Anti-al-Qaeda groups - A new Jihadist generation in Iraq

With the occupation by US-led forces now into its fifth year, and a supposedly democratic government in place, still nothing is going well in Iraq. Casualties of the coalition forces are rising with the rise in the killings of civilians, crime, lack of medical care, collapse of education - the list goes on...

al qaeda in iraq 65

The good news in the last five years about Iraq was the only time when we heard about the formation of the regional Awakening movements - the groupings of anti-al-Qaeda tribes, community leaders and insurgent groups that threaten to stump al-Qaeda in the mostly Sunni regions of Iraq.

It can not be said that al-Qaeda no longer sends a chill down the spine of policy-makers in the White House. The battle against the al-Qaeda's religion-driven terrorism is one fraught with many challenges; the existence of unpopular and ruthless regimes, especially in West Asia and South-East Asia, makes the task even tougher.

However, President Bush's argument that "Fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" made the ordinary Muslims, not just Islamists or Jihadists, to appraise the 'war on terror' as a war against their religion and values. Now it seems that Bin Laden has lost credibility in their eyes and are having second thoughts about Bin Laden's fight against the Americans and their allies.

Four years after the invasion of Iraq, al-Qaeda's notion of a clash of religions is no longer farfetched. Only tiny minorities beat the drums, rallying the faithful to fight in a war they believe was caused by the other. Many of the Iraq generation of jihadists, who represent a tiny minority of all fighters in Iraq, come from the poverty belts of Arab and Muslim ghettos and streets. Many have shockingly little religious and formal education but the question remains as to what led to the super-duper rise of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Reasons why Iraq became an ideal base for al-Qaeda

• Instead of containing terrorism with war in Iraq, the US fortified it, giving terrorists a new base of operations. Al-Qaeda's image as a global player has been unintentionally enhanced by the US and its allies.

• US invasion of Iraq triggered chaos that still could engulf the whole Middle East, as a result, even more moderate Muslims supported anyone who defends Muslim lands and values against occupiers.

• One of al-Qaeda's most significant propaganda gained its support immediately in Iraq because of its successful creation of a commonly held view that there is a link between terrorism and regional crises.

Now, as we see signs of possible rifts among Sunni militants and al-Qaeda in Iraq, it's not all sweetness and light, but even the bad news represents some progress. The regional anti-al Qaeda group which is a coalition touted by the United States and Iraq as a positive development in the war against al-Qaeda in Iraq. This is exactly what rest of the world has been waiting for. Now is the time to dig in and solidify this success and extend it to bring much awaited stability to Iraq. Although they are a tiny minority within the overall Iraq resistance but the 'Iraq generation' of jihadists are becoming more Iraqi by each passing day.

The US debate over Iraq focuses mainly on the effects of the American military presence on al Qaeda and its affiliates - a tiny fringe in the political landscape in Iraq and beyond - while largely ignore the subdued effects of the war on mainstream Muslim opinion worldwide.

However, we will witness further mutation and militarization with every Jihadist generation but it is time to tell whether the Iraq generation would be more violent than the al-Qaeda generation or not.