Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - bbc documentary: al qeada a political myth?

Dragonlich · 01-15-2005, 05:08 AM

I think Al Qaeda exists, in the same way that "Communist Russia" existed in the past, and "Nazi Germany" before that. Al-Qaeda and Bin laden are the visible part of Muslim extremism, just like Russia and Germany were the visible part of their respective ideologies. The politicians and media people talking about the war on terror need a visible enemy, and Al-Qaeda is the obvious target...

Al-Qaeda is probably made up of only a small group of isolated individuals, but it's example is followed by extremists world-wide. Given this status, it's kind of silly to say that Al-Qaeda is or isn't a threat. Of course it is a threat, but it's not a threat in itself; it is a threat because of it's influence.

When some extremist wacko blows up a train in the name of Al-Qaeda, an Al-Qaeda that isn't really responsible for the attack, does that make the attack less deadly, or not as bad? Of course not! 9-11 and 3-11 still happened, they caused many deaths. But you cannot honestly say that "Al-Qaeda" did it, just that they influenced it.

I wonder if it would be worse if Al-Qaeda were as (physically) powerful as it is claimed. IMO, influencing others to do your work for you is more destructive than doing it yourself, especially in the case of suicide bombers; if Al-Qaede would need to do all the blowing up themselves, they would very quickly burn up their resources... With the current situation, it is much harder to stop terror attacks, and to put an end to the threat.

Whether it is wise to leave Bin Laden and his band of merry men alone is a different question, of course. One has to wonder if making him a martyr is worse than the current situation.

01-15-2005, 05:08 AM	#33 (permalink)
Dragonlich 42, baby! Location: The Netherlands	I think Al Qaeda exists, in the same way that "Communist Russia" existed in the past, and "Nazi Germany" before that. Al-Qaeda and Bin laden are the visible part of Muslim extremism, just like Russia and Germany were the visible part of their respective ideologies. The politicians and media people talking about the war on terror need a visible enemy, and Al-Qaeda is the obvious target... Al-Qaeda is probably made up of only a small group of isolated individuals, but it's example is followed by extremists world-wide. Given this status, it's kind of silly to say that Al-Qaeda is or isn't a threat. Of course it is a threat, but it's not a threat in itself; it is a threat because of it's influence. When some extremist wacko blows up a train in the name of Al-Qaeda, an Al-Qaeda that isn't really responsible for the attack, does that make the attack less deadly, or not as bad? Of course not! 9-11 and 3-11 still happened, they caused many deaths. But you cannot honestly say that "Al-Qaeda" did it, just that they influenced it. I wonder if it would be worse if Al-Qaeda were as (physically) powerful as it is claimed. IMO, influencing others to do your work for you is more destructive than doing it yourself, especially in the case of suicide bombers; if Al-Qaede would need to do all the blowing up themselves, they would very quickly burn up their resources... With the current situation, it is much harder to stop terror attacks, and to put an end to the threat. Whether it is wise to leave Bin Laden and his band of merry men alone is a different question, of course. One has to wonder if making him a martyr is worse than the current situation. Last edited by Dragonlich; 01-15-2005 at 05:14 AM..