Large-Scale Terrorist Attack on the West Would Catapult al Qa’ida to Forefront of the Global Jihadist Movement

Colin Clarke, a terrorism expert with the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Soufran Center, has written an article describing how al Qa’ida could reassert itself as the dominant force in the global jihadist movement. According to Colin, the most important factor determining the group’s trajectory is what it has learned over the past five years, while it was “quietly and patiently rebuilding,” and how it seeks to implement change. One way al Qa’ida seeks to change is in terms of its tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for attacks. While much of the information on successful TTPs is disseminated to followers by al Qa’ida itself, Colin writes that followers, including those outside of the group’s organizational boundaries, are also encouraged to develop their own innovative techniques. And for anyone who thinks al Qa’ida’s influence has waned while the Islamic State occupied the limelight, Colin notes that the group has ingratiated itself to the global jihadist movement by getting involved in certain conflicts that are both seminal and highly symbolic. The combination of new TTPs and a network of followers willing to apply them for a large-scale terrorist attack on the West would provide the momentum necessary for al Qa’ida to supplant the Islamic State as the leader of the global jihadist movement. Read the article at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.