Rendering 7

The interesting article entitled "US presidential debate: who got it right on al-Qaida" was published by Jason Burke in the newspaper "The Guardian" on October 23. In his article the author reports about debates between USA president Obama and Romney concerning the situation with al-Qaida. Both politicians tried to  determine present status of this terrorist organization and establish a definision of al-Qaida that suited them.

For Romney, al-Qaida was sometimes the organization founded by Osama bin Laden and others in 1988, sometimes all those now influenced by its ideology. So he referred to both "this radical violent extremism which is … really not on the run" and to an apparently single "group that is now involved in 10 or 12 countries" which "presents an enormous threat". As for Obama he preferred to keep to a more narrow definition of al-Qaida: it's the senior leadership of the group, based mainly in Pakistan.

Analyzing this situation the author expresses the view that the USA is the only western nation that has seen increased levels of militant activity, homegrown and otherwise, over recent years. According to the reporter this fact has a big influence on the debate. He claimed that Though most attackers have shown dubious commitment and limited competence there have been important exceptions.

Having return to the politician's debates it's interesting to note the Romney's position. He admitted that  it is difficult to judge how much of a threat does that disparate and fragmented phenomenon pose. Giving appraisal of his position the author assumes that geographic spread is a crude measure. If groups have emerged in parts of north Africa and elsewhere as new opportunities have emerged in the wake of the Arab uprisings, they have also disappeared elsewhere – in Saudi Arabia and, to a great extent, in Indonesia.

There is no secret that Al-Qaida can recruit enough people and get enough resources to survive. But the author also makes it clear that few security services or analysts outside government see radical Islam generally as an existential threat in the way many did in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks or the bombings in Madrid or London of 2004 and 2005.

In conclusion the author of article supposes that to a great extent the continuing weakness, and tenacity, of violent extremism today is due to local factors, particularly the revulsion of communities across the Islamic world for violence when it occurs close at hand.

As for me, I think that the problem with Al-Qaida organization is very difficult to be solved. It's hard for me to predict the course of events in the future but it's very likely that this organization will continue its activities for a very long time.