What was that again about Al-Qaeda on the run?

by Thomas Lifson

From the US Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia comes an Emergency Message for US citizens which transmits a world wide caution on continuing threats from terrorist groups.  The entire document gives the lie to Obama’s declaration from a few years ago that Al-Qaida is in full retreat.  Some excerpts:

Kidnappings and hostage events involving U.S. citizens have become increasingly prevalent (emphasis added) as al Qa`ida and its affiliates have increased attempts to finance their operations through kidnapping for ransom operations. Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) are particularly effective with kidnapping for ransom and are using ransom money to fund the range of their activities.

It also seems that since the Obama declaration of victory, al-Qaida has not suffered one iota and is capable of attacks worldwide using its standard terror tactics:

Information also suggests that al-Qa'ida and its affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in multiple regions, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. These attacks may employ a wide variety of tactics including suicide operations, assassinations, kidnappings, hijackings, and bombings.

Read the whole thing since it gives an excellent summation of terrorist operations around the globe.  What is particularly damning is the situation in the Philippines.  Under Bush ’43, US Special Forces and their Philippine counterparts rendered Abu Sayyaf virtually impotent by a series of operations which eliminated the group’s leaders and several of their successors.  Under Obama, Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic groups have had a resurgence in Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago:

In September 2013, elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) occupied portions of the city of Zamboanga and engaged in a lengthy battle with security forces which reduced large parts of the city to rubble.  [snip]  On November 15, 2013, gunmen, linked to the Abu Sayyaf Group, raided a resort on Pom Pom Island off the eastern coast of Sabah, killing a tourist from Taiwan and taking his wife hostage.

I await the national security correspondents of the MSM for their analysis of this warning, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Hat tip: anonymous US government employee in Saudi Arabia

Thomas Lifson

Source: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2014/04/what_was_that_again_about_alqaeda_on_the_run.html

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