On Thursday I linked to an article by Johann Hari suggesting that the London bombings were an Islamic fundamentalist attack on Islamic moderates. (Hat tip to Get Religion) Part of the purpose was to terrorize Muslims who are assimilating into British society.
Today I read in the NYT that the attack may have been the work of a poorly trained sleeper cell.
"The British believe that the cell has been in the U.K. for some time, assimilating with the society."(Hat tip Randall Cook at Intel Dump)"Part of their thinking is the cell chose a predominantly Muslim neighborhood to launch these attacks," the official added. "The bombers might have thought it would make it easier for them to leave the stations and blend in."
If this interpretation is correct, it means that the sleeper cell was willing to kill fellow Muslims, who were non-combatants, in order to make a terrorist's point.
From a PsyOps point of view, either explanation offers opportunities. If the center of gravity is the link between Osama and the Muslim population, the approach is to sever that link. Framing story in terms of Al Qaeda's willingness to kill or maim innocent Muslims in order to harm the West would seem to be a potent approach. Convincing a sufficiently large proportion of Islamic opinion makers that Al Qaeda is harming Islam would 1) bring new allies into the fight and 2) reduce the supply of terrorists.
I hope that the media moves quickly on this point.
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