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Eye on Extremism
August 19, 2021
The New York Times: First Resistance To Taliban Rule Tests Afghanistan’s Uncertain Future
“As the Taliban sought to consolidate control over Afghanistan on Wednesday, they faced the first challenges to their renewed rule, using force to break up protests in at least two cities, while an opposing faction vowed to hold out in one pocket of the country. Millions of Afghans tried to parse conflicting clues about what lay in store for them and their nation, but many were not waiting to find out. Despite Taliban assurances that there would be no reprisals against their opponents, thousands of people continued to crowd around the airport in Kabul, the capital, hoping to get a flight out of the country. Throngs rushed toward certain entrances, only to be met by Taliban troops who beat people back and fired their rifles into the air. A NATO official at the scene said 17 people were injured. Taliban fighters used gunfire to disperse demonstrations in the northeastern city of Jalalabad and the southeastern city of Khost, with some of the protesters raising the Afghan government flags that the Taliban had taken down just days earlier. News reports said two or three people were killed in Jalalabad. But in other cities, a tense quiet prevailed.”
Times Of Israel: Gaza Terror Groups Threaten ‘Escalation’ As Progress Reported In Qatari Aid Deal
“Palestinian factions in Gaza said on Wednesday that they were prepared to “escalate” hostilities against Israel unless restrictions on the enclave were loosened and announced a protest Saturday near the border fence. “An explosion and escalation are inevitable if the status quo persists. The weak Zionist government must realize the price of its continued existence is ending the aggression against the West Bank and Jerusalem and ending the siege on Gaza,” senior Islamic Jihad official Khalid al-Batsh said in a statement. After a Wednesday meeting, Gaza factions also announced that they would begin “a series of activities” to increase the pressure on Israel. In statements following the meeting, officials said they would hold a mass gathering in Malika camp on Saturday afternoon close to the security fence with Israel. Malika was a key site of protests against Israel near the Gaza border fence in 2018 and 2019. The demonstrations, many of which saw violent clashes between terror group members and Israeli soldiers, left hundreds of Gazans dead. Tensions between the two sides have been mounting again in recent weeks, propelled by an apparent lack of immediate progress in ceasefire talks to allow Gaza to rebuild following the 11-day conflict in May.”
United States
Reuters: Court Rejects 'Shockingly Low' 4-Year Sentence For NY Woman Who Aided Islamic State
“A U.S. federal appeals court on Wednesday threw out what it called a “shockingly low” four-year prison term for a Brooklyn woman who admitted to supporting Islamic State, and ordered that she be resentenced. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said late U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein abused his discretion in finding Sinmyah Amera Ceasar’s need for educational and mental health support after a lifetime of emotional, physical and sexual abuse justified the sentence. While “not without sympathy” for Ceasar, Circuit Judge Robert Sack said the four-year term “shocks the conscience,” failing to balance her need for rehabilitation against the needs to ensure just punishment and promote respect for the law. “We further conclude that in comparison with sentences for similar terrorism crimes, Ceasar’s sentence of 48 months’ imprisonment was shockingly low and unsupportable as a matter of law,” Sack wrote for a three-judge panel. Prosecutors had sought a 30- to 50-year prison term, calling the 26-year-old Ceasar a “committed recruiter” for Islamic State who, using the name “Umm Nutella,” tried to connect supporters in the United States with operatives in other countries.”
Syria
The Defense Post: Syria’s Top Jihadist Group Hails Taliban Takeover
“The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance, led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria affiliate, on Wednesday welcomed the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, saying it hoped Syria’s jihadists would also be victorious. The armed group that formally broke ties with Al-Qaeda years ago is considered to be the most prominent jihadist group in Syria after a decade of war. HTS controls nearly half of the Idlib region — the last remaining opposition bastion in Syria — alongside other less influential groups. It said the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan following two decades of US occupation was an example to follow. “We congratulate our Taliban brothers and our people in Afghanistan for this clear conquest, and ask God to also grant the Syrian revolution victory,” it said in a statement released on its social media channels. HTS formally cut ties with Al-Qaeda in 2016 in a rebranding effort that saw it move closer to Syrian rebel groups in the country’s northwest. But it is still widely seen as a hardline jihadist outfit by activists and Idlib residents who have been subject to arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, and brutal killings at the hands of HTS fighters. The Syrian government controls two-thirds of the country after 10 years of war.”
