Al Qaeda's structure.

[PatekPhilippe]

I'm curious to see what people's opinions are on Al Qaeda and their structure.

Are they just a bunch of whacko's who act in the name of Bin Laden or are they a highly organized terrorist group with a complex hierarchy to include sophisticated intelligence gathering, recruiting, ideoligical and security apparatuses.

Please feel free to make your case with links to what effects your opinion.

 

[XXI Pium]

Your question should not be about Al Qaeda and its works but whether is it a real organization or not.

 

[PatekPhilippe]

Make your case.....you have an open forum here.

 

[XXI Pium]

Make your case.....you have an open forum here.

I'm a skeptic regarding Al Qaeda, it's an odd organization that was/is seemingly convenient for Blair and Bush/Obama. Don't you notice every time wherever Al Qaeda seems to just pop out of nowhere, it's where our leaders want to go? If Al Qaeda was ever real, it was just a mujaheddin group that fought the Soviets when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan but then again there were 1000 other mujaheddin groups fighting at the same time too.

 

[CMike]

I'm curious to see what people's opinions are on Al Qaeda and their structure.

Are they just a bunch of whacko's who act in the name of Bin Laden or are they a highly organized terrorist group with a complex hierarchy to include sophisticated intelligence gathering, recruiting, ideoligical and security apparatuses.

Please feel free to make your case with links to what effects your opinion.

They are highly organized otherwise they wouldn't have been able to pull off the first WTC attack, 911, the NWA bombing attack, etc.

They probably have also gotten money and support from state sponsors.

I would find it very difficult to talk about their hierarchy or prove it since they never sent me an organizational chart.

 

[rightwinger]

I think its a little of both. Not anything near the organization of 9-11. Their communications are under surveilance. Their support in the Islamic world is waning. Their finances are in shambles. They are hunted wherever they set up shop.
It doesn't mean Al Qaeda is not a threat. They can still launch attacks on a smaller scale. But their days as a worldwide organization of terror are numbered

 

[B L Zeebub]

They are not as sophisticated or as structured as the IRA, but they dont have to be.

There hierarchy does appear to use the same cell system when in contact with the cannon fodder .

 

[PatekPhilippe]

Good points. However I think they have evolved since the days of fighting the Soviet. I d agree that they were just a bunch of losely connected mujahadeen warriors during that time with an extremely rich fighter among them. But the groups who came together, followers of bin Laden and Egyptian Islamic Jihad, in 1988 began a far more sinister chapter in the transformation of the mujahadeen, Zawahiri's terrorist experience and bin Laden's money.

 

[XXI Pium]

Good points. However I think they have evolved since the days of fighting the Soviet. I d agree that they were just a bunch of losely connected mujahadeen warriors during that time with an extremely rich fighter among them. But the groups who came together, followers of bin Laden and Egyptian Islamic Jihad, in 1988 began a far more sinister chapter in the transformation of the mujahadeen, Zawahiri's terrorist experience and bin Laden's money.

Do you know what Mujaheddin means in Arabic? It literally means "freedom-fighter".

 

[PatekPhilippe]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34890929/ns/world_news-washington_post//

Read this article. I believe they nailed Al Qaeda dead on.....a highly sophisticated terror organization. B.L.Zeebub is correct in his assessment...they keep the fodder away from the true circles of power. I also agree to a certain extent, with rightwinger but I think he underestimates their reach and power to attack us. As evidence of this I willcite the underwear bomber and the attack on the CIA in Khost.

 

[rightwinger]

‘Desperation’ led CIA, Jordan to trust bomber - Washington Post- msnbc.com

Read this article. I believe they nailed Al Qaeda dead on.....a highly sophisticated terror organization. B.L.Zeebub is correct in his assessment...they keep the fodder away from the true circles. I also agree to a certain extent, with rightwinger but I think he underestimates their reach and power to attack us. As evidence of this I willcite the underwear bomber and the attack on the CIA in Khost.

I don't underestimate their power to attack us. It only takes one. They keep adapting their strategy to counteract our defenses. However, their objective is terror. They have lost the ability to deliver a knockout punch. In the larger view of things, their attacks are just pinpricks.
More Americans are terrorized by gangs and drug violence

 

[PatekPhilippe]

‘Desperation’ led CIA, Jordan to trust bomber - Washington Post- msnbc.com

Read this article. I believe they nailed Al Qaeda dead on.....a highly sophisticated terror organization. B.L.Zeebub is correct in his assessment...they keep the fodder away from the true circles. I also agree to a certain extent, with rightwinger but I think he underestimates their reach and power to attack us. As evidence of this I willcite the underwear bomber and the attack on the CIA in Khost.

