QUESTION: The terrorist responsible for the #Pensacolashooting on 6 Dec, 2019 had been linked to Al Qaida for almost a decade. We asked Hans Jakob Schindler @FightExtremism, "What does this say about Al Qaida's current activities in the 'West'?" Follow this thread for the answer. 
ANSWER: "The newly obtained evidence form the two phones of the perpetrator apparently show not only his long standing association with AQAP (at least since 2015) but that he planned and prepared the attack for a long time, potentially years.
This demonstrates that AQAP remains the al-Qaida affiliate that is most geared towards attacks outside the immediate conflict zone, in particular attacks on US, European and other Western targets.
"The fact that this was a relative simple attack (i.e. a shooting) which was prepared over a long time also demonstrates that AQAP is willing and capable to play the long game, i.e. wait for a long time until the time is optimal.
This is a “traditional” and long standing al-Qaida modus operandi. For example, the attack on the USS Cole in Aden on 12 October 2000 was postponed several times until finally the attack went ahead, 9/11 took years to plan and prepare.
This attack – at least looking at the timeline that the newly obtained evidence reveals – seems to follow the same pattern. This is a very difficult combination, simplicity of the attack (i.e. one shooter with professional access to guns) in combination with
several years of “strategic patience” by the perpetrator and AQAP that is very difficult if not impossible to detect by counter terrorism efforts."
Read more about Hans Jakob Schindler @CEP_Germany here: counterextremism.com/video/cep-seni…
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