Agent Monkeysee on 31/7/2006 at 21:03
Quote Posted by Strontium Dog
The way the US government describes it is Osama bin Laden sitting in a cave, buying guns and weapons and ordering Al Qaeda sleeper cells to commit Bombing A, Atrocity B and Hijack C.
The reality is a ragtag bunch of Islamist guys going to Osama cap-in-hand for money so they can wage war on the Great Satan, which is the full extent of his involvement.
That's the sense in which it doesn't exist. They're not organised, they don't have coherent aims (save for the promotion of Islamist beliefs) and Osama isn't the
capo di tutti capi ordering all his minions to do his bidding. They didn't even have a name until we gave them one.
Of course Osama exists, but one man doling out money to independent, like-minded individuals can hardly be described as an organisation, can he.
Way to respond to everything after that little sentence wherein I already anticipated this answer and explained why your position is asinine.
And you're still wrong. It's not just him. It wouldn't be a network if it was just him. He's not healthy enough to run the entire thing, manage every contact, ensure every shipment, and meet with every aspiring jihadist to make it "just one guy". It's a network and if you stopped conflating Bush talking points with every analysis of Al Queda you'd notice that most everyone refers to it as merely "a network". Because it is.
And
even if it was just him your point is vacuous. He still funds terrorist activities. He must still be reckoned with as a force in the Middle East and the Muslim world as a whole. The statement that Al Qaeda "doesn't exist" is completely irrelevant to the reality of his involvement in Islamic terrorism.
Deep Qantas on 31/7/2006 at 23:12
He's not arguing that Al Qaeda doesn't exist so much as arguing that it didn't use to be called Al Qaeda.
And you know... generally drawing humor from the fact that people still can't seem to spell it correctly. Or even consistently if your last post is anything to go by.
Agent Monkeysee on 31/7/2006 at 23:20
Quote Posted by Deep Qantas
He's not arguing that Al Qaeda doesn't exist so much as arguing that it didn't use to be called Al Qaeda.
Uh that's exactly what he's arguing. He's arguing that Bin Laden is a lone wolf sitting in a cave somewhere and writing checks. That's not true. It's not any more true than the Administration's view of Al Qaeda as some international supervillian cabal.
Quote Posted by Deep Qantas
And you know... generally drawing humor from the fact that people still can't seem to spell it correctly. Or even consistently if your last post is anything to go by.
I've never been able to "get" english spelling of arabic words. They always have 2 or 3 accepted variations and none of them are phonetic.
jprobs on 1/8/2006 at 00:45
Al quieda- al queda
Hezbollah- hizbolah
Who cares. The fact remains, they are a bunch of chicken shit pussies who hide behind womens skirts. If hezbollah were a real militant group they would go and face the IDF on the battlefield and settle this once and for all. But they wont...
Ko0K on 1/8/2006 at 01:05
Quote Posted by jprobs
Al quieda- al queda
Hezbollah- hizbolah
Who cares. The fact remains, they are a bunch of chicken shit pussies who hide behind womens skirts. If hezbollah were a real militant group they would go and face the IDF on the battlefield and settle this once and for all. But they wont...
Right. And I suppose that IDF will put away their war planes and naval guns and show up on the battlefield armed with swords and spears, yeah?
jprobs on 1/8/2006 at 01:44
Quote Posted by Ko0K
Right. And I suppose that IDF will put away their war planes and naval guns and show up on the battlefield armed with swords and spears, yeah?
Well, if you can't play with the big boys, why pick the fight?
Turtle on 1/8/2006 at 02:27
Because you know you have a more effective way of waging a war than the 'big boys'? See also; al-Qaeda.
SlyFoxx on 1/8/2006 at 03:17
Quote:
Because you know you have a more effective way of waging a war than the 'big boys'? See also; al-Qaeda.
The fucked up thing is that fact comes from "our" weakness, not the strength of any terrorist group.
Planting guns in civilian population centers with the intent to draw fire and then parade the dead around. That's fucked up. This war won't end until the terrorists love their children more than they hate "us." Or until one side achieves definitive victory.
Victory, then peace. It's the history of war.
Printer's Devil on 1/8/2006 at 05:10
A moment's silence then, for those who die by the decree of politics and emotion.