I don't underestimate their power to attack us. It only takes one. They keep adapting their strategy to counteract our defenses. However, their objective is terror. They have lost the ability to deliver a knockout punch. In the larger view of things, their attacks are just pinpricks.
More Americans are terrorized by gangs and drug violence

The attack on the CIA was a devastating blow to our efforts in A'stan. I would hardly call that a pin prick. This type of thinking is what got us into trouble prior to 9/11. If you display any weakness or inattentiveness to them they will exploit and attack you. This is what happened with the CIA attack and the underwear bomber.

 

[rightwinger]

‘Desperation’ led CIA, Jordan to trust bomber - Washington Post- msnbc.com

Read this article. I believe they nailed Al Qaeda dead on.....a highly sophisticated terror organization. B.L.Zeebub is correct in his assessment...they keep the fodder away from the true circles. I also agree to a certain extent, with rightwinger but I think he underestimates their reach and power to attack us. As evidence of this I willcite the underwear bomber and the attack on the CIA in Khost.

I don't underestimate their power to attack us. It only takes one. They keep adapting their strategy to counteract our defenses. However, their objective is terror. They have lost the ability to deliver a knockout punch. In the larger view of things, their attacks are just pinpricks.
More Americans are terrorized by gangs and drug violence

The attack on the CIA was a devastating blow to our efforts in A'stan. I would hardly call that a pin prick. This type of thinking is what got us into trouble prior to 9/11. If you display any weakness or inattentiveness to them they will exploit and attack you. This is what happened with the CIA attack and the underwear bomber.

Terrorism will always be here. It is an effective tactic. If Alqaeda goes away, someone else will pick up the tactic. There will always be targets of opportunity. Its a question of how much freedom do we want to give up?

 

[PatekPhilippe]

This is true and one must weigh that with the safety of our Nation.

 

[slackjawed]

I wonder about this, but admit I have no idea what the case is.
I really hope those that are charged with defending the country have better information than I do.
I want to believe they do...........

 

[Mr.Fitnah]

``Let there be a group of you who call to good, commanding the right and forbidding the wrong, for those are the successful'' (Koran 3:104).

Translation of Major al-Qaeda Book that Outlines Its Plan for Defeating U.S. and Its Allies

The genre of “strategic studies”—the name given by jihadi ideologues to their books and articles on the strengths and weakness of the jihadi movement and those of its enemies—had, until recently, been neglected by Western governments and analysts involved with counterterrorism. In 2004, Hegghammer and Lia called attention to the genre (which they dubbed “jihadi strategic studies&#8221 and usefully commented on its features (Hegghammer and Lia, SCT, 2004). More recently, Brachman and McCants demonstrated how this genre can be used to identify and exploit the weaknesses of the jihadi movement (Brachman and McCants, SCT, 2006—a draft is available online). Despite this growing attention, a full translation of one of these books has not been publicly available.

One reason for the neglect of works in this genre is that they are written in Arabic and they are often quite lengthy.

Moreover, they are much more difficult to translate than the usual diatribes by Bin Ladin and other prominent jihadi leaders. Unlike the latter, which are meant for popular consumption, jihadi strategic texts require translators to have a familiarity with Western strategic studies (from which they draw heavily), medieval Islamic history and theology, and contemporary developments in the jihadi movement. The reward for overcoming these obstacles is immeasurable—these works are brilliant (if diabolical) studies of global insurgency written by its most intellectually-gifted participants. While it is still an open question as to whether these texts guide the actions of foot soldiers, they are certainly read by the jihadi intelligentsia and they remain the best source for understanding the nature of the jihadi movement.

In recognition of their value, the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard commissioned William McCants in 2005 to translate one of the most recent and significant of these works, Abu Bakr Naji’s Management of Savagery (some of its salient features are summarized in the Brachman and McCants article cited above).

The Olin Institute, in collaboration with West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, is making this translation available online for free. Writing as a high-level insider, Naji explains how al-Qaeda plans to defeat the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East, establish sanctuaries for Jihadis, correct organizational problems, and create better propaganda. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the strategic thinking of al-Qaeda’s leadership and the future of the jihadi movement.

Combating Terrorism Center

 

[B L Zeebub]

The biggest problem for the home grown cannon fodder in the UK is Muslim drug dealers, for years they have plied their trade within there own communities. The police did not give a shit as long as they only supplied their own.

They are the best grasses special branch could have.

Ps I have long thought that the superstar status of al qaeda was more about covering the arses of your bungling security services, and to gain money and power for said security services. I suppose we have more experience because of the Irish problem.

Ps any views on Noraids funding of the IRA