Al-Qaida faces a ‘crisis of credibility’, claims former MI6 chief

Sir Richard Dearlove says al-Qaida may have passed its zenith but could still muster a spectacular outrage Al-Qaida is facing a “crisis of credibility” and the Arab Spring is “complete anathema” to it, a former head of MI6, Britain’s secret intelligence service, declared on Tuesday. The organisation spawned by Osama bin Laden, killed in May in Pakistan by US special forces, may have already passed its zenith in the Arab world, Sir Richard Dearlove, told an audience in London. But he warned that, as a result, al-Qaida had a “pressing need to pull off a spectacular”. He stressed: “Clearly there is a high risk of a spectacular.” Dearlove, chief of MI6 at the time of the 11 September attacks on the US and the invasion of Iraq, made clear he believed it was time to reduce the proportion of their resources – about 70% – that Britain’s security and intelligence agencies currently devoted to countering terrorism. More important now, he suggested, were political developments in the Middle East following what he called the “Arab awakening”. What was the actual threat, he asked, adding that events in Arab countries suggested that intelligence agencies were facing a world on the cusp of a hugely significant change of direction. He added that in Afghanistan a clear distinction had to be made between al-Qaida and the Pashtuns who, he indicated, were fighting an insurgency inspired more by nationalist and tribal ambitions than extreme ideological ones. Dearlove was speaking at a meeting sponsored by the Global Strategy Forum, chaired by Lord Lothian, the former Conservative frontbencher Michael Ancram. He suggested more resources should be diverted from the defence budget to Britain’s intelligence agencies. He observed that one of MI5 and MI6′s roles set out in statutes was to protect Britain’s “economic well-being”. Dearlove said: “We should not be squeamish about using all means at our disposal to protect ourselves economically.” One question was the extent to which Britain’s intelligence budget – about £2bn annually – should be used to protect the country’s financial and energy security, he said. Dearlove added that there was a “strong argument” for MI5 and MI6 to help the new National Crime Agency tackle serious and organised crime. The security and intelligence services had that role before the 9/11 attacks triggered a massive switch of resources to countering terrorism. Dearlove’s suggestion that al-Qaida has passed its peak chimes with the view of many serving intelligence officers and independent analysts. It reflects the stance of MI6 and now of Britain’s defence chiefs too that the time has come to talk to the Pashtun-led Taliban, and that al-Qaida has been seriously weakened in Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, al-Qaida “franchises or surrogates, are increasingly active, in Yemen, Somalia, and in pockets of north Africa, and could carry out a spectacular attack there or in Europe, including Britain, intelligence sources agree. al-Qaida MI6 Middle East MI5 Iraq Pakistan Osama bin Laden Taliban US military Arab and Middle East unrest Richard Norton-Taylor guardian.co.uk

Posted by on July 5, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.