Decapitating Al Qaeda
 

On today's Meet the Press, Senator Ted Kennedy said that we are missing the opportunity to "decapitate Al Qaeda."

Everything that I've ever read about Al Qaeda stated that it was unique because it is structured in a way that makes it immune to decapitation.

What does Sen. Kennedy know that everyone else doesn't, and where did he learn this?

ETA bad spelling fixed

perhaps he is mistaken and thinks that capturing bin Laden would be a downfall to the org

capture who? Oh, wasn't he that guy with the thing that we saw in that place?

Re: Decapitating Al Qaeda
 

From what I have read Al Qaeda isn't a strict hierarchical orginization world-wide; but is heirarchical or amlost feudal on a regional level - with leaders jeolusly guarding their power and influence. So for example say you where to take out the primary leader in a region, there'd be a period of flux while underlings struggled for power and tried to regain control of the various cells in the region... but decapitate... not by a long shot, I don't hink any group, orginization, or following can be effectively decapitated if sole authority doesn't lie in the hands of one person.

It doesn't exactly have a unique structure going by the news reports and articles I've read? It's been reported as having a similar organizational structure to the IRA (Irish Republican Army, a N. Ireland terrorist group), in that it uses "cells". The "cell" structure was used in the IRA so each person is insulated and only ever deals with a small group of people. That way if they are arrested, captured, defect etc., then they only know or were exposed to minimal information on a need-to-know basis for them. Consequently, the wider group remains unthreatened; that's the theory anyway.

I'd understood difficulties with tackling Al-Qaeda stem from a combination of that, and the quasi-global nature of their operations, use of technology on a level probably hitherto unseen by terrorist groups (Internet, encryption, satellite telephones, video), and vast resources of funding through impenetrable networks off offshore accounts, laundered money and investments.

The problem is that it's difficult to know the extent to which it is 'immune' since agencies generally don't discuss Intelligence; for obvious and sensible reasons.

However, hopefully the currently ongoing four day anti-terrorism conference shall help Intelligence agencies to pool resources to better protect against and counter the threat. I didn't hear the speech but I imagine it's a regular political speak reminding his public that he intends to be hard on terrorism - something that's important to them (and all of us).

Actually, they say a lot of the terrorist acts conducted by Al Quaeda are not done by them exactly. They have grown into a global terror consulting firm. And it is true with terrorists everywhere. They have found IRA members in Israel and in Latin America. They use similar camps and often rely on the same underground networks probably.

-Rudey

Re: Decapitating Al Qaeda
 

Oh, don't mind him. He was just drunk.