MESOP ARGUMENTS & ANALYSIS : By Bruce Riedel & Kird H. Sowell

“He’s Back: Al-Qaida’s Leader Resurfaces in a Video Message” (Bruce Riedel, Markaz, Brookings)

“After an unprecedented 11 months of silence, Ayman al-Zawahri, the emir of al-Qaida, this week issued a video message proclaiming his loyalty to the new head of the Afghan Taliban, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor. The almost 10-minute long message dramatically reaffirms the alliance between al-Qaida and the Taliban, a setback for efforts to bring the Taliban into a political process.”

“Badr at the Forefront of Iraq’s Shia Militias” (Kird H. Sowell, Sada Journal, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

”Badr—founded in the 1980s in Iran, its continued supporter—is not only the most important of the various armed groups composing the Popular Mobilization Forces (Hashd). It also symbolizes how Iraqis’ hopes for a democratic country governed by the rule of law have given way to a political system that is expressly sectarian and increasingly resembles a garrison state. No other militia-political party was better prepared to capitalize on the collapse of Iraqi security forces in northern Iraq last June.” www.mesop.de