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On Oct. 23 in Iraq's Anbar Province, where al-Qaeda once enjoyed sanctuary, Sunni tribesmen turned out en masse to commemorate Shaikh Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, a leader killed for helping the US rout the Neo-Salafis from that region. He was hailed as a "martyr". US-backed Sunni tribal forces in Diyala and other provinces are pushing al-Qaeda and other Neo-Salafi groups out of their areas. In Lebanon in September, the efforts of al-Qaeda-inspired guerrillas to take over a Palestinian refugee camp were crushed.
Across the Arab world, where al-Qaeda had sought to build influence and bases of operation on the back of widespread anger against the US over its war in Iraq and the broader war on terrorism, the Neo-Salafi movement is now showing signs that it is stalled, if not in retreat. Experts say al-Qaeda's failures have largely come down to its brutal methods, which have turned off large numbers of Arabs. They say Muslims from Iraq to Egypt may want their countries to adhere to Islamic law, but not at the price of suicide bombings.
This is not to say al-Qaeda is vanishing or unable to carry out attacks. But even the US, which not long ago was warning that a withdrawal from Iraq could leave al-Qaeda in control of the Sunni-dominated Anbar from which to threaten American and regional interests, is now declaring the local movement a spent force.
US Ambassador to Baghdad Ryan Crocker on Oct. 25 told reporters: "In Falluja,... |
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