January 16, 2010
While the intelligence community and the Transportation Security Administration assess the success of the Nigerian, al-Qaeda affiliate who boarded the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day, with the intent to detonate an explosive strapped to his leg over American soil, I have sought to inquire about what this means regarding the current and future motivations of Al-Qaeda.
Recently with a group of my classmates, I had to prepare a presentation regarding the structure of Al-Qaeda post 9/11. The presentation was an analysis of the conflicting literature evaluating whether or not its current structure operates through a mode of hierarchy, a network or a combination of the two including the notion of a Dune organization which classifies al-Qaeda as an organization that lacks a territorial base; making it easy for the organization to operate during its "disappearance". Our analysis included a combination of hierarchical command coming from Al-Qaeda central, by such individuals as Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, as well the loosely connected affiliated networks that have been dispersed and recruited throughout the world. These networks often operate independently of the central command; conducting and carrying out their own operations without a leading hand.
This last week, an article published in the New York Times stated that the series of attempts and attacks on American soil in the last six or so months should illustrate that al-Qaeda central is "on the run" rather than "on the march" as its author implies the media and certain politicians have claimed. The author of the article, Scott Shane asserts that this hype is motivated by political incentives to instill unnecessary fear among the American populace. He argues that the numerous failed attacks as well as the Fort Hood incident should illustrate to the American people that al-Qaeda central is indeed weaker as these nobody's lack the sophistication of tactics that al-Qaeda has used in its previous terror efforts.
I find it alarming that Mr. Shane fails to realize that these men who have emerged from all over the world express the same religiously-justified hatred for the United States which clearly indicates the stronghold that al-Qaeda has on impressionable Muslims all over the world. The threat should be clear: al-Qaeda represents a very radical ideology; hatred for the United States and its allies, including regimes within the Middle East whose populations are predominantly Muslim. It is noteworthy to add that Muslims who are not aligned with al-Qaeda are targets as well. An increase in this kind of radical thinking should be very alarming to every American as well as the numerous national security establishments in the United States and abroad. Let's not forget that in the case of Najibullah Zazi, clerks of a Denver beauty supply store contacted local authorities regarding the purchase of large quantities of products containing significant concentrations of acetone which led to the arrest and indictment of the 24-year-old al-Qaeda affiliate who received training in Pakistan from al-Qaeda operatives and is believed to have had some contact with al-Yazid a senior member of al-Qaeda in planning out an attack on the U.S. on the ninth anniversary of 9/11.
Additionally, bin Laden as his colleagues have the resolve to wait us out. The numerous videotapes released since 9/11 should illustrate that planning is still in place. The recent CIA disaster in Afghanistan may also bolster their intentions further. We cannot afford to risk our chances, the passengers of flight 253 were lucky, the bomb simply malfunctioned. Unfortunately, the United States is political chaos, which means that the American people must remain vigilante when it comes to our national security because our enemy has the ability to remain invisible and we must understand that this is one of their strengths. God forbid another 9/11 occurs because we buy the political strategy of our weakening politicians. Al-Qaeda's core have calculated and accepted a new phase in their objectives and while they are being hunted down in Afghanistan and Pakistan, we may continue to see increasing efforts by their loose affiliated networks.
The following link is to a video released by MEMRI of al-Qaeda, it is certainly worth watching!
Go to the site and the video is available on the right hand side of the page!
http://www.memrijttm.org/
