Al Qaeda does not exist. How the west continues to use Al Qaeda to demonise islamist movements

[Papay]

The original Al Qaeda was a small group of some hundreds Jihadists. After the invasion in Afghanistan, most of them were killed or forced to live in hiding ( like Bin Landen ). The organization is actually defunct. Since then though we hear constantly about Al Qaeda in Somalia or Al Qaeda in Yemen etc etc. In fact if you search it Al Qaeda is supposed to be in more than a dozen countries right now which is impossible for an organization that has so few members that are forced to hide from the public eye. Whats going on? Well its simple. Western propaganda labels all islamist movements as Al Qaeda so to have a pretext to strike first. Most of them are not anti-west but the west wants to strike them out of fear that they will take power. In Iraq for example there was never "Al Qaeda in Iraq". It was a myth. What US faced from the begining was a resistance movement, mostly from Baathist elements. Because US didnt wanted to admit that they invented the myth of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In Somalia you had Al Shabaad that tried to take power after 15 years of civil war. Because US wanted to interfere to prevent a new Afghanistan(the local Taliban taking power) they invented the myth that they are Al Qaeda

[Kyriakos]

Now we will have the NSA all over TWC (likely they were here already, though)

(FWIW, i also doubt Al-Qaeda exists in a manner significantly different from Goldstein and his agents 'existing').

[The Despondent Mind]

I always had a hard time believing an Organization that everybody hates has so many members, not to mention how many times a I saw " High Ranking Al Qaeda member killed blah blah". I'm not saying they don't exist, but can't be that powerful and influential on their own.

[Simon Cashmere]

The original Al Qaeda was a small group of some hundreds Jihadists. After the invasion in Afghanistan, most of them were killed or forced to live in hiding ( like Bin Landen ). The organization is actually defunct. Since then though we hear constantly about Al Qaeda in Somalia or Al Qaeda in Yemen etc etc. In fact if you search it Al Qaeda is supposed to be in more than a dozen countries right now which is impossible for an organization that has so few members that are forced to hide from the public eye. Whats going on? Well its simple. Western propaganda labels all islamist movements as Al Qaeda so to have a pretext to strike first. Most of them are not anti-west but the west wants to strike them out of fear that they will take power. In Iraq for example there was never "Al Qaeda in Iraq". It was a myth. What US faced from the begining was a resistance movement, mostly from Baathist elements. Because US didnt wanted to admit that they invented the myth of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In Somalia you had Al Shabaad that tried to take power after 15 years of civil war. Because US wanted to interfere to prevent a new Afghanistan(the local Taliban taking power) they invented the myth that they are Al Qaeda

That's nonsense.

Al Quada was formed right near the end of the Soviet Occupation, in the last year I think.

Al Quada is a franchise - franchise terrorism, so small numbers of handlers move and recruit locals in all locations, give them training, resources, approve operations. There are manuals about listing the corporate structure of Al Quada, pay rates, grades - Al Quada even advertises for positions I remember them asking for a new Communications Director who needed experience making videos. It's an enormous organisation - with many many agents in numerous countries, mostly to funnel money to Al Quada. So no bombs, no terrorism, just people who work organising Islamic 'charity events' but the money goes off to Al Quada. Who would ever know? Not our clueless intelligence agents. One of the few prosecutions they brought was against the largest Islamic Charity in the United States - The Holy Land Foundation - it was racism, it was Islamophobia, but they were really funnelling money to terrorists. And loads of it goes on here - our intelligence agencies are aware of it - fund raisers right in the open - for 'humanitarian aid to Syria' -wtf would ever know whether that money would be spent on 'humanitarian aid' or AK47s.

[Mayer]

It's called transnationalism, Al-qaeda does exist but not in a centralized top-down fashion
It lives on through recruitment over mass media and the formation of independent terror cells by imitators in various country

Western propaganda labels all islamist movements as Al Qaeda so to have a pretext to strike first. Most of them are not anti-west but the west wants to strike them out of fear that they will take power.

Actually a great deal of them are. There is hardly any moderate islamist party, when the muslim brotherhood got in charge in Egypt they systematically attempted to gain control over all institutions, persecuted independent reporters and demonstrations, Morsi gave himself unlimited power and replaced the constitution with a islamified one.
And we really shouldn't talk about the islamists in Syria..

