Dangerous mutations within Pakistan's jihadi infrastructure

NICHOLAS SCHMIDLE, fellow at the New America Foundation states that a profound change had occured in the dynamic between the Pakistan-army and ISI on the one-hand and their jihadi clients on the other and within the jihadis between the old guard which acted on behalf of the state and the new guard which sought to overthrow the state leading to the kidnap and murder of Khalid Khwaja an important and outspoken player in the jihadi firmament.
In an article in The New Republic, "In a Ditch", he attributes this to the formation of the Pakistani Taliban from the rank and file of the traditional jihadi organizations after the storming of Islamabad's Red Mosque in 2007 and their deep mistrust of traditional authorities such as intelligence agencies, tribal structures, and mainstream Islamist parties. He also cautions that these mutant, smaller outfits were less amenable to bribes, negotiations and settlements and hence were even more dangerous than their creators.

Muslim Brotherhood vs. Al-Qaeda

Jean-Pierre Filiu, Professor at Sciences Po Paris analyzes the historical competition between Al Qaeda and the Muslim brotherhood for the leadership of the overall Islamist movement as an organizational and ideological alternative to the ruling secular regimes in the Arab world and elsewhere. In an article in Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, a Hudson Institute publication, "The Brotherhood vs. Al-Qaeda: A Moment Of Truth?", he states that the Muslim Brotherhood movement, and especially Hamas, has achieved significant political gains and established a considerably broad political base by championing itself as the leader of a nationalist version of jihad, with deep roots in a people and a territory while al-Qaeda’s ideology of “global jihad” seems increasingly out of touch with Muslim reality and the very Muslim populations it seeks to mobilize.