It is regrettable to note that elimination of these top leaders has not broken the back of al Qaeda and the Taliban.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: One may consider the US’s global role is that of a world policeman when it routinely offers rewards for information on militant leaders operating in West and North Africa. But at the same time, it is also true that things are slowly getting out of the hands of local governments, wherein militant groups are expanding their ruthless influence. Terrorist leaders on the hit list include Abubakar Shekau of Boko Haram from Nigeria, Mokhtar Belmokhtar of Signed-in-Blood Battalion from Algeria and the top leadership of al Qaeda in Lands of Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a group of Algerian origin, which is operating in different countries of North and West Africa. All these terrorist organisations have been active in leading a wave of widespread killings and kidnappings of locals and foreigners. Due to their common political agenda, both Boko Haram and AQIM are supporting and facilitating each other.
Earlier, the US has run the same sort of reward scheme to catch or eliminate al Qaeda and Taliban leaders operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen. Based on the information and tip-offs the Americans received, they were able to take out a number of leaders using either drone attacks or deploying secret missions to do the task. Prominent leaders killed in the recent past are Osama bin Laden, Baitullah Mehsud, Nek Muhammed, Abu Laith al Libi, and many more.
But it is regrettable to note that the elimination of these top leaders has not broken the back of al Qaeda and the Taliban in the Af-Pak border areas. They are still able to recruit militants, who are ready to die in revenge, for money or out of their perceived religious convictions. It is quite obvious that the Taliban are able to exploit the widespread poverty, joblessness and religious sentiments in the area. Serious security issues in the Af-Pak region have hampered any socio-economic development, leading to further frustration and a readymade fodder for the Taliban to exploit. The Americans need to work not only on poverty elimination and development projects in North and West Africa but also on ways to break the communication and financial transaction systems, which allow terrorists to operate in a faceless manner. Terrorists are able to launch and operate their sites, communicate through latest devices and spread their message of hatred. Perhaps, it is also time for a clampdown on the communication systems being exploited by militants.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2013.
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