Islamists of various sects are increasingly ruling the roost in post Arab Spring Tunisia, with the moderate Islamists dominating the parliament and Ansar al-Sharia, a banned Salafist faction, demanding the ouster of those seen as insufficiently conservative.
Secular opposition figure Shokri Belaid’s assassination earlier this year has set the stage for all kinds of political infighting, and a rushed schedule to hold new elections under the constitution.
The US African Command (AFRICOM) seems to be using this to push for more involvement in the country, arguing that this amounts to an attempt by al-Qaeda to establish a presence in the nation.
Yet the local flavor of al-Qaeda, which is al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), has so far seemed confined primarily to Algeria and northern Mali, and rhetoric aside there is no evidence they have serious influence in Tunisia. Since AQIM is itself just a re-branded version of the Algerian rebels, their interests have been primarily local, as have a number of other Islamist factions.
Many of these groups may have similar ideologies, but with their interests focused inside their own nations, they aren’t necessarily good recruitment targets for al-Qaeda’s global vision, and the AFRICOM warning seems more about reiterating that they perceive “threats” in virtually every nation than a realistic assessment of the situation.
The United States is a stupidly paranoid state, taking is cues, it seems that is the stupidly paranoid state called Israel.
The title on page 1 mentions that a US General "warns" but there is no mention of a general or a name within the body – nor the off-page links. So, who is this General or that OPSEC? The articles here are usually pretty complete within the constraints of a generally complacent press.
Gen. Carter Ham
Oh now they don't like Al-Qaida anymore? They like them while they're out there overthrowing governments, but they expect Al-Qaida to just vanish after they do their part and what hand over all power to whomever the world elites decide?
So is there some perverse prize for failing to establish a genuine role of influence by means of force in multiple countries- Broad Spectrum Incompetence with Oak Leaf Clusters? If so, the Pentagon seems obsessed with winning it. Sort of like the guys who just have to tell you how many really hot babes they have struck out with.
Al Qaede is US trained terrorists pawns. Tell the general fuck off liars. You are stupid not us.