Back In Waziristan (Ongoing)

The AP reports that ethnic tensions are dividing Al Qaeda in Afghanistan/Pakistan:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - American and Pakistani intelligence agents are exploiting a growing rift between Arab members of al-Qaida and their Central Asian allies, a fissure that’s tearing at the network of Islamic extremists as militants compete for scarce hideouts, weapons and financial resources, counterterrorism officials say.

The rivalry may have contributed to the arrest last week of one of Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenants, a Libyan described as al-Qaida’s No. 3 and known to have had differences with Uzbeks. Captured Uzbek, Chechen and Tajik suspects have been giving up information about the movements of Arab al-Qaida militants in recent months, four Pakistani intelligence agents told The Associated Press, leading to a series of successful raids and arrests.

“When push comes to shove, the Uzbeks are going to stick together, and the Arabs are going to stick together,” said Kenneth Katzman, a terrorism expert with the Congressional Research Service in Washington. “I think the Uzbek guerrillas have had no home. Some of this could be a battle for survival.”

The BBC has more on the controversial capture of al-Libbi, the No. 3.  However inconsequential, the follow-up to his arrest is encouraging:

Pakistan says its security agencies have arrested 24 alleged Islamic militants since the detention of al-Qaeda suspect Abu Faraj al-Libbi.

Interior minister Aftab Sherpao said the arrests were made countrywide but not all were linked to the Libyan.

Mr Sherpao said Libbi's arrest last week was a significant breakthrough.

However, some European intelligence experts have now said Libbi was not al-Qaeda's third in command as claimed but only a middle-ranking operative.

Well, the Pakistanis are sticking to their story, anyway.

And to round out the bad news day for Al Qaeda, the Washington Times reports that Iraq now represents Al Qaeda's last stand.  Lots of reaction at Memeorandum.

Comments

[ed]

Hmmmm.

It might be just old fashioned racism on the part of the arabs. If you use Darfur, as just one example among many, arab muslims can be pretty brutal to other non-arab muslims.

A similar example might be the Russian Army where Russian soldiers are treated far better than non-Russian soldiers. A certain amount of "friction" is bound to ensue and, with armed terrorists, I'm sure disputes are bound to arise.