Atlantic Community:Open Think Tank Article "Al Qaeda in Europe by Lorenzo Vidino"

April 23, 2008 | 2 comments | Print this Article | E-Mail Book Reviews

Al Qaeda in Europe by Lorenzo Vidino

Lorenzo Vidino's "Al Qaeda in Europe: the new battleground of international jihad" represents a valuable insight on the structure, functioning and dynamics of the Islamic terror network Al Qaeda in Europe. Vidino, a terrorist expert at the Investigative Project, a famous American research centre on Islamic terrorism, wrote this comprehensive study in 2006 after many lethal attacks were conducted on European soil and the connection between the international jihad and Islamic terrorism linkages in Europe were proven.

Vidino provides the reader with an incredibly valuable source of official information regarding the role that jihadists cells in Europe played not only in organizing 9/11, but also in supporting, by financial and operational means, the fight of other adepts around the world. In this regard, the role of the European network appears of vital importance for the terrorist network around the globe, given the room for manoeuvre represented by European liberal governments.

The book is divided into four parts: the first analyze the background of the terrorists operating in Europe, demonstrating that the majority of them are home-grown Europeans that represent a by-product of the inability of European Countries to integrate their native Muslim population.

The second part analyze the recruitment campaign that Al Qaeda is suppose to made in Europe to fill its ranks in Iraq, after the lost on Afghanistan in 2002. Many of them are former Christians converted to Islam for the sense of community it provides.

The last two parts examines the Algerian and Morocco networks: the first one is considered as the first Al Qaeda network in Europe and it trace its origins back to the 90's. The latter is held responsible for the Madrid Bombing and for the killing of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh.

In this book, Vidino provide information and data taken from original documentation of European intelligence agencies in countries such as United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Italy. The book contains also the testimony of Mr. Vidino before the USA House Committee on International Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats.

Lorenzo Vidino: Al Qaeda in Europe: the new battleground of international jihad

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April 24, 2008

franchie

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if you understand french , here is a report on AQ from a mauritanian specialist and 2 Frenchs specialised in islam threats :

http://ce-soir-ou-jamais.france3.fr/index-fr.php?page=emission&id_r...

to sum up, they say that AQ has changed his tactics and agendas, they want to look more "intellectual" in their approaches ; they realised that the terrorist attacks made also an important fraction of the muslims turned against them; seems they are adopting the convincing tactic ; their new preys should also be the people that don't feel happy in a socialism frame, that see that the world is going anarchic, the "greens", the former candidates for a communist revolution... yes, in that way, AQ is already in our countries

May 3, 2008

Member deleted

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It is interesting indeed. These are issues that already are mentioned and yes, their re-discovery is hardly surprising. In my book - (just out at Wordclay - and entitled The Trojan Horse: Inside Terror, Part I - The Labyrinths, under the nom de plume of Kraftnetz) - those are the very issues that have been taken by the horns - the first part merely sets the pace for the rest that Richard Falk and many other scholars have touched upon.
It is not just the al-quaeda that would be a threat but there are varied other forces whose strange combinations in today's time is what led Walter Lacquer to surmise as the 'postmodern' terrorist. He of course has meant their technological reach and its usage - the term postmodern used in that sense of the transcendence of classical and modern views of terrorism - and that what Richard Falk had captured earlier.
It is a serious issue and its resolution - ensuring security and de-recognizing terrorism and its various issues call for quite an eclectic approach. The question is how do outfits like the al-quaeda, including the others, come into being? That there should be such a networking and that it should involve such apparently disparate 'sources' call for a far more serious look at the issues at hand.