"There is no al-Quaeda"

[Dude_Doc]

According to Adam Curtis, who supposedly is somewhat famous in the United Kingdom (for his documentaries), al-Quaeda doesn't exist. Or at least, they are a very small group, not as big as portrayed in the global media. He claims that al-Quaedas' only offensive was 9/11, and that "neo-conservative powers" in the United States has contributed to the "illusion of a global terrorist cabal".

Anyone else thought about this? I, for one, have...

[GhostHunter]

The last time the British said something didn't exist, it flew over the English Channel..

[erjin999]

Bah, I say ghosts dont exist.  :P

As for Al-Quaeda and that bloke, I saw a documentory recently on TV saying exactly that, and this was supposedly from people that study Al-Quaeda.

What I dont understand is how Al-Quaeda were nowhere to be seen say 5-8 years ago (or even comparitively nowhere to be seen), and now every suspected terrorist and or freedom fighter is linked to them either by being a member or a sleeper-cell.

Why has Al-Quaeda got a monopoly on terrorism ?!  ???

[Dante]

Why has Al-Quaeda got a monopoly on terrorism ?!  ???

Convenient scapegoating. The public learn a name, just throw it at them and they'll believe it. And the organisation itself won't mind because it's excellent publicity.

Personally I think there's a grain of truth in it. How could any organisation as apparantly well connected and financially secure (and dangerous! Oooh!) with so many members not have done more damage by now? I get the feeling that a lot of it has been hyped up for political gain, cheesy though it may sound.

But it works perfectly. All the governments in the world could blame a shadowy, dangerous power and use it as an excuse to do anything they like. Why just look at... well everywhere, really. In the past governments used to have to use specific countries to do this. Now they don't even need that. How convenient!

[nemafakei]

"The public learn a name, just throw it at them and they'll believe it"

After a while, they do get sick of it. When Spain's then-ruling PP tried to blame Aznar's pet hate ETA for the Atocha bombings, they got kicked out of office.

However, it must be pointed out that authorities are actively and more effectively targeting Al-Quaeda, and so it's not surprising that those whom they find are indeed Al-Quaeda-related. Plus the fact that (insecure) groups may be banding together and trying to affiliate themselves with Al-Quaeda in the wake of their media coverage.

[Anathema]

Al Quada nothing? Besides the 9/11 attacks they have also done the Madrid bombs, bombs on American embassies in Africa and a mostly forgotten bomb attack on the WTC in 1994 as I recall. It's true that 9/11 was probably their biggest attack ever but calling them nothing is, well, kinda stupid.

[Dude_Doc]

As for Al-Quaeda and that bloke, I saw a documentory recently on TV saying exactly that, and this was supposedly from people that study Al-Quaeda.

Maybe it was one of Curtis' documentaries?

What I dont understand is how Al-Quaeda were nowhere to be seen say 5-8 years ago (or even comparitively nowhere to be seen), and now every suspected terrorist and or freedom fighter is linked to them either by being a member or a sleeper-cell.

Well, besides Curtis' theory, the answer could be very simple. They were not as big as after 9/11. How much did we, in this forum, really know about al-Quaeda before the 9/11 attacks? Did anyone really want to know?

How could any organisation as apparantly well connected and financially secure (and dangerous! Oooh!) with so many members not have done more damage by now?

I also think that it is stupid to have a very big terrorist organization. Can they really maintain such a large group without anyone in it asking himself what he is doing is right or wrong? "Traitors" can be found in any "power-group" throughout history, the Roman Empire, the Soviet Union, North Korea, the Third Reich but even in the United States and probably in the Arab world too.

After a while, they do get sick of it. When Spain's then-ruling PP tried to blame Aznar's pet hate ETA for the Atocha bombings, they got kicked out of office.

But could that happen in the United States? al-Quaeda isn't "just" some form of separatist movement, they're a so called "global cabal" - they treathen everyone.

[nemafakei]

I suppose it's also a case that the post-Franco Spanish governents mostly ensured that the basques themselves had a decent quality of life, and that is partly why ETA has grown weaker. But I can't really see the US treating much of the rest of the world with any degree of respect.

It depends a lot on how critical the media are of assumptions and views held.

[erjin999]

Maybe it was one of Curtis' documentaries?

Well, besides Curtis' theory, the answer could be very simple. They were not as big as after 9/11. How much did we, in this forum, really know about al-Quaeda before the 9/11 attacks? Did anyone really want to know?

It may have been one of his documentaries.

As for know of them before 9/11, I did. I heard of them when they did the attack on the Navy ship near Yemen, and then when Bill Clinton authorised the use of cruise missiles in...Nigeria (?) and Afghanistan. But all of a sudden the governments have latched on to them, and the media fed by the governments, and they are now the only group on the planet.

As for the Madrid bombings, I am still unsure of how we can be so sure that it was them that physically did it. I think it would be more likely to be a local group. Maybe working towards the same aims as Al-Quaeda, but not Al-Quaeda itself.

I agree with what dust_sc..sorry...Dante said.

[Acriku]

As I recall, the Al-Quaeda pre-2001 were a troublesome opponent during Clinton's terms, so it's not like the Bush administration is making things up. The degree of exaggeration is unknown, but apparent however.

[nemafakei]

"A letter sent to a London-based Arabic newspaper claims responsibility for the attacks on behalf of the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades, a group that aligns itself to Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network. The accuracy of the claim cannot be verified."

Regarding responsibility for Atocha.

[erjin999]

Which means that they could be lying through their rotten teeth, or they could be telling the truth. Either way, doesnt help a lot with the truth.

[nemafakei]

How closely it was linked to Al-Quaeda doesn't really matter to the point I was making (based only that ETA was not the perpetrator, which is quite clear) - that blowing the same trumpet too often will eventually lead you to being kicked out of office.

[erjin999]

Sorry, seems I might have missed the point with that one. And now that its been spelt out, idiot proof, I get it.  8)