Afghanistan
“The Biden administration is set to cut off the Taliban’s access to billions of dollars in critical overseas finance, but some officials warn that the terror-group’s income from drug sales and other illicit activities threatens to undermine Washington’s last-resort pressure campaign. The U.S. has largely secured the backing it needs to block the Taliban’s access to billions in reserves held at the International Monetary Fund and assistance pledged through the World Bank and other donor groups, according to people familiar with the matter. The country cannot access its reserves at the IMF or other fund resources, an official at the emergency lender told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday. The administration’s diplomatic scramble to prevent the Taliban from tapping accounts established by the Afghan government has focused on ensuring the group isn’t recognized as the country’s legitimate government by foreign governments that control those accounts, the people said. Washington froze billions of dollars in Afghan government assets and halted cash shipments to the country as the Taliban seized the nation’s capital over the weekend. U.S. officials say that financial leverage may be key to pressuring the Taliban into abiding by its peace agreements.”
Asia Times: China Eying Afghan Rare Earth Windfall: Congressman
“…Beijing is worried that the war-torn country could become a hideout for China’s minority Uyghur separatists and that its economic interests will be undermined by continued violence within Afghanistan. “If the Taliban can provide China stable operating conditions, then the copper operations alone potentially could produce tens of billions of dollars of revenue, spurring the development of mining operations for other minerals in the country,” Tanchum said. Security will not likely improve overnight, and corruption — which remains rife and reportedly exacerbated the Taliban’s speedy capture of the country — could continue to stymie foreign investment. Afghanistan’s infrastructure and legal system also remain woefully lacking. “One of the main problems was that you were unable to get the resources out of the country without a private army to secure them against the Taliban,” said Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director at the Counter Extremism Project. “Now, that threat has gone, but the infrastructure … is still not there, so they will need large-scale investment.”
Metro: Taliban Chief Linked To Osama Bin Laden Poses ‘Heightened Threat’ To The West
“…According to the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), a New York-based think tank, the network has received ‘extensive support’, including safe harbour and access to weapons, from Pakistan’s intelligence services. The jihadi group once had a close, ‘personal’ relationship with bin Laden, which included hosting Al-Qaeda bases, separate analysis by Stanford University in California shows. Sir Ivor, senior adviser to the CEP, said: ‘Founded by the notorious extremist Jalaluddin Haqqani, the group is now run by his son Sirajuddin, who is already being identified by security experts as a key powerbroker within the new Taliban regime. ‘Under Sirajuddin’s leadership the Haqqani network has significantly enhanced its cooperation with Al-Qaeda and other violent Islamist groups in the region. ‘They are now widely regarded as a leading insurgency force in South Asia, with intimate ties to Arab jihadist groups and the Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, who have provided sustenance and succour to the Taliban and affiliates like Haqqani from their earliest days. ‘In his new seat of power, Sirajuddin will undoubtedly seek to bolster the group’s terrorist activities. Western leaders must be prepared to deal with the heightened threat he now poses, and cannot afford to be deluded into believing they can trust Afghanistan’s new regime nor its affiliates like the Haqqani group.’”
Newsweek: After Afghan Withdrawal Debacle, Biden's Counterterrorism Plan Draws Fire
“…Pessimists now worry that Al-Qaeda and indeed the entire Jihadi movement will be energized by the Taliban's swift victory, and that new dangers will emerge. Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has portrayed the Taliban's "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan'' as the cornerstone of a new caliphate, telling his followers around the globe that they should emulate it as a model for Islamic governance. "The international terrorist threats in both Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan will not disappear after America leaves," says Thomas Joscelyn, a senior editor at the FDD's Long War Journal and a long time student of Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Worse, the fear is, in the age of "over the horizon" counterterrorism, those threats will intensify. The notion that Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan is eliminated is "dangerously mistaken," says Nathan Sales, former ambassador at large for Counterterrorism at the State Department during the Trump administration, now on the advisory board at the Counter Extremism Project, a nonpartisan New York-based think tank. "The minute you take the pressure off, you give the networks space to reconstitute themselves," Sales says. "They are not done. They are going to reconstitute themselves, if we give them the space."
WTOP News: The Hunt: Will The Taliban Allow Terrorists Inside Afghanistan
“…The Taliban have suggested that it has shed it old habits. Few people really believe them. On this week’s episode of “The Hunt, with WTOP National Security Correspondent J.J. Green,” Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project says the Taliban are unlikely to turn their back on Al Qaida.”
