The power balance between the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan has flipped, with the latter’s numbers dwindling to fewer than 100 members in the country. Some Taliban factions are now shunning the terrorist group in an effort to win over local civilians.
Al qaeda
Why we shouldn’t destroy Al Qaeda
As tempting as it is to pull the trigger on the world’s most notorious terrorist network, keeping Al Qaeda intact may be in the world’s best interests: by funnelling extremists into one “social network”, it’s easier to spot, track and contain them.
The Taliban-Al Qaeda merger
The idea that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are two distinct groups — and that we can defeat the former while tolerating the latter — is a fallacy, says Peter Bergen: Al Qaeda cannot be defeated without first securing Afghanistan.
Rocky Pakistan terrain gets even more unstable
Pakistan’s military have taken a risky move: they’ve launched an offensive in the Taliban-Al Qaeda stronghold of South Waziristan. Will the move unleash a new wave of terror attacks in major cities?
Al Qaeda goes broke
Does crime pay? Not for Al Qaeda, which is skint and appealing to supporters to help out with some cash. But the Taliban, which has diversified its interests into drugs as well as violence, is rolling in cash.
Renowned nuclear physicist was an Al Qaeda mole
Adlène Hicheur, a French physicist working on the Hadron Collider, has been arrested on terrorism charges after admitting to working as a “mole” for Al Qaeda. Cue calls of “He seemed like such a nice boy…”
Oops 
Roll up, roll up for the vagabond Gaddafi circus
It’s the UN Summit in NYC, but Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is still roaming without a place to pitch his tent. He didn’t help his cause when he used his UN speech to compare the UN Security Council with Al Qaeda, right after he tore up the UN charter…
Al-Qaida’s recruitment crisis
Militant Islam just isn’t pulling in the punters like it used to. Eight years since 9/11, the group’s failed to have any big “hits” in the West since the 2005 London bombings, despite expanding its operations. Has it jumped the shark?
CIA hired Blackwater for Al Qaeda hitsquad
The CIA ‘death squad’ plot thickens: the intelligence agency reportedly hired outside security contractor Blackwater — recently marred by allegations of murder, gun-running and child prostitution — to help with its plan to assassinate key members of Al Qaeda.
We took our eyes off Afghanistan
The media should stop fixating on the political conflict and focus on long term policy and systems in Afghanistan — not as headline grabbing, but more important for Australia’s future, writes Greg Sheridan.
Guy Rundle: Rudd is less Bonhoeffer, more Billy Hughes
The Afghan war looks like a waste of life, especially – to the West — of the young Allied troops fighting it.
CIA planned to deploy teams of assassins
More information about the CIA’s secret plans to knock-off Al Qaeda leaders has been revealed, with news they were planning to train and deploy anti-terrorist hit squads.
China’s African ambitions threatened by al Qaeda
China’s strong-arm Uighur tactics will harm their economic ambitions if they continue to anger extremist militant groups like al Qaeda, writes Jane Macartney.
Muslim = Al Qaeda … Penbo’s Punch in top comic form
There are some Australian cricket fans still furious at England’s time wasting to draw the first Ashes test, none more so than “Steve”, the mysterious friend of The Punch Editor David Penberthy.
Cheney’s secret plans revealed
The Wall Street Journal have revealed the details of the secret CIA plans Dick Cheney kept hidden from Congress: a Presidential order to capture or kill Al Qaeda leaders.
Al-Qaida today: a movement at the crossroads
What is happening to al-Qaida: does it still constitute a threat to its adversaries, and if so how grave? Fawaz A Gerges examines the evidence.
In the wake of war crimes
The blogosphere reacts to President’s Obama release of the Bush torture memos.
The Sun-Herald’s al-Qaeda story is strangely familiar…
Yesterday’s Sun-Herald reports that Muslim prison inmates in New South Wales have been studying an al-Qaeda manual. Hmmm … Where have we heard that before?
Terrorism discounted — markets have priced it in
Terrorism doesn’t rate anymore, not on financial markets anyway. Since September 11, there has been a steady discounting of terrorist shocks to financial markets, write Michael Pascoe.
