Publisher's Synopsis
The dominating geographical feature of northwest Africa is the vast Sahara Desert. It is in this region that Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) exports terror to Europe and other destinations around the world.1 The U.S. Director of National Intelligence assess AQIM to represent a "significant threat to the US and European interests in the region."2 "Geographical, political, and historical factors combine to make northwest Africa a more hospitable environment for Islamist terrorists."3 Characterized by porous borders and nomadic groups the Sahara makes it extremely difficult for the U.S. military and local forces, working in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, to track the flow of people and material across the region‟s borders. With its vast size, the Sahara provides an excellent base for terrorists and hinders effective policing and counter-terrorism efforts along the border regions of Algeria, Mali, and Niger. However, it is not as formidable an obstacle if viewed from a historical perspective that focuses effort along ancient caravan routes across the desert--thereby significantly reducing the area required to be policed. Even with the advent of trucks and four-wheel drive vehicles, terrain restrictions and oases locations still determine the few routes that cross the desert just as they have done for centuries.
