I wanted to let the DKos community know that I will be appearing on MSNBC from 1 PM EDT today to discuss the new National Intelligence Estimate on the revival of the al-Qaeda threat.
I recently published a blog on the background to al-Qaeda which you can find on the new group blog Informed Comment Global Affairs, which Juan Cole recently started as an extension of his well known blog, Informed Comment.
My recent post places al-Qaeda's political message in a historical context, in particular the contestation of carving the Muslim world into nation-states to suit Western interests. It explains why it is perfectly symbolic for Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri to be holed up in the Pashtun tribal territories.
Finally, it shows how the Bush administration did exactly all the wrong things in response to 9/11. I summarize as follows:
But in response to the challenge of Bin Laden, rather than building its army, the US has mobilized thousands of private contractors and exhausted its army in the fatal venture of Iraq. Rather than calling our people to fight and sacrifice, our government cut the taxes of those most able to afford to pay and financed its military ventures with subsidies, not from an imperial hegemon, but from financial markets that are far more arbitrary than Lord Curzon. To retain its monopoly on power in the face of failure, the ruling party has undermined the system of justice. We could have responded more wisely to Bin Laden's challenge, but we have drawn this circle of injustice around ourselves.
To understand the references, check out the original.
Post any comments or questions while I am on the air here, and I will try to look them up.