AMMAN — Jordan,
like many other countries, welcomed the assassination of Al-Qaeda leader
Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a US drone strike on his hideout in Kabul on Monday. Questions,
however, were raised about the timing and repercussions of Zawahiri’s death and
its impact on Islamist extremist groups.
اضافة اعلان
Ambassador
Haitham Abu Al-Foul, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the
killing of Al-Qaeda leader represents a stern message that there is no place
for terrorism and terrorists.
The ministry
stressed that terrorism is a common enemy, and that Jordan continues to work
with its partners to combat terrorism and confront its dark organizations that
target innocent people and destabilize security and stability. The ministry
also underlined the importance of continuing the international community’s
concerted efforts to eradicate terrorism from its roots.
Political experts
interviewed by
Jordan News said the assassination will have little
impact on political events in the Middle East, and is unlikely to lessen the
phenomenon of terrorism in the
MENA region, or the world in general.
Expert on political
Islam and former culture minister Mohammad Abu Rumman told
Jordan News that “one of the reasons for the assassination at this particular time is US
President Joe Biden’s need for political victories to influence the American
voter and the results of the upcoming election.”
He added that
“killing terrorist leaders is usually exploited during elections seasons.”
“I think there has
been a penetration in Zawahiri’s security apparatus, knowing that there have
been efforts and attempts to assassinate him for more than 20 years,” Abu Rumman
said.
“I do not think
that there will be direct reactions or escalation by Al-Qaeda, especially since
it is in its weakest phase now,” he added.
Abu Rumman agreed
with the assessment that the assassination of Zawahiri will not reduce
terrorism in the world.
Political analyst
and writer Omar Kullab said that “the assassination cannot be isolated from US
elections, especially in view of the decline of Biden’s popularity.”
On the other hand,
and in the context of
US-Afghan relations, Kullab said that “Al-Qaeda had
become a burden on the Taliban, which are seeking to improve their image, and
so Zawahiri’s removal is not a bad thing for the Kabul regime”.
“I do not think
that Al-Qaeda will regain its strength, especially since new versions of
militant (extremists) have appeared. The question is not what comes after
Al-Qaeda but what comes after Daesh” he stressed.
Hasan Abu Haniyeh,
an expert on Islamist movements and a scholar in the field, told
Jordan News that “Al-Qaeda has lost its power” indicating that he does not expect that
“there will be any repercussions of the Zawahiri assassination on the Middle
East, and limited repercussions on Central Asia and Southeast Asia.”
Like all those
interviewed, he did not see a direct link between the assassination of Zawahiri
and the decline in the phenomenon of terrorism in the near future.
“Terrorism has
become decentralized; it now operates independently and far from its original
leaders. It is not directly related to a center that manages its affairs,” Abu
Haniyeh said.
Following up on the
indicators of terrorism, one may notice that “they remain as they are or are on
the increase, but in any case they will not be affected by the assassination of
Zawahiri”, he said.
Following the
killing of Zawahiri, the US State Department issued a “global warning” to
American citizens, saying that supporters of Al-Qaeda or its terrorist
organizations may seek to attack US facilities or citizens.
The assassination of Zawahiri is the biggest blow to
Al-Qaeda since US special forces killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. It prompted
Biden to declare that “justice has been served” for the families of the victims
who were killed in the US on September 11, 2001.
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