January 04, 2005

Must Read

Ed. It should be noted that the Asia Times Online has had a tendency in the past to exagerate and prefers the extraordinary in reporting news.

There is an interesting article that appears in the Asia Times Online that is a must-read for those interested in terrorism, Al Qaeda specifically. It discusses the transgression of the terrorist group to a certain extent, however it addresses many topics that are not exactly known to the public including but not limited to:

By the time the Taliban had emerged as a force in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s, the Egyptian camp had settled on its strategies, the most important being:
  • To speak out against corrupt and despotic Muslim governments and make them targets, as this would destroy their image in the eyes of the common people, who interrelate state, rulers and nation.

  • Focus on the US role, which is to support Israel and tyrant Middle Eastern countries, and make everyone understand this.

  • The Egyptian camp in question is one of two sides of the Afghanistan War fighting the Soviet Union, often refered in general as the mujahadeen. There were two distinct camps that compromised the mujahadeen and two distinct after-war trangressions by the two camps.

    The article also goes into depth as to why Al Qaeda is now targeting Arab regimes, however based upon several transcripts of communiques and tapes, both audio and video, I'm not sure the real reason is retribution against actions supporting the United States as the article suggests.

    Cross-posted at In the Bullpen

    Posted by: Chad at 08:22 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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    1 This is detailed in the book "Ghost Wars", which discussed the ideological discussion being engaged in by both Arab and Pashta Islamicists. Notably, the US was condemned along with the Soviet occupiers (in spite of the fact that the U.S. was supporting the mujahdeen), as both Soviet and US economic systems were rooted in jahiliyya, the state of "primitive barbarianism" that prevailed before Islam lit the world with truth. The fact is, every institution outside of Islam was condemned and the real argument was about who to take out first...

    Posted by: Mick Stockinger at January 04, 2005 09:21 PM (2S03+)

    2 The cited article is rife with errors on easily-checkable facts. I'm not sure how much stock I'd put in the "revelations" about Al Qaeda's grand strategy.

    Posted by: Jem at January 05, 2005 03:12 AM (Hpm95)

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