INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR: PAPER NO 767
B.RAMAN
Al Qaeda’s first comment on the commando-style
attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi in Libya has not come from its command
and control in North Waziristan in Pakistan headed by its Amir Ayman
al-Zawahiri, but from its Yemen branch called Ai Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
(AQAP), also referred to as Ansar al-Sharia (Supporters of Sharia)
2. Of course, Zawahiri had issued a video message
on September 10,2012, one day before the Benghazi attack confirming the death
of his No.2 Abu Yahya al-Libi, a Libyan cleric, in a US Drone strike in the
Waziristan area on June 4,2012.The message called President Barack Obama a liar,
who was trying to mislead the Muslims..
3. The presumption among many analysts was that the
Benghazi attack was to avenge the death of al-Libi and that it had been planned
before the Islamic world came to know of the film Innocence of Islam which has sparked off violent anti-US protests
in many countries.
4. One expected that the first comment of Al Qaeda
on the Benghazi attack would come from Zawahiri or from Al Qaeda headquarters in North Waziristan. It
has not. It has come from Yemen, indicating a possible co-ordination of the
anti-US protests by AQAP.
5. The AQAP’s comment is not in the form of claim
of responsibility for the Benghazi attack. It is in the form of a justification
for the attack.
6. According to SITE, an intelligence
group in the US which, inter alia, monitors the web statements of Al Qaeda, the
AQAP said: “The killing of Sheikh Abu Yahya only increased the enthusiasm and
determination of the sons of (Libyan independence hero) Omar al-Mukhtar to take
revenge upon those who attack our Prophet. The uprising of our people in Libya,
Egypt and Yemen against America and its embassies is a sign to notify the
United States that its war is not directed against groups and organisations...
but against the Islamic nation that has rebelled against injustice." It
called for more violent demonstrations against US embassies in the Middle East
and Africa, and urged Muslims in the West to attack American interests in their
countries of residence. "May the expulsion of embassies and consulates
lead to the liberation of Arab lands from the American hegemony and the arrogance,"
said the statement. The AQAP is led by Nasser al-Wahishi.
7. On September 15,2012, the
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as the Pakistani Taliban is known called upon
Muslim youth in Pakistan and other countries to protest against the movie. While
one violent incident attributed to the Afghan Taliban has been reported from
Southern Afghanistan, reportedly resulting in the death of two US Marines,
there have so far been no violent incidents in Pakistan, but anti-US
demonstrations have been held in different cities of Pakistan.
8.The wave of protests till now has been against
the film itself and the US for allowing it to be produced and clips to be
disseminated from the US, but clerics in different countries, while calling for
the protests to be peaceful, have been demanding a UN ban on any insult to
sacred symbols of Islam and other religions. They have been saying that insults
to Islam and its Holy Prophet cannot be justified under the pretext of freedom
of expression. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayyeb, grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the
highest seat of Sunni Muslim learning, underlined the need for an international
resolution to "criminalise attacks on Islamic symbols and on those of
other religions”. In the days to come, this could become a major issue in the
protest campaign of the Muslims .
9.The protests are not showing any signs of
subsiding. Our intelligence agencies and police should closely monitor the
dissemination of provocative anti-US statements through the Internet and
maintain a high level of security for US missions in New Delhi and other cities. They should be
alert to the possibility of copy-cats of the ugly demonstration outside the US
Consulate-General in Chennai on September 14,2012. ( 16-9-12)
(The writer
is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi,
and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies, Chennai, and Associate
of the Chennai Centre For China Studies. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com Twitter @SORBONNE75)
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