Who cares about the Al Quieda!

Why are we all so worried about the Al Quieda? I mean we pretty much just knocked them out of commision. By invading Afganistan we pretty much cripeled them. But what about all these other terror groups. We seem to be to foucused on one group that is barely a threat anymore. Meanwhile there are numerous terrorists out there who are much more of a threat. Sure the Al Quieda got away with 9/11 but we learned from our mistakes and we annilated them for the most part. Why are people afraid of them?

we still haven't gotten the heads of al quada, which is the problem. they could be regrouping their forces or planning another attack. also, a lot of these smaller groups are branches of or funded by al quada.

Cyberdude,
The ones in Afganistan were the Taliban not Al-Queda.
As to why would still be continuing to chase after the Al-Queda, well, they are of the classic rebel cell configuration where no one person is aware of who the others are but those in thier own cell.
There are also various branches of this group (remember Malaysia?)
Yes I agree, we should not focus all our attantion to this one group, but don't mistake that they are down and out as the present alerts demonstrate.
My 2 cents

Because their attacks are impulsive and people fear that because they don't know when or where... Their severely psychotic and their actions are justified in their religion. They dispose of human like garbage, anybody who isn't like them should be dead. People care for self preservation reasons.Care because you should care about your life.

Don't you guys realize that all terrorist attacks are done by Al-Qaida. No matter where or why. It's all Al-Qaida, all the time.

I strongly doubt that the Al-Qaida is behind every single terrorist attack. Simply put the reason they were ignored before 9/11 was because they were just another small group nobody had heard of. They had the element of suprise. So why get caught off guard again by some ignored group. I realize that there not gone but seeing as there in one of those general without an army situations I think we can focus our efforts on some other groups.

Cyberdude,
I know that AQ is not behind every attack, but the media sure wishes I would think otherwise. Seems that the main stream media just keeps building up the capabilities of AQ. Booga-Booga, there gonna getcha!

Did any of you happen to see Al Qeada 2.0, I believe it was on National Geo or the Discovery Times channel last night. I explained who, how, why and the widespread reach that Al-Qeada has. THey are going from a centralized grouping that is easier to find and hit to a more diverse leadership structure throughout the South Pacific largely right now, but also including cells in Middle Eastern countries, europe and America.

They listed all the bombings that have occured in just the past few years outside the US linked to AQ. These attacks are not being balmed on AQ but claimed by AQ. We should care about AQ because they are creating strife all across the globe. And for those select few who still believe that AQ is controlled by our gov't , gimme a break, these people HATE us.

They are driven by radical religious beliefs, not a paycheck from the CIA. AQ is not a flash in the pants, but a threat we should take seriously for the outcome of future society will be determined by the actions of AQ, and the reaction of the United States to future attacks. They could be the prompt for more war and conflict around the globe for decades. I also belive the capture of OBL will also not end AQ.

The media in general does do a good job of scaring us, but we should be vigilant nonetheless. THe media will always be there, read between the FOX/CNN lines and research the net and you can usually find the half truths.

Al-Queda isn't behind all the terrorists attacks in the world (like in Northern Ireland or the Basques in Spain, for example), but over the last couple of decades it has acheived a global reach that no terrorist organization has before... This organization has carried out terrorist attacks in the U.S., eastern Africa, Russia, India, the Middle East (both Israel and Arab countries), and Indonesia... This growth was made possible with Osama bin Laden's $$$ and time to grow unabated. The U.S. made the mistake of either ignoring them or dealing with them passively before Sept. 11, 2001, and it cost us dearly.

Is Al-Queda crippled? Perhaps. But it's far from dead. As cells have been busted and lower level leaders killed ("brought to justice" as the politicans like to say ), some members have fled to other terrorist organizations, and others have joined together to form new cells.

Like my father said over lunch a few months ago, "Killing terrorist organizations is like trying to kill all the ants in an ant hill. You can poision or kill most of them, but if the Queen survives, they'll just pack up and move and start another ant hill somewhere else in the yard. We've gotta kill the Queen -- or, er, "King" -- of the ant hill if we're going to win."

Good Point ThunderCloud.

Let me just say this. Regardless of who does what or who they are affiliated with.

One person can do alot of damage.

Doesnt matter anymore than just that.

I don't think AQ is crippled. The CRS doesn't think so. The following excerpt may be of interest:

Ultimately, the debate about Al Qaeda�s current status centers on the important question of whether it is growing or declining in strength. In the wake of the Afghanistan and Iraq military campaigns, when the predicted terrorist attacks on the United States and its interests did not materialize, what is the current level of threat to the United States? Most believe that the denial of safe havens and arrests of senior leaders have seriously crippled the organization when judged by its earlier form. However, it may be evolving into something new. For terrorist groups, periods of evolution can be particularly dangerous. Organizations in transition can be especially vulnerable to disruption and destruction, but they can also be less predictable and prone to lash out in order to cause additional damage, rally flagging supporters, and/or prove their continuing viability. With respect to Al Qaeda, evidence of new sophisticated operations, a possible succession plan in action, central coordination of attacks, and growing international ties, all increasingly converging on a common international agenda hostile to the United States and its allies, may give U.S. officials new reason for concern. In the short term at least, even successes in counterterrorist operations against a more decentralized organization can lead to greater difficulty in collecting reliable intelligence, as the paths of communication are increasingly unfamiliar, the personalities are changing, and the locations of operatives are more diffuse. While the long term trajectory is very difficult to assess, for the time being it seems that Al Qaeda (or its successors) has emerged from a period of inactivity and remains a very serious threat, requiring concentrated attention and vigorous countermeasures on the part of its prospective targets.