Pakistan
Foreign Policy: A Taliban Takeover Will Strengthen Pakistan’s Jihadis
“Despite helping the Taliban to revive their Islamist insurgency and ultimately win the war, Pakistan was always reticent about the revival of the group’s self-styled Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. Pakistan articulated this position at an April meeting with U.S., Chinese, and Russian officials, where it opposed, along with others, any government established by force in Afghanistan. The announcement left the Taliban, who expected outright support from Pakistan, angry and alienated. To add insult to injury, Pakistan’s National Security Committee decided on Aug. 16 against immediately recognizing the Taliban government and urged for an inclusive government representing all Afghan factions. Despite helping the Taliban to revive their Islamist insurgency and ultimately win the war, Pakistan was always reticent about the revival of the group’s self-styled Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. Pakistan articulated this position at an April meeting with U.S., Chinese, and Russian officials, where it opposed, along with others, any government established by force in Afghanistan. The announcement left the Taliban, who expected outright support from Pakistan, angry and alienated. To add insult to injury, Pakistan’s National Security Committee decided on Aug. 16 against immediately recognizing the Taliban government and urged for an inclusive government representing all Afghan factions.”
Middle East
Axios: Gulf States Wary Afghanistan Crisis Could Trigger Refugee Flows, Terror Threats
“The scenes of panic at Kabul airport have been uncomfortable to watch for many people in the Gulf. Why it matters: Governments in the region, particularly the UAE, have supported NATO’s mission and provided Afghanistan with aid, building up ties with successive governments in Kabul over the years since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Now Gulf countries are concerned about the possible implications of the renewed instability in Afghanistan — refugee flows, a humanitarian crisis and a potential renewal of civil war — for the security of the wider region. There are also concerns that terror groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda could again flourish in the resulting chaos. America's status as a steadfast ally for Gulf governments is now also under more scrutiny than before. Biden’s speech on Monday night, in which he argued that the U.S. should move on from Afghanistan to focus on more pressing national security concerns like China, cast some doubt on his administration’s appetite for a continuing role in the Middle East. State of play: The Gulf Cooperation Council, chaired by Bahrain, said it would discuss the situation in Afghanistan, which has developed at a dizzying speed.”
Egypt
The Jerusalem Post: Security Council: Terror Threat Level Drops At Egyptian Beaches
“The terror threat level of the Egyptian beaches Sharm El-Sheikh and Sinai have dropped from 1 to 3, Israel's National Security Council (NSC) announced on Wednesday. The subject has come up in Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's meeting with Egyptian Intelligence head Abbas Kamel on Wednesday. NSC has also noted northern Sinai's terror threat level has remained at 1 (the highest).”
Nigeria
Council On Foreign Relations: Boko Haram Defections Spike In Nigeria And Cameroon
“More than one thousand members of Boko Haram have surrendered to the Nigerian army in recent weeks, along with hundreds of women and children that presumably made up their family units. The Cameroonian authorities, too, have announced that at least eighty-two Boko Haram operatives have surrendered or defected, also with their families. According to the Cameroonian authorities many of the Boko Haram defectors are Nigerian; several are also Chadian. The Nigerian army attributes the surrenders and defections to a “recent escalation of offensive operations.” Perhaps. However, the stream of surrenders and defections has escalated since the death in May of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, which was both a result of and a catalyst for the ongoing consolidation of Lake Chad Basin jihadi groups under the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA). There is the possibility that the defections and surrenders are among those who were on the losing side or who cannot accept the new leadership. Nevertheless, Boko Haram defections could be good news for the beleaguered people of the Lake Chad Basin—including parts of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and northern Nigeria—if they lead to a reduction of violence.”
Africa
Reuters: Dozens Die In Burkina Faso As Islamist Militants Raid Convoy
“Dozens of people were killed in northern Burkina Faso on Wednesday when Islamist militants raided a civilian convoy that was being escorted by military police, the latest in a spate of attacks across West Africa's Sahel region this month. President Roch Kabore ordered three days of national mourning following the attack on the road between Gorgadji and Arbinda, one of Burkina Faso's most volatile zones. Thirty civilians, 14 military police and three pro-government militiamen were killed, while 30 people were wounded, the government said in a statement. It added that 58 militants were killed in the ensuing clashes with security forces. Militants linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State regularly carry out attacks in Burkina Faso and neighbouring Mali and Niger, killing hundreds of civilians this year alone. Violence in the Sahel, a semi-arid band beneath the Sahara Desert, has continued to intensify despite the presence of thousands of U.N., regional and Western troops and efforts by some governments to negotiate with the militants. Armed men killed at least 12 soldiers last week in northwestern Burkina Faso as well as 30 civilians, soldiers and pro-government militiamen days before that. In Niger, armed men on Monday killed 37 civilians, including 14 children, in an attack on a village.”
