Jonathan Stevenson from London's International Institute for Strategic Studies is worried about al Qaeda's ability to adapt to the global war on terror. I don't think he would disagree that one key to success is a continued aggressive campaign to find them first -- wherever they are. Offense is better than defense.
al Qaeda operatives may be harder to track than before the Afghanistan intervention, as they now have no substantial physical presence to defend. Experienced al Qaeda "middle managers," either virtually or actually roaming the world, provide planning and logistical advice, materiel and financing to smaller groups that are inspired by al Qaeda but only loosely connected with it. The Moroccans involved in Casablanca's recent suicide bombings, for example, have been linked to a local outfit called Salafist Jihad; yet they received $50,000 in financial assistance from an al Qaeda source and possessed al Qaeda training manuals.Posted by Alan at June 24, 2003 11:59 AMIn short, the new al Qaeda remains a terrorist "network of networks" with unequaled global leverage. Rather than the holding company to which it has often been likened, al Qaeda is now a multinational full-service investment bank -- available to assist any number of sympathetic terrorist groups or insurgencies.
via the Wall Street Journal Europe (subscribers only)