The global intelligence company STRATFOR‘s analysis of Jihadist Opportunities in Lybia just out today provides an excellent summary of the history and prospects for the jihadist movement gaining another foothold in an Islamic country. “Libyans have long participated in militant operations in places like Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya and Iraq. After leaving Afghanistan in the early 1990s, a sizable group of Libyan jihadists returned home and launched a militant campaign aimed at toppling Gadhafi, whom they considered an infidel.” It concludes that, “While it seems unlikely at this point that the jihadists could somehow gain control of Libya, if Gadhafi falls and there is a period of chaos in Libya, these militants may find themselves with far more operating space inside the country than they have experienced in decades. If the regime does not fall and there is civil war between the eastern and western parts of the country, they could likewise find a great deal of operational space amid the chaos.”
Read more: Jihadist Opportunities in Libya | STRATFOR
Filed under: Terrorism, Afghanistan, Africa, Chechnya, Iraq, Libya, Stratfor