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What About State Sponsorship?

Reader comment on item: Al-Qaeda's Limits

Submitted by Avraham (United States), May 28, 2003 at 18:51

Dr. Pipes, you are right to point out that al-Qaeda is not a cohesive terrorist organization with operational capacity at the international level, but you fail to recognize why this is true-and herein lies the danger of your analysis. You assert that al Qaeda is decentralized, but the fact is just the opposite: it is redundant. In other words, spectacular terrorist operations are the work of key commanders who answer directly to bin Laden; the cells that these commanders organize are thus decentralized geographically, but identically organized and controlled very centrally.

Furthermore, you fail to identify the three-part operational structure of the international Islamist terrorist entity: 1) those directly answerable to bin Laden (responsible for spectacular/strategic attacks such as 9/11); 2) organizations whose leaders maintain an independent command structure but answer personally to bin Laden concerning mid-level/tactical attacks (the "local networks" of whom you speak); 3) bin Laden loyalists/operatives who infiltrate "charitable" and terrorist organizations for him (including the "Afghan" infiltration of Fatah under Marwan Barghouti). Even more so, you neglect the role of state-sponsorship, something which you have previously emphasized. "al-Qaeda" cannot carry out spectacular attacks without the skill, permission and order of Tehran and its Hezbollah associates in the Bekaa and Qom.
Submitting....

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Reader comments (17) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Migratory birds as terrorist bioweapons [329 words]Brad ArnoldFeb 13, 2004 03:0813868
Is there a Koranic / Hadithic Foundation for Moderate Islam? [221 words]Dan BartholomewJun 4, 2003 13:119381
Re the 'State sponsorship' post- Stop with the nit picking. [130 words]CethernJun 4, 2003 08:519374
ideology challege [126 words]dave murphyMay 31, 2003 02:369306
untitled [46 words]A. K. LenceskiMay 31, 2003 01:179305
Al Qaeda's Limits [24 words]AngelMay 29, 2003 22:209292
It is War [92 words]Glenn KlotzMay 29, 2003 14:139286
Shadowy Terrorist Networks [78 words]Isaiah520May 29, 2003 09:049284
Al Qaeda [56 words]Ron IrvineMay 29, 2003 05:299281
What (and where) is the target? [192 words]Alain Jean-MairetMay 29, 2003 03:429280
Every Action Has Its Reaction [190 words]M.AfzalFeb 6, 2008 10:199280
The Al-Qaeda "Movement" [33 words]Joseph SklarMay 28, 2003 21:519278
Coincidence [55 words]Rod CoxMay 28, 2003 20:069275
What About State Sponsorship? [204 words]AvrahamMay 28, 2003 18:519272
Moslem Terrorism [9 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Jaime EisenMay 28, 2003 15:389271
Al-Qaida organization and activities [6 words]Henry MohrerMay 28, 2003 14:419269
The issue is ideology, not organization [27 words]Walter D'UllMay 28, 2003 13:459268

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