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    Categories: OpinionWorld

Fighting Al Qaeda Network

 The war on terror (WOT) or as Obama Renamed it Over Sea contingency operations (OCO) is a long and complicated war. This is a war in which world has to fight on two fronts

1St on ideological front. Without engaging Al Qaeda ideologically it cannot be defeated. As majority of Al Qaeda members are Muslims and by generalizing every Muslim or bearded man as a potential terrorist only help Al Qaeda. This is a war in which west need to have Muslims on their side and it can be done only by addressing their grievances and telling and convincing them that  extremism is the single most deadliest threat to Muslims themselves.

 The kind of hype and hate created by Neocon and other right-wingers with help of fanatic Evangical’s against Islam and Muslims is help Al Qaeda in  recruitment and brain washing Muslim kids. This should of course be immediately be taken seriously by western governments

2nd on physical front .In this war enemy (Al Qaeda) has all the advantages. It can predict and anticipate the actions of state and with small number can achieve strategic effects where as any mistake or collateral damage means playing in the hands of Al Qaeda. It’s an un- conventional war. It’s a war between states against network of highly indoctrinated and trained groups working under the banner of Al Qaeda.

Al Qaeda is not a single group. It’s an alliance of different jihadi anti western Takfiri groups. As it’s a network, it has multiple centres of gravity. For example TTP is an ally of Al Qaeda. But this TTP is not a single organization. Its alliance of about 30 or more terrorist / secterian groups which have independent command structures and networks in different areas. Some time a group commits a terror act but central leadership denies the responsibility and after sometimes accepts it. This shows that command is not tight and the groups under the banner of TTP have freedom to execute their own operations independent of telling central leadership what they are up to or what they have planned.  These groups which make TTP are independent but are united on a same aim.

So when we say that we want to destroy Al Qaeda network me mean that we are in a very complex war. Al Qaeda is a network… made of dozens of groups operating from Algeria to Indonesia, with same thinking pattern and ideology but independent of other affiliate groups in every field. This means that we are fighting an enemy which has many centre of gravities. A net work cannot be broken unless you cut it thread by thread and knot by knot. By just destroying Lashker Jhungvi you cannot claim destroying whole TTP. To destroy the TTP you have to destroy all the groups and their networks located in different cities all over Pakistan.

This can only be done when you take back their support base. Which is by defeating them ideologically which can only be done by winning hearts and minds…which so far world has failed to achieve

Muhammad Bilal Iftikhar Khan: I am Sr. Associate producer working in Pakistan's leading TV channel. I have Masters Degree in Strategic Studies and am in media since 2007. mbik14@gmail.com.
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