Al-Qaeda’s fate in Iraq after Bin-Laden linked to its internal – regional conditions – Analysts

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Two leading Iraqi political analysts have said on Sunday that the fate of al-Qaeda organization in Iraq, following the death of its leader Osama Bin Laden, was linked to the internal situation in Iraq, as well as the regional interference, pointing out that the organization had lost its platforms in the country.   “The fate of al-Qaeda in Iraq is linked to the internal situation, especially on the political and economic development in the country, as the political stability will be followed by economic stability, which will help in weakening the role al-Qaeda,” political analyst and writer, Faleh Abdul-Jabbar, told IraqiNews.com news agency.   “Al-Qaeda no longer has a lot of allies in Iraq, as its bloody methods have forced all those who cooperated with it and its platforms to resent supporting it anymore,” he said.  “Iraqi tribes who intially allied with al-Qaeda have turned against it and fought it,” he noted   Commenting on the impact that the death of its leader Osama Bin Laden would have on al-Qaeda, Abdul-Jabbar said, “After Bin Laden was killed, Ayman al-Zawahiri received the leadership of the organization. Zawahiri is a personality who represents Egyptian extremism, that may differ from the extremist convictions, related to different Islamic religions and trends.”   “If we suppose that there exists an impact by al-Qaeda’s center, meaning the local organizations belonging to al-Qaeda, it is supposed that this new trend can spread. The problem, however, lies in the fact that al-Qaeda is not a central organization, similar to those of political organizations of the (Islamic) Jihad in the world, for which there exists a certain center somewhere, directing the remaining branches; but the situation with al-Qaeda differs,” Abdul-Jabbar said.   On his part, political analyist Ibrahim al-Sumaidae said that “al-Qaeda organization today is an ideological organization and not a central one. Its base in Iraq differs from al-Qaeda’s other organizations; they have surpassed al-Qaeda itself in the field of terrorism and treating others as atheists, taking into consideration the internal Iraqi conditions, including the American occupation and the regional interference.”   Commenting on the situation in Iraq, Sumaidae said that “the situation in Iraq has its own special nature, and the attempt to undermine the political process and the political reconstruction in Iraq by certain parties, participating in the process, including its service and economic impacts, might extend the life of al-Qaeda organization and we might witness new and large operations. However one must take into consideration that the organization had lost its environment platform in the country.”   The Leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden and his youngest son were killed on May 2, 2011 in a military operation carried out by a U.S. special force in a housing compound, close to the Pakistani Capital of Islamabad. News of Bin Laden‘s death was followed by the appointment of Ayman al-Zawahiri as Bin Laden’s successor in the leadership of al-Qaeda organization.   SKH (TF)/SR 459