Does al-Qaida really exist?

[mixu]

This political culture of fear is more than it seems...

"In an age when all the grand ideas have lost credibility, fear of a phantom enemy is all the politicians have left to maintain their power."

[al-Qaida] is not an organised international network. It does not have members or a leader. It does not have "sleeper cells". It does not have an overall strategy. In fact, it barely exists at all, except as an idea about cleansing a corrupt world through religious violence...

Curtis points out that al-Qaida did not even have a name until early 2001, when the American government decided to prosecute Bin Laden in his absence and had to use anti-Mafia laws that required the existence of a named criminal organisation.

Bill Durodie, director of the international centre for security analysis at King's College London, says: "The reality [of the al-Qaida threat to the west] has been essentially a one-off. There has been one incident in the developed world since 9/11 [the Madrid bombings]. There's no real evidence that all these groups are connected."

The Guardian might be left of centre but this is based on a non-political BBC series.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1327786,00.html

[toasty]

Al Qaeda is frequently described as a "loosely connected" web of terrorist cells. I have always wondered just what that means, and how interrelated these cells are.

Of course, whether or not Al Qaeda exists as an entity is a different question from whether there exists a terrorist threat in general. It would be foolhardy to ignore the very real threat of terrorist activity just because the cells are not centrally organized...

[Yao]

Re: Does al-Qaida really exist?

Maybe Al-Quaeda is not a real entity, but more of an umbrella for groups that share the same thoughts. When different cells ot groups think alike, they may want to connect themselves to the cause ascribed to be the one from A-Q.

I think Osama would finance any attemp for a good bombing, regardless of the aspiring terrorists being a 'member' of A-Q. And so maybe any Osama-financed bombing could be regarded as being A-Q connected...

[Umar]

Re: Does al-Qaida really exist?

[align=justify]

I think Al-Qaeda was created as a platform for what we call the 'extremists' to vent their anger against all the un-islamic forces prevailing in our society. How and when it came into existence, who runs it, are things we will never know for sure.
I dont consider it to be only anti-American, they're fighting against a school of thought which they consider to be anti-Islam.
So basically its not a group that consists of a select few, its a movement that has changed our world and shown us that the war between good and evil still carries on. Who or what is good and/or evil... only time will tell.
Yes, Al-Qaeda does exist!

[Yao]

Re: Does al-Qaida really exist?

Yeah, and when the fuk will people realise that it's just one planet we live on? Blow it up, kill each other, and there's no second chance...From space it looks really small you know. It's not that big after all.

[superdave]

Re: Does al-Qaida really exist?

Of course Al-Qaeda exists and has been terrorizing the world for years. Bin Laden wrote a personal declaration of war against the West a few years ago. His group and another that I can't think of joined forces in the 90s. And Bin Laden with the Mullah Omar ruled Afghanistan through the Taliban. Which is why some people think those Cheney energy tapes are kept secret because the affiliation of the Taliban, big oil, and Bush admin are linked. Who knows if that's true though.