Two more grisly bombings of Western targets in Turkey on Thursday show that despite the toppling of regimes in Afghanistan and Iraq, al-Qaeda and its allies have been able to accelerate the pace and reach of their attacks. The assaults on a British bank and the British Consulate in Istanbul followed bombings of two synagogues there last Saturday and recent bombings in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. With U.S. targets much harder to get at since the 9/11 attacks two years ago, terror experts say al-Qaeda and loosely linked local groups are increasingly attacking softer targets in moderate Muslim states aligned with the West. It’s unclear whether that will work to destabilize those regimes and make them less friendly to the West – there are signs the bombings in Saudi Arabia are instead galvanizing opposition to al-Qaeda. What does seem clear is that al-Qaeda is growing more aggressive. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.