as Sudan. Hmmm…

“Embarrassingly for both Riyadh and Washington, both men had been released from Guantanamo into the custody of the Saudi government’s “deradicalisation” programme for militants, which includes art therapy. They both left the facility within weeks.”

Well put, BBC! “includes art therapy” as an adjunct to a full and lengthy, successful rehab program (better numbers than most rehab programs) which they left early ie escaped from early. “within weeks” is a pittance in rehab time.

“Reports on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s membership vary wildly – some experts say there are fewer than 50 fighters, while others believe there may be 200 to 300 – but most agree that if it is left unmolested it will soon become a major threat.”

Ay, there’s the rub. Experts disagree, and certainly non-experts and the terrorized have mental images of much higher numbers. Part of terrorism’s modus operandi, in fact.

YES!!!!! my first ever successful italicization in a comment!!!! What next, bolding? YES!!!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8437724.stm

BBC NEWS
Profile: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was formed in January 2009 by a merger between two regional offshoots of the international Islamist militant network in neighbouring Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

Led by a former aide to
, the group has vowed to attack oil facilities, foreigners and security forces as it seeks to topple the Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate.

It has claimed responsibility for a number of attacks in the two countries over the past 12 months, and has been
for attempting to blow up a US passenger jet as it flew into Detroit on Christmas Day.

A Nigerian man charged in relation to the incident,
, has allegedly told investigators that AQAP operatives trained him in Yemen, equipped him with a powerful explosive device and told him what to do.

He also warned there were others like him who would strike soon.

Beheading

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula first came to prominence in Saudi Arabia in May 2003, when it claimed responsibility for
, which left 29 dead.

Despite a subsequent crackdown on Islamist militants and radicals by the Saudi security forces, the group was able to mount an attack on the Muhayyah residential compound in the capital that November, killing 17 people.

In 2004, it suffered a major blow when its leader, Khaled Ali Hajj – a Yemeni and former bodyguard of Bin Laden – was ambushed and killed by Saudi troops.

However, the group soon recovered under the guidance of a veteran Saudi militant,
, and launched a series of spectacular attacks.

On 1 May 2004, militants shot dead five Western workers at a petrochemical complex in the north-western Red Sea city of Yanbu. On 29 May, more than 20 foreign and Saudi nationals were killed in attacks on three sites in the city of al-Khobar, increasing fears of political instability and pushing up global oil prices.

The following month, members of AQAP abducted and beheaded a 49-year old American aerospace worker named
.

AL-QAEDA OFFSHOOT
# Formed in January 2009 by a merger between al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia and Yemen
# Based in eastern Yemen
# Led by Nasser al-Wuhayshi, a Yemeni former aide to Osama Bin Laden. Deputy leader is Saudi ex-Guantanamo inmate Said al-Shihri
# Aims to topple Saudi monarchy and Yemeni government, and establish an Islamic caliphate
# Came to prominence with Riyadh bombings in 2003, and 2008 attack on US embassy in Sanaa
# Blamed for attempt to blow up US passenger jet in December 2009

The triumph was short-lived, however, as when security forces stormed a hideout in Riyadh looking for Johnson’s murderers Muqrin was shot dead.

Although militants killed at least nine people in a raid on the US consulate in Jeddah in December 2004, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula enjoyed notably less success under Muqrin’s successor,
.

The Saudi security services gradually gained the upper hand, and succeed in preventing any major attacks the following year, when Awfi was himself killed during a police raid in the holy city of Medina.

In spite of the large numbers of Saudis who then travelled to militant training camps and gained experience fighting in places such as Iraq, the group found it increasingly difficult to organise operational cells inside the kingdom. Its last attempt a significant attack was at the
.

Prison escape

Meanwhile in Yemen – the ancestral home of Bin Laden – Sunni militants took advantage of the weak central government, whose authority does not extend far outside the capital Sanaa, and established strongholds in its largely autonomous tribal regions.

Although al-Qaeda cells were held responsible for several attacks inside Yemen since the
near the port of Aden in 2000 that killed 17 US sailors, it was not until the second half of the decade that a fully-functioning affiliated group was formed.

According to Gregory Johnsen of Princeton University, between 2002 and 2003 the Yemeni government co-operated closely with the US to fight al-Qaeda. By the end of that period – which included one leader being killed in a controversial strike by a CIA drone aircraft – al-Qaeda appeared to be substantially weakened and so both countries shifted focus.

The policy appeared to have worked until February 2006, Mr Johnsen says, when
, including Jamal al-Badawi, the alleged mastermind of the USS Cole bombing.

Most were eventually either recaptured or killed, but two of the lesser-known escapees eluded the authorities, including Nasser Abdul Karim al-Wuhayshi, a former personal assistant to Bin Laden in Afghanistan, and Qasim al-Raymi.

