Saturday, August 09, 2008

Evaluating al-Qaeda


Al-Qaeda Shifting Its Tactics -Peter Brookes

Nearly seven years after Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda is bloodied, but not bowed - leaving it still capable of dealing a devastating blow. Al-Qaeda is a different organization than it was in 2001. Today, bin Laden is more inspirational than operational.

Al-Qaeda has long sought to recruit terrorist operatives already in place in the West and bin Laden has been especially keen to recruit converts to Islam. These new adherents can often easily overcome the challenges of racial profiling.

We've also had terrorism attempts in the U.S., too, by "self-radicalized" people who were inspired by, but had little or no physical contact with, al-Qaeda. Terrorist cells in Ohio, Illinois, California, New York and New Jersey targeted the U.S. government, the military and critical infrastructure.
(Armed Forces Journal)

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