Parcel bombs point to al-Qaeda switch
By Syed Saleem Shahzad
ISLAMABAD - The foiled al-Qaeda plot to blow up two cargo planes indicates that
the group's international operations, now under the stewardship of Egyptian
Saiful Adil (Saif al-Adel), will focus on relatively low-intensity terror
attacks around the world rather than on big missions such as the September 11,
2001, assault on New York and Washington.
Two United States-bound bombs sent in air cargo from Yemen were intercepted in
Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and in Britain. The devices were discovered
on Friday hidden in printers. Such an idea bears the hallmark of Adil, who was
earlier this year released from Iranian custody after disappearing following
the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001.
Asia Times Online reportedly exclusively how al-Qaeda's military
chief was freed with about 15 other al-Qaeda members in a deal that saw
Heshmatollah Attarzadeh, the commercial attache at the Iranian consulate in
Peshawar, Pakistan, released by militants. (See
How Iran and al-Qaeda made a deal Asia Times Online, April 30, 2010.)
Those freed included Saad bin Laden (one of Osama bin Laden's sons), Suleman
al-Gaith and Abu Hafs al-Mauritani.
Asia Times Online also recently broke news of Adil and other top al-Qaeda
members living in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area on the border with
Afghanistan. (See Taliban
peace talks come to a halt October 30, 2010.) "Saiful Adil is likely to
be the new face of al-Qaeda in 2011, with operations emanating in Pakistan and
spreading to Somalia, Yemen and Turkey to pitch operations in Europe and
India," the article reported.
Adil's return to al-Qaeda's command will reverse the strategies of the late
1990s, devised by Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, the mastermind of September 11,
militant contacts tell Asia Times Online. Khalid was known for his big-ticket
ideas without thought for the consequences, while Adil is known to have a much
more nuanced approach that takes into account the bigger picture.
Big picture, small operations
The parcel bomb plot understandably raised alarm in capitals across the world.
Various analysts gave their take on the incident, with some placing emphasis
Saudi Arabia, following a report quoting a US official that Saudi bomb-maker
Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri, believed to be working with al-Qaeda in the Arabian
Peninsula, was a key suspect.
A report on Monday said that US officials had intercepted parcels from Yemen
bound for Chicago in mid-September, which they believed was a "dry run" to test
timings for the package bomb plot foiled last week. Those shipments contained
household goods including books, religious literature and a computer disk, but
no explosives.
A US official was reported as saying that the packages were shipped by "someone
with ties to al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula", referring to the Yemen-based
offshoot of al-Qaeda that Britain and the US have accused of being behind last
week's plot.
Even before September 11, Adil believed in smaller attacks that would damage
American interests but which would not necessarily result in an overwhelming
reaction, as happened after the September 11 attacks when Afghanistan was
invaded and the Taliban driven out for harboring al-Qaeda; and then Iraq
occupied in 2003.
This became a main disagreement between Khalid and Adil, who argued that while
the September 11 attacks were meticulously planned and carried out, they led to
the ouster of the Taliban government and the death of thousands of dedicated
Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters.
The subsequent "war on terror" resulted in more than 700 al-Qaeda members being
arrested in Pakistan and taken to the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay
in Cuba, and also led to the ongoing US drone war that has killed scores of
al-Qaeda members in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas.
Adil believed that September 11 overall caused more damage to al-Qaeda than
benefit. He wanted a calculated war against America in which the response would
be sustainable for al-Qaeda.
Adil had been involved in several high-profile terror operations since the
1980s in Egypt. His footprints were found in the bombing of two American
embassies in Africa in 1998, besides many other attacks. In all these
instances, the US response was muted - a few missiles were launched at
Afghanistan in 1998 and a special Central Intelligence Agency unit was set up
to catch bin Laden.
Adil is committed to boosting recruitment and the promotion of an ideology that
will stimulate al-Qaeda-led anti-Western resistance in occupied Muslim
territories and other countries. This will be done with low-intensity attacks
that support resistance movements rather than lead to their obliteration.
The drive is supported by Pakistani Ilyas Kashmiri and his 313 Brigade, the
field operational arm of al-Qaeda operating out of North Waziristan.
At the time of Adil's release, a senior Pakistani counter-terrorism official
told Asia Times Online, "If Saiful Adil has been exchanged, Pakistan is not
aware of this, but it would be bad news for the Western world as it would mean
a revival in al-Qaeda's international operations."
His prediction appears to be spot on.
Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief. He can
be reached at saleem_shahzad2002@yahoo.com
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