Obama revived the al-Qaeda threat despite its near-extinction to salvage failing counterinsurgency

Evidence

In reality, al-Qaeda is an insignificant force, and its ability to recruit in the United States is highly limited. Even members of the security apparatus admit as much. A month before the release of the “counter-radicalization” document, the Washington Post reported that it was widely believed in the CIA, as well by counterterrorism officials, that al-Qaeda was all but finished. A Foreign Affairs article by John Mueller titled “The Truth about al-Qaeda” arrived at the same conclusion. Yet, despite the lack of any credible evidence to suggest that al-Qaeda remained a threat to national security, the Obama administration launched a plan to increase racial profiling of Muslim Americans. Why? There are a number of reasons, but one is certainly that the “counterinsurgency” strategy—that is, the attempt to “win hearts and minds”—was largely failing abroad. Obama therefore had to turn back to counterterrorism and resuscitate the “Islamic terrorist” enemy, albeit in liberal guise. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 584

Categorization

• XREF: This causal explanation — domestic fear engineered to compensate for failed foreign counterinsurgency — directly answers the reader’s question about what material interest the fear serves. — connects to: Obama’s presidency mutated and advanced rather than ended the war on terror — Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Understanding…, 329; Obama continued the War on Terror through rhetorical seduction.; Homegrown terrorism panic let Obama continue Bush-era war policies — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 499 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Failed counterinsurgency forced Obama back to counterterrorism and drone warfare #contradicts (0.70) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 432