(The Australian)Frank Devine - In America's Secret War, George Friedman, founder of Stratfor, a private, subscription-financed global intelligence service, writes that al-Qaeda pressed its grand design for an Islamist world federation, a new caliphate, which would ultimately match, if not dominate, other superpowers. The Bush administration identified the jihadist campaign as "a Saudi problem." Most of the September 11 suicide attackers had been Saudis. Bin Laden was a Saudi. Saudi money trails were everywhere. Friedman believes the measured actions of the U.S. during the past three years, including its strong military presence in the Middle East, have caused significant moderation of the position on global jihad of Saudi Arabia and other Muslim regimes, and that the strategy of the jihadists has stalled.
2004-11-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive