Self Inflicted Wounds: Debates and Division Within Al-Qa'ida and Its Periphery

The United States, its Western allies, and nearly all states in the Islamic world are facing a weakened jihadi enemy, but one still capable of inflicting, or threatening to inflict, spectacular acts of terrorist violence. The recent attempts to send package bombs on cargo planes is only the latest in a series of plots suggesting that although al-Qa’da and its cohorts have suffered a number of setback, the group and its affiliates and associates continue to pose a serious challenge to the security of the United States and its allies. Self Inflicted Wounds: Debates and Divisions within al-Qa’ida and its Periphery examines the internal reasons that have hastened the decline of the jihadi movement. In doing so, it exposes the jihadi movement, with al-Qa’ida at its helm, as one that lacks coherence and unity, despite its claims to the contrary.