What US faced from the begining was a resistance movement, mostly from Baathist elements. Because US didnt wanted to admit that they invented the myth of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

correct but the Iraqi government now faces the very real threat posed by the ISIL which share the same ideological foundation

[Kyriakos]

It's called transnationalism, Al-qaeda does exist but not in a centralized top-down fashion
It lives on through recruitment over mass media and the formation of independent terror cells by imitators in various country


Actually a great deal of them are. There is hardly any moderate islamist party, when the muslim brotherhood got in charge in Egypt they systematically attempted to gain control over all institutions, persecuted independent reporters and demonstrations, Morsi gave himself unlimited power and replaced the constitution with a islamified one.
And we really shouldn't talk about the islamists in Syria..


correct but the Iraqi government now faces the very real threat posed by the ISIL which share the same ideological foundation

So Al-Qaeda is in reality Cobra. Both made in a US studio

[Roma_Victrix]

So Al-Qaeda is in reality Cobra. Both made in a US studio

Al-Qaeda retreat! RETREAT!

Honestly, adding to what Col. Tarleton has already pithily observed about labeling every Sunni terrorist group as Al-Qaeda, it's just a jingoistic word to get the attention of the American public who otherwise don't recognize other brand names, like Al-Shabab or Boko Haram, although the latter two have been given a greater spotlight lately. I think it boils down to making all this complicated foreign stuff easily digestible for your average American audience, the good ole people of the land, which, let's face it, is having a hard enough time digesting Pizza Hut while trying to digest anything else.

So if your terrorist group does not have a snappy brand name with a logo and a slogan, how do you expect us Americans to care? All these groups should consider hiring some advertisement and PR consultants to better their image. They're already reaching out on Twitter, what with that pic geared towards World Cup fans that had #WorldCup next to their "ball," the severed head of an Iraqi military officer that ISIL captured. They're on Facebook too, if I'm not mistaken.

[Col. Tartleton]

Al Qaeda is the PC term for Sunni Arabs hostile to the US.

There was a specific group we called Al Qaeda. Said group is still around although I think they changed their name. Obviously everyone doing Mujaheddin things isn't in Al Qaeda.

[Farnan]

The original Al Qaeda was a small group of some hundreds Jihadists. After the invasion in Afghanistan, most of them were killed or forced to live in hiding ( like Bin Landen ). The organization is actually defunct. Since then though we hear constantly about Al Qaeda in Somalia or Al Qaeda in Yemen etc etc. In fact if you search it Al Qaeda is supposed to be in more than a dozen countries right now which is impossible for an organization that has so few members that are forced to hide from the public eye. Whats going on? Well its simple. Western propaganda labels all islamist movements as Al Qaeda so to have a pretext to strike first. Most of them are not anti-west but the west wants to strike them out of fear that they will take power. In Iraq for example there was never "Al Qaeda in Iraq". It was a myth. What US faced from the begining was a resistance movement, mostly from Baathist elements. Because US didnt wanted to admit that they invented the myth of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In Somalia you had Al Shabaad that tried to take power after 15 years of civil war. Because US wanted to interfere to prevent a new Afghanistan(the local Taliban taking power) they invented the myth that they are Al Qaeda

Do you have a real source for this?

[GrnEyedDvl]

The original Al Qaeda was a small group of some hundreds Jihadists. After the invasion in Afghanistan, most of them were killed or forced to live in hiding ( like Bin Landen ). The organization is actually defunct. Since then though we hear constantly about Al Qaeda in Somalia or Al Qaeda in Yemen etc etc. In fact if you search it Al Qaeda is supposed to be in more than a dozen countries right now which is impossible for an organization that has so few members that are forced to hide from the public eye. Whats going on? Well its simple. Western propaganda labels all islamist movements as Al Qaeda so to have a pretext to strike first. Most of them are not anti-west but the west wants to strike them out of fear that they will take power. In Iraq for example there was never "Al Qaeda in Iraq". It was a myth. What US faced from the begining was a resistance movement, mostly from Baathist elements. Because US didnt wanted to admit that they invented the myth of Al Qaeda in Iraq. In Somalia you had Al Shabaad that tried to take power after 15 years of civil war. Because US wanted to interfere to prevent a new Afghanistan(the local Taliban taking power) they invented the myth that they are Al Qaeda

For an organization that doesn't exist they sure make a lot of public announcements. The myth is the stuff thrown about by guys like you.

