Putting Pressure on AQI
Arrest Led To Strike On Two Top Iraq Qaeda Leaders – New York Times
The previously undisclosed arrest of a senior leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq in Baghdad last month provided Iraqi and American security forces with a trove of intelligence that led to the killing of the group’s two top leaders in an early morning raid this week.
This news underscores the fact that al Qaeda is under severe pressure not on only in Afghanistan and the regions of Pakistan where its central leadership is thought to be hiding, but also in more far flung areas that are home to its regional affiliates. It had appeared as if AQI was preparing to make a resurgence, conducting increasing numbers of attacks in an effort to spark sectarian conflict in the period surrounding the recent Iraqi elections.
Recent blows dealt to AQI’s senior leadership, however, particularly the killing of Abu Ayyub al Masri and Abu Omar al Baghdadi will likely severely hamper whatever resurgence might have been in the making. Though these individuals will eventually be replaced, the number of senior figures being taken out in rapid succession suggests that the process may not be easy or quick.
Keeping up the pressure on AQI leaders will definitely continue to be important as U.S. forces begin to draw down next year. It is also important to keep in mind, though, that a strategy for undermining AQI’s influence and capability will require quickly designing an Iraqi-led political and security strategy that allows whatever government that emerges to marginalize the group without significant hands-on U.S. involvement.
Eliminating some of AQI’s leadership will hopefully allow some breathing space in which this process can occur. It is important that Iraq and the U.S. capitalize on the momentum gained from recent successes to come up with a self-reinforcing strategy that can keep AQI marginalized, unbalanced, and weak, if not entirely eliminated, in the longer term.
