MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Instead, the Arab Spring turned out to be a “boon to Islamic extremists across both the Middle East and North Africa,” according to Michael Morell.
“We thought and told policy-makers that this outburst of popular revolt would damage al-Qaeda by undermining the group’s narrative,” Morell wrote in his new book, excerpts of which were published by the Washington Post on Sunday ahead of its release.
The CIA declined to comment on its former deputy director’s criticism but US officials have acknowledged that al-Qaeda’s advance was made possible by the fact that seemingly promising political movements in the region failed to create effective new governments, the Washington Post reported.
After bin Laden’s death, Ayman al-Zawahiri assumed the leadership of the militant Islamist group, which managed to gain momentum amid the political chaos of the Arab Spring, a series of uprisings that began in Tunisia in late 2010.
Groups aligned with al-Qaeda are currently active in several parts of North Africa and the Middle East, most prominently in conflict-torn Yemen.
