The End of Al-Qa`idah

Reading some comments on Arabic websites, one thing is clear. The Israeli war on Gaza may be regarded as a watershed in the bloody journey of Al-Qa`idah. For all intents and purposes, it died. And its death was not due to the great tactics or machinations of the Bush administration, but due to its own crimes and callous repugnancy. People were commenting on how irrelevant and obsolete it has become, and the speeches and declarations by its leaders are met everywhere by yawns and curses. The statement by Bin Laden while the people of Gaza were being slaughtered was quite repulsive. As one person wrote: what has this organization done except terrorism against innocent civilians and stigmatization of legitimate resistance and even the image of Islam and Muslims? Having said all that, I do believe that the wars and rhetoric of the Bush administration will be felt for years and decade to come, and they will produce new violent organizations.