[SpinSta]

I would agree, but then why would multiple foreign media outlets also report actions by certain terrorist cells as being directly related to al quaeda?

I think it does exist as an entity, but it's function is more like a proxy for every other violent fundamentalist group. For a lot of these groups, citing a connection to AQ is akin to having celebrity status amongst the press.
I don't think it exists as an evil corporation though, that is an american myth made popular by cold war propaganda tactics. But just the name is in common parlance to such a degree, we make it real as a consequence.

I think it would be short-sighted to think that al quaeda is either completely fabricated OR that it's a giant terrorist institution with a secret underground lair with guard tigers and nukes. The reality would fall in a grey region where a lot of people are vying for power and internal conflicts which are being used as platforms to realize hidden agendas.

[Roma_Victrix]

I think it would be short-sighted to think that al quaeda is either completely fabricated OR that it's a giant terrorist institution with a secret underground lair with guard tigers and nukes. The reality would fall in a grey region where a lot of people are vying for power and internal conflicts which are being used as platforms to realize hidden agendas.

With the death of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda needs strong new leadership to bring their organization back to prominence. In that case they should consider a Bond-style villain with a cat, guard tigers, nukes, and sharks with frickin laser beams attached to their heads.

[SpinSta]

Awesome pic

More like

[The Wandering Storyteller]

You have said the right thing.

But the Taliban still exist however.

[Farnan]

Actually it's the terrorist groups that take the Al-Qaeda brand. By calling themselves Al-Qaeda they secure funding from the trendy terror finance group. It's like a celebrity endorsement, and this is how Al-Qaeda traditionally runs. Until 9/11 Al-Qaeda traditionally operated more hands off. They provided training, finance, and advice for local organizations. 9/11 was the first event they took public responsibility for.

[fkizz]

Well at least Bin Laden and a lot of the original top members are a goner, or were captured. Took USA long but they managed to take Bin Laden off, that's an achievement to not ignore.

But the franchise lives on, and mimickers of Alqaeda former top brass keep spawning everywhere. That shouldn't be overlooked.

[Adar]

The OP has already been slammed to pieces regarding the excistance of Al Qaeda.

But I just want to add this reminder to show that "the West" doesn't need a specific organization to show islamist movements as demons.

[Papay]

The OP has already been slammed to pieces regarding the excistance of Al Qaeda.

But I just want to add this reminder to show that "the West" doesn't need a specific organization to show islamist movements as demons.

Sunni extremists shooting Shia people. Its a sectarian issue. But western public does not understand it so we claim they are Al Qaeda

[Aawulf]

Sunni extremists shooting Shia people. Its a sectarian issue. But western public does not understand it so we claim they are Al Qaeda

They are shooting and executing in other ways everyone who opposes them and by "opposes", they mean any infidel that doesn't subscribe to the Three Foundations that are what connect Al Qaeda, it's affiliates and franchises inspired by it. Al Qaeda is every bit as entrenched in a war of civilizations that the Western public has been led to believe and more. As they occupy new territory, it doesn't matter if you are Shiite, Sunni, Druze or Sioux. They really mean it when they say you are either with them or against them. They who disagree are by their definition "infidels" and must be dealt with as enemies. The Sunni who have been disenfranchised by the Shiite government after Obama betrayed our promises to them are joining in part to stay alive, but also because they were screwed after helping kick the arse of "Al Qaeda in Iraq" for the promise of shared governance. The Shiite militias such as the Al Sadr Brigade are very much interested whether the person in the cross-hairs is Shiite or Sunni. One can call ISIS "Desert Muppets" if it is more pleasing, but they have expressed their intentions and they do include an agenda outside of their region.

I am very curious as to why is it so important to so many people that Al Qaeda be unrelated to the violence that has blown up in the world in the last few years? Is there a common thread that connects those who want others to join their belief that Al Qaeda has never been a factor or is not a related factor now?

[Col. Tartleton]

I'm sure those people are violent criminals.

Good on Al Qaeda.