Bloomberg: Southern Africa Bloc Plan Joint Anti-Terror Body, Central Bank
“Heads of state of the Southern African Development Community agreed to establish a regional counter terrorism center amid an Islamist insurgency in Mozambique’s northern region. SADC nations including Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Botswana have deployed troops to help Mozambique fight back the Islamic State-linked militants in the Cabo Delgado province. The four-year insurgency has displaced 800,000 people and forced TotalEnergies SE to suspend work on a $20 billion natural gas project. Tanzania offered to host the body that will offer strategic advisory services to the 16-country bloc, according to a statement issued at a summit of the leaders. The nations also plan to create a regional central bank and monetary union. “The African Monetary Institute and the African Central Bank should be long-term objectives,” according to the statement.”
Australia
The Age: Far-Right Extremists Still Downloading Christchurch Massacre Footage
“Dozens of Australians are still downloading vision of the Christchurch terrorist’s attack and manifesto along with other far-right extremist material, according to a counter-terror probe. A confidential federal police online tracking project examining right wing radicalisation and peer-to-peer websites estimated that almost three quarters of the most popular extremist files shared involved abhorrent right-wing content. Most of those were linked to the Christchurch terrorist attack in March 2019. The findings support remarks this week by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess that Australia’s neo-Nazi cells and other ideologically inspired groups are growing, fuelled by online propaganda about race and COVID-19. The proliferation of extremist material in the dark corners of the internet also raises questions about the effectiveness of the federal government’s efforts to force tech companies to remove and report extremist material from their online platforms. The rise of the white supremacy movement and neo-Nazism in Australia was exposed this week after The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes published the first part of an eight-month investigation. It included an undercover operation to infiltrate the nation’s largest white supremacist group, the National Socialist Network.”
Technology
USA Today: Fact Check: Social Media Users Misinterpret DHS Terrorism Bulletin
“A new Department of Homeland Security terrorism advisory includes COVID-19 and election misinformation on a list of issues that could inspire future violence. On social media, some took that to mean the agency was calling them terrorists. “Behavior the White House and DHS deemed as terrorism today! Resisting Covid regulations, opposing government, spreading ‘misinformation,’ thinking the election was rigged,” reads text in an Aug. 14 Instagram post by the conservative social media agency Voiceban. “I think this makes us all terrorists?” The post accumulated more than 5,000 likes within three days. Posts raising similar concerns, shared alongside a screengrab of an NBC Nightly News broadcast, have also gone viral online. In an emailed statement defending the post, the Instagram user reiterated the claim that DHS is “suggesting that anyone that anyone (sic) that has an opinion that doesnt meet their narrative is a domestic terrorist.” They added, “The government and all branches working for the government is out to destroy Republicans.” But this line of thinking misinterprets the advisory. The DHS included issues like COVID-19 and election misinformation as points of tension that could escalate to violence.”
The Federalist: Big Tech Oligarchs Won’t Punish Terrorists, So Who Will?
“While corporate media publish stories defending Big Tech’s compliance in allowing terrorists to operate on their sites, others have noted the hypocrisy it takes to ban the leader of a free country from the platform and then turn a blind eye to murderous terrorists who use the technology to accomplish their goals. Just a few months after Twitter, Facebook, and other Big Tech companies banded together to ban President Donald Trump, more than 40 GOP House members introduced legislation aimed at using sanction law to force Silicon Valley giants to ban foreign terrorist groups from their platform. At the time, the bill’s cosponsors such as Reps. Andy Barr, Jim Banks, and Joe Wilson made it clear that the double-standard held by tech oligarchs was allowing anti-American groups to spread propaganda and fundraise for their causes without penalty. “U.S. law gives big tech a free pass to provide platforms to terrorist groups and dictators,” Barr told Fox News in March. “Social media companies should not provide a vehicle for terrorist groups like ISIS to raise money or for dictators like the Ayatollah of Iran to spread propaganda.” It is unclear, however, if the bill will resurface in light of the Taliban’s recent takeover in Afghanistan.”
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