Source:
Al Qaeda after the Iraq Conflict

(also pasted in www.abovetopsecret.com... )

Keep in mind this was written May 23rd, 2003, long after the invasion of Afghanistan.

-koji K.

[edit on 2-8-2004 by koji_K]

I understand what you are saying, but the way I am taking it is that Al-Qaeda is
the umbrella under which many outfits with different names falls under.

They somehow have organized these groups to work as a team despite small differences between them there is one thing they agree on..

The west must be destroyed.

Some of the groups associated or merged into are, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abu Nidal Organization, Abu Sayyaf, Hizbollah, 'Asbat al-Ansar, Al-Gama�a al-Islamiyya, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Jemaah Islamiya, are a few with association to Al-Qaeda.

This organization between groups makes it more difficult to eliminate and to refer to each individually will only cause confusion, just look at all the "new" al-qaeda groups who have been kidnapping people in Iraq, everyday there is a new name to deal with, it is much easier to put them under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda so some sort of focus can be achieved.

Cyberdude... Why Worry?

www.pbs.org...
Worry Not!

Al Qaeda is LARGER than a McDonald's franchise!

INTERNATIONALLY!!!!

Some believe what you don't know can't hurt you.
I believe what you not know, can get one killed!


[edit on 2-8-2004 by LL1]

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
I understand what you are saying, but the way I am taking it is that Al-Qaeda is the umbrella under which many outfits with different names falls under.

I totally agree on this point.
Al-Qaeda is the "boogeyman's" name referring to any number of people or groups following a similar ideology. No large-scale co-ordination is necessary.

P.S. (off-topic) For an insight into their ideology I recommend reading "Jihad vs. McWorld" by Benjamin Barber a good book on the topic IMHO.

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
I understand what you are saying, but the way I am taking it is that Al-Qaeda is
the umbrella under which many outfits with different names falls under.

They somehow have organized these groups to work as a team despite small differences between them there is one thing they agree on..

The west must be destroyed.

Some of the groups associated or merged into are, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Abu Nidal Organization, Abu Sayyaf, Hizbollah, 'Asbat al-Ansar, Al-Gama�a al-Islamiyya, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, Jemaah Islamiya, are a few with association to Al-Qaeda.

This organization between groups makes it more difficult to eliminate and to refer to each individually will only cause confusion, just look at all the "new" al-qaeda groups who have been kidnapping people in Iraq, everyday there is a new name to deal with, it is much easier to put them under the umbrella of Al-Qaeda so some sort of focus can be achieved.

True. I think that Al-Qaeda itself was never a name given to a particular body (by the body itself). It was a label given to a list of names found on a suspected terrorist's laptop, meaning "The Base". I'll see if I can find an article on the web about this.

-koji K.

Al-Qaeda has a wide global reach and are affiliated with other terrorist organizations. To damage them completely (if thats possible) we would have to cut the head that runs it. The other terrorist organizations are minor compared to AQ.

Did any of you happen to see Al Qeada 2.0, I believe it was on National Geo or the Discovery Times channel last night. I explained who, how, why and the widespread reach that Al-Qeada has. THey are going from a centralized grouping that is easier to find and hit to a more diverse leadership structure throughout the South Pacific largely right now, but also including cells in Middle Eastern countries, europe and America.

I haven't seen it. Will there be a re-run soon?

I still think the capabilities of the "terrorist" are way over played. As I have said in another post although 9/11 was shocking and unexpected, it was hardly rocket science.

As someone else stated, AQ is not a single group of people, nor is it controlled bya particular leader. AQ is really a brand so that the general public know we are talking about probable terrorists.

One other point, in this case, I do not believe getting Bin Laden or any of the leaders will defeat the groups and infact may make it harder to track them and make the groups stronger and more determined from the start.

I think the war against terrorism was botched from the start.

[edit on 3-8-2004 by Kriz_4]

It was on the Discover/NY Times station on cable. They are running alot of stuff on terrorists this week. Really good reporting, and some of it is a little scary. it was on at 10 or 11 Sunday night.

Please watch the specials that they have on. It talks alot about hte spread of Islam, and if you look at it on a global scale, it truly is a Religious war. It is Islamic fundamentals versus Jewish belief, as it has been for centuries, and we are the basically the Roman empire for Isreal right now to defend them like they have done through the ages.. But remember what happened to the Romans......

AQ also is not just a brand, it is a reality. The threat of AQ is not what I am afraid of, it is a terrorist attack wether it be a Domestic or foriegn enemy.

I think Al Qaeda is totally overestimated. The Bush Administration does more than anyone to promote Al Qaeda's capabilities.

They rarely claim responsibility for any attacks, though the Bushies attribute a lot of deaths to them. They're an effective, faceless, insidious boogeyman.

I mean, think about it. A terrorist attack happens and before anybody claims responsibility the Administration says "IT'S AL QAEDA". It's almost automatic.

You can live your life in fear of getting killed by Al Qaeda, or you can live your life comfortable knowing that you're not gonna live forever no matter how hard you try.

And that even without Al Qaeda, life is dangerous sometimes, and you might die.


Your choice.