US draws new Iraq-Al Qaeda link
The US military says it caught the man who ties Osama bin Laden's network to Iraq.
from the July 19, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
"We do think that his death will significantly continue to impact on the ability of this organization to regenerate and organize itself."
Caldwell said Sheikh Mansur was "multifunctional," with responsibilities including spiritual advice, recruitment, leadership, and media operations.
The latest Mashhadani captured is also described as involved in media operations. He carried messages from bin Laden and Mr. Zawahiri to the Egyptian-born head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Ayub al-Masri, said General Bergner. "Communication between the senior Al Qaeda leadership and al-Masri frequently went through al-Mashhadani," he said. "There is a clear connection between Al Qaeda in Iraq and Al Qaeda senior leadership outside Iraq."
The relationship between the two groups has been the subject of debate, with some analysts saying that the foreign-based leadership plays a minor role in day-to-day operations.
"Of course there's some communication back and forth, but as it's been described to me, Al Qaeda in Iraq operates as a franchise operation that's largely autonomous," says Evan Kohlmann, author of a book on Al Qaeda, who closely tracks the propaganda of the group and similar jihad organizations. "What Al Qaeda does for them is provide cross-pollination of ideas, but not command and control."
Mr. Kohlmann says that the group in Iraq has shown the ability to replace key leaders up until now, and doesn't expect that will change. On the question of whether this arrest has an impact on US or international security he said, "No, no impact at all" because Mashhadani would have been almost exclusively focused on operations inside Iraq.
News of Mashhadani's arrest came at a time when the US intelligence community has been warning that Al Qaeda has successfully regrouped and that its operational and training abilities are at their greatest height since 2001, creating fears that the organization is now able to carry out attacks in either the US or Europe.
Anthony Cordesman, a senior analyst for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, argues in a recent report on Iraq's Sunni insurgency that the direct links between Al Qaeda's foreign leadership and its network in Iraq are overstated.
He cites other US briefings that say 90 percent or more of the network's operatives are Iraqis and says the foreigners involved are not exclusively loyal to bin Laden.
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