ARTICLE: Qaeda Branch Steps Up Raids in North Africa, By ERIC SCHMITT and SOUAD MEKHENNET, New York Times, July 9, 2009

Strong opening:

WASHINGTON -- Al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa has carried out a string of killings, bombings and other lethal attacks against Westerners and African security forces in recent weeks that have raised fears that the terrorist group may be taking a deadlier turn.

American and European security and counterterrorism officials say the attacks may signal the return of foreign fighters from the Iraq war, where they honed their bomb-making skills.

The attacks also reflect Al Qaeda's growing tentacles in the northern tier of Africa, outside the group's main sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas, the officials say.

This is an old theme for me: the radical Salafi jihadist movement can go either north or south from southwest Asia. With the new center of gravity being NW Pakistan, the containment response up north is now suitably strong.

That leaves Africa as the best, more realizable target.

And yeah, the "vast spaces" (some would call them gaps) are quite attractive.