The beheading of an American contractor in Iraq by extremists thought to be linked to al-Qaeda has intensified attention on foreign terrorists in the country at a time when negotiations between local insurgents and coalition forces are being seen as a possible solution to the violence.I doubt things were "coming under control," but this idea the beheading was intended to provoke an American military response is interesting.
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'The beheading comes after some signs that things may have been moving towards coming under control, so it may be intended to reignite the violence by provoking a US response,' Jonathon Stevenson, terrorism expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, said yesterday.
The replacement of US forces in Falluja by Iraqi forces, and signs that negotiations may be opened with the militia loyal to the Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, stand in marked contrast to the refusal by jihadists linked to al-Qaeda to even consider negotiations with western countries.
The video can only embolden those who increasingly make no distinction between Iraqi civilians, Iraqi insurgents, Al-Qaeda, and whoever else is in the mix, an eventuality which serves Al-Qaeda's purposes more than anybody else's.
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