wheelchairman
05-10-2007, 03:15 PM
I think the most common and annoying misconception of terrorist organizations is the implication that they are organized organizations with various organs and branches. They are presented as a guerilla type organization, except they can be in your backyard. They are invisible because they are people who infiltrate society.
And on the other hand they are also attending military camps in Afghanistan (or at least they were), being nuts and all that.
Now first it doesn't take a lot of reasonable thinking to disspell these notions. Illegal organizations by necessity have to remain undercover. They aren't hidden armies camping out in forests far away. Or if they are, then they aren't your neighbor either. There's a thin balance.
The general expert view on the form of terrorist organizations, in particular Al Qa'ida is that they are loosely based cells. (Because yes, I'm well aware that Hamas and PFLP are actual armies.)There is by necessity a form of autonomy within which they operate. Their probably is a head, it must've been nice that they could have a base in Afghanistan. But in places where they are illegal I would imagine they don't go around marching together and singing slogans. This view rejects logic, this view rejects reality. Some experts go as far as saying that Al Qa'ida is just an international group of gangs that adhere to the al-qa'ida "ideology".
The 9/11 Commission report claims that the hijackers were chosen by Sheik al-whatshisname and approved by Osama Bin Laden. 9/11 and attacks of this scale are the extent of Al-Qa'ida administrative abilities. It would take a lot of planning to do this kind of thing. However blowing up a train, that takes one man with household products. That doesn't take approval from Bin Laden. In fact most people are encouraged to martyr themselves when they feel they are ready. This does not demand an organization, nor does it require an international group. It can simply be 4 pissed off kids in London acting on their own. That's an example, they apparently did have al qa'ida connections.
The main thing I want to pass on is that yes terrorist organizations exist. But they are not modern armies. At least not the organizations relevant to you and I. (I guess if you're Colombian then it would relevant to you, or Israeli.) While they do have an international reach, they are loosely based and incredibly decentralized. Percieving them as heavily centralized organizations, which the media seems to do in the US. Is just plain ludicrous.
Literature List:
On the Organizational Structure of Al Qa'ida:
http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/Harmony%20and%20Disharmony%20--%20CTC.pdf (by the Combat Terrorism Center, a branch of the US military, West Point. Very academic and well sourced itself.)
And on the other hand they are also attending military camps in Afghanistan (or at least they were), being nuts and all that.
Now first it doesn't take a lot of reasonable thinking to disspell these notions. Illegal organizations by necessity have to remain undercover. They aren't hidden armies camping out in forests far away. Or if they are, then they aren't your neighbor either. There's a thin balance.
The general expert view on the form of terrorist organizations, in particular Al Qa'ida is that they are loosely based cells. (Because yes, I'm well aware that Hamas and PFLP are actual armies.)There is by necessity a form of autonomy within which they operate. Their probably is a head, it must've been nice that they could have a base in Afghanistan. But in places where they are illegal I would imagine they don't go around marching together and singing slogans. This view rejects logic, this view rejects reality. Some experts go as far as saying that Al Qa'ida is just an international group of gangs that adhere to the al-qa'ida "ideology".
The 9/11 Commission report claims that the hijackers were chosen by Sheik al-whatshisname and approved by Osama Bin Laden. 9/11 and attacks of this scale are the extent of Al-Qa'ida administrative abilities. It would take a lot of planning to do this kind of thing. However blowing up a train, that takes one man with household products. That doesn't take approval from Bin Laden. In fact most people are encouraged to martyr themselves when they feel they are ready. This does not demand an organization, nor does it require an international group. It can simply be 4 pissed off kids in London acting on their own. That's an example, they apparently did have al qa'ida connections.
The main thing I want to pass on is that yes terrorist organizations exist. But they are not modern armies. At least not the organizations relevant to you and I. (I guess if you're Colombian then it would relevant to you, or Israeli.) While they do have an international reach, they are loosely based and incredibly decentralized. Percieving them as heavily centralized organizations, which the media seems to do in the US. Is just plain ludicrous.
Literature List:
On the Organizational Structure of Al Qa'ida:
http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/Harmony%20and%20Disharmony%20--%20CTC.pdf (by the Combat Terrorism Center, a branch of the US military, West Point. Very academic and well sourced itself.)