From 9/11 to Khashoggi: The Saudi Islamist State Within a State (Part II of III)
By Irina Tsukerman, October 2, 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The role of Islamists in hijacking Saudi governance and major regional Arab and Muslim institutions has long been overlooked. A recent interview with a former Saudi intelligence official who was witness to key events highlights some of the actors who financed extremism and whose role in the planning of 9/11 and other terrorist activity has been ignored for nearly two decades.
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AFRICA FILE: NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE AFRICAN SALAFI-JIHADI MOVEMENT
Surveying the state of the Salafi-jihadi movement in Africa is a bleak exercise. Insurgencies are entrenched or expanding across broad swathes of western and eastern Africa, with a new insurgency developing rapidly in Mozambique. The situation is more positive in North Africa, where counterterrorism campaigns have weakened Salafi-jihadi groups significantly in recent years.

Ethiopia. Unrest across several regional states is threatening Ethiopia’s fragile political reforms and risks destabilizing the country.

Somalia. Al Shabaab is escalating attacks in an attempt to disrupt Somalia’s upcoming elections.

Libya. Libyan security forces killed a foreign Islamic State senior leader in the country’s contested southwest.

West Africa. Islamic State affiliates are drawing defectors from rival Salafi-jihadi groups in West Africa. An al Qaeda ally will likely remain dominant in the Sahel, however.

READ THE LATEST EDITION HERE
"The US is unprepared for Africa’s growing terror threat

Alliance between Netanyahu and ultra-Orthodox survives coronavirus crisis, emerges stronger
The historic alliance between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties faced several obstacles throughout the coronavirus, but it is now strengthening.

Don’t trust estimates of Al Qaeda’s strength in Afghanistan
Bill Roggio – FDD's Long War Journal
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A ‘Tired’ Taliban talking point
Bill Roggio – FDD's Long War Journal

A separate peace in the Middle East
Clifford D. May — The Washington Times
Before there was a Palestinian-Israeli conflict, there was an Arab-Israeli conflict. Last week, on the White House lawn, that older conflict was put to rest. In normal times, we’d agree that the president deserves a Nobel Peace Prize, and that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict should be next up on Washington’s diplomatic to-do list. But these are not normal times. Prior to the ceremony, I received an email announcing: “Over 50 Organizations/Groups to protest the UAE and Bahrain Normalization with Israel During Deal Signing at the White House.” Read more

Trump succeeded where the UN failed

Toward a Transformational Peace in the Middle East  by Guy Millière

Israel’s next peace deal will be with Sudan
Jonathan Schanzer — New York Post
On the heels of the historic peace accords Israel signed last week with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, another regional deal is now possible. Sudan, once a terror safe harbor, is openly mulling ties with the Jewish state. Another major diplomatic achievement beckons, provided Washington gives the right nudges. Team Trump is keen for a domino effect. Sudan is just one possibility. Oman, Morocco and Saudi Arabia are also among states reportedly mulling ties with the erstwhile archenemy. Read more

Simon Henderson writes: The corruption allegation against General Fahd will only enliven rumors that there are other issues in play besides dissatisfaction with the Yemen campaign. Senior princes are rarely sacked from government positions, and when they are, succession-related politics are likely a factor (e.g., Mitab bin Abdullah, son of King Salman’s predecessor, was fired as national guard minister in 2017). For Washington, the change in military leadership could be an opportunity to engage Riyadh on changing its Yemen policy and resolving the protracted crisis once and for all. – Washington Institute

Ibrahim Jalal writes: The U.K.’s dwindling support for the ROYG might be a reflection of evolving realities and British pragmatism, crucial to navigating its interests in post-war Yemen. More than five years after Marriott left, the U.K.’s two conditions for returning to Sanaa remain unrealized, and as London looks to chart a new course after Brexit and in a post-pandemic world, its foreign policy in Yemen seems unlikely to change in the near term. – Middle East Institute
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Mohammed Soliman writes: The GCC states will have to balance their economic and security interests during this severe global recession, and may need to adjust to increasing pressure from Washington if Joe Biden wins the November election and decides Gulf leaders need to be held to different standards than under the Trump administration. If the GCC states choose to maintain their relationship with Huawei, it will be a clear sign of diminishing U.S. power over its allies. However, if Gulf countries make that choice, they should also be prepared to face retribution for doing so. – Middle East Institute

Paul Wolfowitz writes: Some naïve or wishful Westerners seem to want to dismiss that activity as purely commercial ventures, or to view it as part of a Chinese “Marshall Plan” aimed at buying goodwill among developing nations of the region. […]It may be that the countries that Xi considers responsible for China’s “150 years of humiliation,” will wake up one day to discover that the Persian/Arabian Gulf, once secure under an umbrella of American protection, has become something else entirely. – Hoover Institution
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Dr. Nimrod Raphaeli writes: There are also large Sunni and Kurdish populations in Iraq, which will reject control of their country by its eastern neighbor. Finally, the world has witnessed the rebellious youth of Iraq, who have demonstrated in the streets of Iraq against both the endemic corruption and Iran’s intervention in their country. Iran’s own financial constraints will place a low ceiling on the level of financial support it can provide to its proxies. Of course, no realist could deny that logic and rational considerations may not always be the dominant factor in determining the fate of nations in that part of the world.  – Middle East Media Research Institute

China’s top leaders next month will lay out their economic strategy for the next five years that will include a new ambition to ramp up domestic consumption and make more critical technology at home in a bid to insulate the world’s second-largest economy from swirling geopolitical tensions. – Bloomberg

Bruce Klingner writes: Abe’s successor will face a daunting challenge of economic doldrums, escalating military threats, and growing uncertainty about the continued viability of its U.S. ally. Japan is a crucially important diplomatic, economic, and security partner to the United States. The U.S.-Japanese bilateral partnership and alliance are based on shared values, principles, and objectives. Washington must do all that it can to support Japan’s next captain as he assumes the tiller to maintain a steady course. – The Daily Signal

The Navy’s new Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) program envisions procuring a class of 28 to 30 new amphibious ships to support the Marine Corps, particularly in implementing a new Marine Corps operational concept called Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). – USNI News

Steven P. Bucci writes: A theoretical military principle suggests that steady quantitative changes can lead to a sudden, qualitative leap. After many, many years of sustained focus to drive down F-35 costs, the program may be representative of that maxim and allow the Defense Department to fully realize the advantages of the F-35′s gamechanging technologies. – Defense News

https://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2020/08/generation-jihad-ep-23-joe-biden-cant-end-the-jihad.ph