Symbiotic Relationship Posted by The Editors

This post is by NSN Executive Assistant Luis Vertiz.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry, just asked the panelists to clearly explain the national interest in Afghanistan, specifically asking why the US is operating in Afghanistan when most Al Qaeda operatives are located in Pakistan. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates gave an interesting answer, in that he described Al Qaeda was using the Taliban and associated terrorist groups in the region as a force multiplier.   

This is an interesting change to the more common analysis , particularly from the 1990's and earlier part of this decade, which usually saw Al Qaeda as a force multiplier for the Taliban and their movement to govern the whole of Afghanistan. Now, the panelists at the SFRC see that equation flipped, with the Taliban's campaign of destabilization helping creating breathing room for Al Qaeda to plan attacks in the against the Afghan and Pakistan government, as well as attacks against Western targets.

Comments

[chrome]

Hi,
Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in other cases neither species benefits.