Tuesday, January 27, 2004

I do not believe the US government when it claims that it has succeeded in killing or capturing 2/3rd of AlQaedah's top leadership. First, nobody knows who the top or low leaders are, and the organization is structured horizontally and not vertically. This is not an organization that is structured like a communist party with a Central Committee. I also worry that the organization has been rejuvenating itself in recent months: they are regrouping in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the Iraqi scene is going to provide AlQaedah with an arena that will probably replace Afghanistan. That is how foolish the war on Iraq (paradoxically launched in the name of "war on terrorism") was, and why we opponents of the war were right when we warned that the war will in fact impair the "war on terrorism." On the internet, the group seems to be in a state of frenzied violent mobilization, and its "military" magazine Mu`askar Al-Battar is already giving instructions to its fighters on how best to face the enemy with instructions to carry to GPS, for some reason. There is even a section on diet (Usamah-Jenny Craig?) and why a fast weight loss is not good. The ideological mouthpiece of the group, Sawt Al-Jihad, is very critical of Al-Jazeera TV. Apparently, AlJazeera only aired 14 minutes out of a 40 minutes speech in the most recent Bin Laden tape. Alarmingly, the magazine on p. 17, talks about a "spectacular" strike in the US. You also get the impression that the group is giving a high priority for the overthrow of the House of Saud. Saudi people deserve liberation and freedom, and not some kooky AlQaedah rule in the kingdom. I also notice that AlQaedah and House of Saud are in agreement over domestic issues, but not over foreign policy. In fact, the Bin Laden did not break with House of Saud until 1991, when he disagreed with them about the decision to invite US troops. What is most disturbing about these fanatic kooks of Bin Laden is this: I have never ever read or heard of a group that so casually accepts and justifies the killing of innocent people as AlQaedah does. Even their car bombs in Saudi Arabia are referred to as "battles." Battles? Against unarmed civilians in their beds? The literature is also quite critical of the Syrian government for some reason, and the Syrian rulers are referred to as "brothers of the descendants of apes and pigs" (the latter phrase is a disgusting phrase that AlQaedah uses to refer to Jewish people).