Commentary
The recent African Cup of Nations tournament in Morocco touched on issues that largely transcended the sport.
Issam Kayssi, Yasmine Zarhloule
{
"authors": [],
"type": "pressRelease",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "MEP",
"programs": [
"Middle East"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North Africa",
"Algeria"
],
"topics": [
"Security"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
Press Release
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s reach outside Algeria is limited, despite global ambitions
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)—an Algerian jihadi group that pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in 2006—garnered worldwide media exposure after simultaneous attacks in December 2007 on the UN building and the Constitutional Court in Algiers. AQIM, however, has not been able to sustain this level of violence and failed to transform itself into a North Africa-wide organization.
Published on Dec 1, 2009
WASHINGTON, Dec 1—Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)—an Algerian jihadi group that pledged allegiance to Osama bin Laden in 2006—garnered worldwide media exposure after simultaneous attacks in December 2007 on the United Nations building and the Constitutional Court in Algiers. AQIM, however, has not been able to sustain this level of violence and failed to transform itself into a North Africa-wide organization, contends a new paper by Jean-Pierre Filiu.
AQIM’s global aims have been thwarted by the Algerian government’s more effective military strategy and the collapse of al-Qaeda in Iraq—the conflict in Iraq helped attract followers. Violent incidents fell from 200 in 2007 to below 150 in 2008. Still, the danger of terrorism in the region is real and considerable attention should be devoted to North Africa and the Sahel.
Methods to contain and ultimately eradicate al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb:
- Regional and international cooperation: AQIM wants its terror record to match its global rhetoric. The threat must be addressed at the regional and international level.
- Disrupt e-jihad: The internet is a powerful tool for recruitment and mobilizing terrorist attacks inspired by al-Qaeda. AQIM’s use of jihadi websites must not only be monitored, but actively disrupted.
- Enhanced cooperation among law-enforcement and intelligence agencies regionally and internationally: Algeria and other states facing terrorism in North Africa have a long record of confronting jihadi networks, but regional security organizations need to enhance their abilities to share information and manage borders.
- Long-term, indirect support from the United States and Europe to North Africa: Outside powers should continue to provide support by training and equipping rapid-reaction forces, but it is essential that they keep a low profile.
“AQIM is deeply rooted in Algeria’s recent history of violence and strife, but the organization’s heavy legacy limits its global potential,” says Filiu. “The security paradox posed by AQIM is that its inability to project its ‘global’ terror beyond Africa intensifies the pressures from al-Qaeda central to achieve such a breakthrough and to force the Algerian jihadi leadership to live up to this commitment.”
###
NOTES
- Jean-Pierre Filiu is a professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po, Middle East department) and the author of Apocalypse in Islam (forthcoming, University of California Press).
- The Carnegie Middle East Program combines in-depth local knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to examine economic, socio-political, and strategic interests in the Arab world to provide analysis and recommendations in both English and Arabic that are deeply informed by knowledge and views from the region.
- The Carnegie Middle East Center based in Beirut, Lebanon, aims to better inform the process of political change in the Middle East.
- Carnegie's Arab Reform Bulletin offers a monthly analysis of political and economic developments in Arab countries.
- Press Contact: David Kampf, 202/939-2233, dkampf@ceip.org
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
- When Football Is More Than Football
- Baku Proceeds With Caution as Ethnic Azeris Join Protests in Neighboring IranCommentary
Baku may allow radical nationalists to publicly discuss “reunification” with Azeri Iranians, but the president and key officials prefer not to comment publicly on the protests in Iran.
Bashir Kitachaev
- Rethinking Power-Sharing Agreements in LibyaArticle
The UN Support Mission in the country should reassess its approach so that consensus between the warring parties becomes the eventual goal, rather than a procedural matter that dogs the negotiating process at every turn.
Soraya Rahem
- Has Sisi Found a Competent Military Entrepreneur?Commentary
Mustaqbal Misr has expanded its portfolio with remarkable speed, but a lack of transparency remains.
Yezid Sayigh
- Women, Water, and Adaptation in Ait KhabbashCommentary
The burden of environmental degradation is felt not only through physical labor but also emotional and social loss.
Yasmine Zarhloule, Ella Williams
