Al-qaeda 'thrives' in countries having weak governance: FBI

Washington, Apr 16 (ANI): Militant group Al-qaeda thrives in the countries facing political unrest and weak governance, said the US's top counter-terror official.

FBI Assistant Director Mark Giuliano made these comments few hours before the reports emerged of a new Al-qaeda video that praised the revolutions sweeping the Arab world.

The video features separate appearances by Al- qaeda's number two commander, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and American-born key commander of Al-qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula (AQAP), Anwar al-Awlaki, each praising the recent uprisings.

In the hour-plus long video, al-Zawahiri orders Muslims in Egypt to create an Islamic state there and calls for the Arab armies of the Middle East to intervene in Libya to oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi before western aid turns into invasions.

According to ABC News, just before the video Giuliano warned that the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen have drastically changed in the last six months and are now led by transitional or interim governments, military regimes, or democratic alliances with no established track record on counterterrorism efforts.

"Al Qaeda thrives in such conditions and countries of weak governance and political instability, countries in which governments may be sympathetic to their campaign of violence," said Giuliano.

"Al Qaeda must be pretty damn frustrated these days," the official said in response to the video, adding "Calls for democracy in the Middle East and North Africa don't exactly square with their extremist views. They've been on the wrong side of history and humanity for years."

Guiliano said Al-qaeda's ability to reach millions around the globe through such video propaganda and the English-language online magazine "Inspire", which dedicated its whole last issue to supporting the revolutions, is a serious threat to U.S. security. (ANI)