Another strike

Anwar al-Awlaki,a radical American cleric of Yemeni descent,finally killed by a US drone strike in Yemen,had been several times lucky. Linked to several plots against US targets,including the Detroit underwear bombers failed attempt and the Times Square car bomb,Awlaki embodied what current al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri once called the battle for hearts and minds. Awlaki not only used the Internet to spread the message of jihad and win an new-age following. but also provided operational support,becoming the quintessential modern-day terrorist. These twin roles made him a serious US target,as they did the al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula AQAP,which Awlaki led.

Awlakis death is a major blow to al-Qaeda,or what remains of the core of the once-powerful outfit. Its a bigger setback for the AQAP,called al-Qaedas most active operational affiliate by Barack Obama. Indeed,al-Qaeda an organisation that has morphed into distant and dispersed franchises,lending them only its name and worldview is less of a real concern than the AQAP or its cousin,al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb,or the Taliban and Taliban-like outfits. While the AQAP has persisted in plotting against Western targets,the Haqqani network has been raising havoc in Af-Pak,operating from Pakistan. All of them are,in the end,the legacy of the original al-Qaeda and the mujahedeen war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.

In fact,the indifference in the Arab world to Awlaki and his death shows how distant Osama bin Laden and his ideology have become to a region gripped by historic change. Nor will the political tinge,despite US reiteration of its demand that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh step down notwithstanding this cooperation,disappear from this success. Nevertheless,the AQAP will likely continue to plot,and the battle against terror is also a battle of ideas. English-speaking,American Awlaki was a symbol of this battle.