A 33-year-old from the southern governorate of al-Baida, Wuhayshi spent time in religious institutions in Yemen before travelling to Afghanistan in the late 1990s. He fought at the battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, before escaping over the border into Iran, where he was eventually arrested. He was extradited to Yemen in 2003.

After escaping from prison, Wuhayshi and Raymi are said to have overseen the formation of al-Qaeda in Yemen, which took in both
and experienced Arab fighters returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Protected by tribes who were wary of government interference, the group established bases from which to launch fresh attacks.

The group claimed responsibility for two suicide bomb attacks that killed six Western tourists before being linked to the
, in which militants detonated bombs and fired rocket-propelled grenades. Ten Yemeni guards and four civilians were killed, along with six assailants.

Four months later, Wuhayshi announced in a video the merger of the al-Qaeda offshoots in Yemen and Saudi Arabia to form “al-Qaeda of Jihad Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula”.

Analysts say the move was designed to bring Saudi al-Qaeda members who had fled their country and Yemeni militants together under one umbrella as a first step towards launching attacks throughout the region.

Next to Wuhayshi and Raymi in the same video sat the new group’s deputy leader, Said Ali al-Shihri, a Saudi national who was released from the US military detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in November 2007.

Another former detainee, Mohammed Atiq al-Harbi, also known as Mohammed al-Awfi, appeared alongside them and was described as a field commander.

Embarrassingly for both Riyadh and Washington, both men had been released from Guantanamo into the custody of the Saudi government’s “deradicalisation” programme for militants, which includes art therapy. They both left the facility within weeks.

The group’s
was carried out in Saudi Arabia in August 2009 against the kingdom’s security chief, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, though he survived. The bomber concealed a device containing the high-explosive PETN (pentaerythritol) in his underwear, much like Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is alleged to have done.

After news of the failed attempt to destroy the Northwest Airlines Airbus A330 emerged, AQAP
, in which dozens of militants are reported to have died.

“We tell the American people that since you support the leaders who kill our women and children… we have come to slaughter you [and] will strike you with no previous [warning], our vengeance is near,” the group said.

“We call on all Muslims… to throw out all unbelievers from the Arabian Peninsula by killing crusaders who work in embassies or elsewhere… [in] a total war on all crusaders in the Peninsula of Muhammad.”

Reports on Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s membership vary wildly – some experts say there are fewer than 50 fighters, while others believe there may be 200 to 300 – but most agree that if it is left unmolested it will soon become a major threat.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/8437724.stm

Published: 2010/01/03 08:00:30 GMT

© BBC MMX

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I personally feel that the popular belief that CIA could be behind these attacks could be a result of the brainwashing campaign being done in the popular media by the authorities in Saudi Arabia. But I could be wrong, do let me know if I am.

Imam University, Grand Mufti & co, are still pumping out those given to an extremist bent. They bring students from all over the 3rd world on scholarship, send them back 4 years later as Salafist preachers with a handful of money to build mosques & fund evangelization efforts. Africans have told me that until Wahabbi / Salafism spread there Muslims & Christians lived in peace, intermarried, celebrated each others holidays, etc.

My understanding, from yemenis, is that until about 50 years ago women didn’t wear the black abeyya or cover their faces, the wahhabi doctrine didn’t dominate the mosques, and tribal, etc. allegiances were much more important than the Ikhwan crap fomenting there today. Except for the Shia influences & the belief that Iran is meddling I don’t hear much concern that AQ is spreading, just a ‘not in my backyard’ attitude. The average Saudi believes that the world would be better off under Sharia law and the end goals of AQ are appropriate. Their methods are often disagreed with, but many private parties support them, believe in their religious ideology, donate money, and give lip service to their devotion.

Easily over 15% believe the CIA or Mossad was behind the WTC attacks. Many did, and still celebrate that event. I have heard that Dick Cheney & the CIA were behind the Christmas day attack…to make Obama look bad. Most believe what the US call Palestinian terrorist attacks on Israel are legitimate counter attacks against an occupying force. There are no ‘civilians’ because all have been trained in the military or will be.

I say again, the heads of the AQ Medusa may be getting cut off but not the body. The rubric worldview is not changing in Saudi due to the misinformation in a closed society.

The best weapons in the ‘fight against terrorism’ today maybe growing materialism in the AP, Internet, cable tv, & Bush / Abdullah’s study abroad programs for thousands of Saudis.

Unfortunately, Obama’s new Saudi groping policy may hinder the US study abroad attractiveness.

RD

All interesting in the month old, beautiful daughter of Abu Abdullah, and the full name he and Umm Abdullah chose with loving care, blending tradition and Ameena’s own multicultural roots and future, are welcome to read (and of course comment on):

From the International Ummah to Marriage in Saudi Arabia: Colour, Conversion, and Complications–Part III Baby A is Here!

http://www.chezchiara.com/2010/01/from-international-ummah-to-married-in.html