Home > AQ General, Commentary > Some quick thoughts on reports Abu Yahya al-Libi has been killed

Some quick thoughts on reports Abu Yahya al-Libi has been killed

June 6, 2012, 4:39 am Leave a comment Go to comments

 

First, I’ll believe it when al Qaeda acknowledges it.

This of course won’t stop the chest beating celebrating his killing.

And if he has in fact been killed, I wonder if those who think this is a victory (and those supporting the strategy of extrajudicial killings more generally)  have given ample thought to the fact that he along with others who have been assassinated were actually a moderating force within a far more virulent current that has taken hold in the milieu. And yes, given his teachings I do note a certain irony in this, but sadly, it’s true.

What is coming next is a generation whose ideological positions are more virulent and who owing to the removal of older figures with clout, are less likely to be amenable to restraining their actions. And contrary to popular belief, actions have been restrained. Attacks  have thus far been used strategically rather than indiscriminately. Just take a look at AQ’s history and its documents and this is blatantly clear.

In the years to come, owing to this generation being killed off, this type of restraint will disappear; in fact it is clearly already heading in this direction. A significant part of this change  is directly attributable to the counter terrorism strategies being employed today. I’m working on a more detailed, research driven piece on this. But in the meantime, the best way of summing up the consequences of a strategy of killing off leadership instead of using a criminal justice approach lies with what happened in a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa many years ago.

A culling program was implemented to kill off all the older generation elephants owing to overcrowding. Juveniles were spared. However, without the presence of the older elephants they then proceeded to go on rampages, killing other animals and causing such havoc that the rangers thought they’d have to cull them too. Until that is, someone chanced upon the idea of bringing in older elephants from another wildlife park, who ended up bringing the juveniles into line and enforcing discipline, something that had been missing since the cull of the older generation.

Right now you’re probably scoffing at this. Scoff away, because this example has come up time and time again in conversations I’ve had with folks who know this milieu very well because they’ve lived in it. Along with it has been concern expressed for the future, for what will happen when authoritative voices who can restrain the actions of those left and, importantly, those newer folks still seeking to join the cause, no longer exist.  When indiscriminate becomes the norm.

So before anyone goes off celebrating another “number” in the death count, it is worthwhile remembering there will be consequences from this short sighted and reactionary path chosen to deal with threat.  These consequences will not play out in areas where extrajudicial killings take place, but in indiscriminate attacks in capital cities in the west.  I wonder then how those who advocate the current policy plan to deal with this and the implications it will pose for the social contract.  But hey, they’re “winning” right????

More on this later.

Official: Al Qaeda leader killed by drone strike in Pakistan – This Just In – CNN.com Blogs.

Categories: AQ General, Commentary
  1. Ixak
    June 6, 2012, 4:49 am at 4:49 am | #1

    Good points, for sure, but people like Al-Libi were essential to a strategy that kept AQ integrated into key sections of the sponsoring & supporting community. If less controlled entities take the strategic lead aren’t we likely to see a short-term spike in incidents, but a long-term loss of support?

  2. Yohannes
    June 6, 2012, 7:47 am at 7:47 am | #2

    Thank you for this contribution. I look forward to reading your fuller reflections. I’ll be especially interested to understand in what ways al-Libi has served as a “a moderating force”. Is it because he has advised against the indiscriminate killing of Muslims? While reducing Muslim casualties is a good thing, is there evidence to suggest that al-Libi was willing to rethink the overall strategy of war against the West? Or is it simply his maturity and willingness to plan “attacks [...] strategically rather than indiscriminately.” And why would that be a good thing? A major Hasan every few months seems preferable to a 9-11 every decade.

    I wonder, too, whether similar argument might be made of others. For instance, Zawahiri and Bin Laden. Did not both realize that mass casualties among Muslims were bad PR, and did not both seek to reduce their number. Or again, as argued in the article on camps in Ten Years Later, after his return to Afghanistan, were not Bin Laden and his camps regarded by the Taliban as a moderating force — the real radicals declaring even the Taliban and Bin Laden to be among the kuffar?

    Lastly, while al-Libi was charismatic and important within his nexus, did respect for him as an ideologue extend much further? He could certainly produce movies, but was he a trained jurist and respected as such. Did he have a stature comparable to popular ideologues like Maqdisi or Abu Qatadah? And if so, what difference might that make given the importance of a tradition of real jurists of jihad, men like Bin `Uthaymin, al-`Awda, al-Munajjid, and al-Hawali, or the innumerable Pakistan equivalents?

    At any rate, I do look forward to your fuller work on this topic.

    Thank you

  1. No trackbacks yet.

Leave a Reply to Yohannes Cancel reply

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 4,477 other followers