TERRORISM: Al Qaeda and the Islamic Civil War
Strategy Page:
"While al Qaeda preaches war against non-Moslems, much anger and violence is also directed at fellow Moslems who don't measure up to the religious and moral standards of Islamic fundamentalists. You could say that the al Qaeda attacks on non-Moslems are a distraction from their true mission; to purify Islam and Islamic society."
"...Al Qaeda thought they could have their own country in Afghanistan, but eventually learned that most Afghans hated them as arrogant foreigners. One reason the Taliban was defeated so quickly, by fewer than three hundred U.S. troops on the ground in late 2001, was that al Qaeda had made themselves, and their Taliban allies, so unpopular in Afghanistan. Faced with an inability to mobilize and control the large number of angry young Moslem men, they are now going after the much smaller subset of this group that are eager to go off and attack foreigners. This sort of thing does nothing for the situation back home, except to get some of the more violent and unstable young men out of the country. Al Qaeda, however, represents part of a much larger discontent in the Arab world. People want a better deal, and don't know how to get it. What's going on in Iraq right now is liable to change all that. No Arab country has ever tried real democracy. In Egypt it's one party democracy where all the old players keep their power and privileges. Lebanon was just a power sharing agreement among traditional groups. If multiparty democracy works in Iraq, and it may not, it will shake the foundations of all other Arab countries. And that is to be feared by those now in power, for it is more than change, it is fundamental change. No one even wants to think about it, so the religious and secular leadership in Arab nations try to distract their people with stories of evil foreigners attempting to poison and control the purity of Arab culture. It's a dangerous game, because so much is at stake. It's also a war where most of the battles are fought with paper bullets, rather than metal ones. And it's a war that can be lost, as has been in the past, which is why the Arab states have failed to get into the 20th century mentally, economically and socially. Eventually, this war will be won, it's just a matter of when."
Strategy Page:
"While al Qaeda preaches war against non-Moslems, much anger and violence is also directed at fellow Moslems who don't measure up to the religious and moral standards of Islamic fundamentalists. You could say that the al Qaeda attacks on non-Moslems are a distraction from their true mission; to purify Islam and Islamic society."
"...Al Qaeda thought they could have their own country in Afghanistan, but eventually learned that most Afghans hated them as arrogant foreigners. One reason the Taliban was defeated so quickly, by fewer than three hundred U.S. troops on the ground in late 2001, was that al Qaeda had made themselves, and their Taliban allies, so unpopular in Afghanistan. Faced with an inability to mobilize and control the large number of angry young Moslem men, they are now going after the much smaller subset of this group that are eager to go off and attack foreigners. This sort of thing does nothing for the situation back home, except to get some of the more violent and unstable young men out of the country. Al Qaeda, however, represents part of a much larger discontent in the Arab world. People want a better deal, and don't know how to get it. What's going on in Iraq right now is liable to change all that. No Arab country has ever tried real democracy. In Egypt it's one party democracy where all the old players keep their power and privileges. Lebanon was just a power sharing agreement among traditional groups. If multiparty democracy works in Iraq, and it may not, it will shake the foundations of all other Arab countries. And that is to be feared by those now in power, for it is more than change, it is fundamental change. No one even wants to think about it, so the religious and secular leadership in Arab nations try to distract their people with stories of evil foreigners attempting to poison and control the purity of Arab culture. It's a dangerous game, because so much is at stake. It's also a war where most of the battles are fought with paper bullets, rather than metal ones. And it's a war that can be lost, as has been in the past, which is why the Arab states have failed to get into the 20th century mentally, economically and socially. Eventually, this war will be won, it's just a matter of when."
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