180

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431177)

Al-Qaeda is real, make no mistake about that, but the question of how it exists is a little more complex.

If you join a profession, a company, trade union, or even your local chess club, you will be given some sort of recognition or proof of membership. It may be as little as a receipt from the treasurer, or a great deal more such as a membership card, a rule book, a diary, and maybe even a uniform. For reasons that need no explaining, most terrorist organisations tend not to issue membership cards, and even people who profess open sympathy for them can’t join; the organisation, cell or whatever, chooses its members and not vice versa.

Also, because terrorist organisations are by definition illegal, they cannot operate openly. Yes, there are exceptions to this, most notably Hamas is branded a terrorist organisation by the Israeli Government, and the Israeli Government is branded a terrorist organisation by most of the Islamic world, but leaving aside semantics and observations such as one man’s terrorist being another man’s freedom fighter, in general when people refer to terrorist groups they mean for the most part small collections of men and women, often operating a cell system, who cannot function openly for fear of arrest. Again, there are exceptions to this, there are for example a number of self-styled animal rights organisations that while not overtly terroristic, conduct and/or advocate illegal operations behind the scenes while at the same time operating ostensibly only within the law.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431186)

http://sdfghjkl.xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=1753769&forum_id=2&PHPSESSID=3fd5326b7378e4588c8fd4b6b018ef63

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431291)

Bin-Laden was obsessed with attacking the Americans on their soil but he was basically just a spoiled rich kid with big dreams but no idea how to pull anything off. Al-Zawahiri comes to him with a plan to hijack plans and fly them into buildings. He likes the idea. They try recruiting volunteers from their training camps but realize these fools have no idea how to survive in the west and would have no idea how to pull off such a complicated operation. The plan get shelved but not forgotten.

A few years later they are introduced to 4 dudes living in Hamburg who speak English, have passports that can get them into the U.S., and aren't incompetent. Plan is back on. bin-Laden calls them to Tora Bora and tells them they're going to be martyrs, gives them cash, and tells them to go to the U.S. and enroll in flight training school. bin-Laden is not a micro-manager--that's all he tells them, the details are up to them.

A few months later they rest of the plot is revealed to them. Again, the details as to what planes to hijack, when to pull it off, etc. are all up to them. And the rest is history.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431372)

They operated on a centralized command, decentralized control theory. Basically bin-Laden or al-Zawahiri would pick a target, recruit a small group of operatives, give them money, and send them on their way. It was up to them to work out the details of the attack.

This is how it worked from the late 90s to post-911. Al-Qaeda may not exist now, but it did then.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431207)

Former British Foreign secretary, Robin Cook said:

Bin Laden was, though, a product of a monumental miscalculation by western security agencies. Throughout the 80s he was armed by the CIA and funded by the Saudis to wage jihad against the Russian occupation of Afghanistan.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431218)

Al-Qaeda did not exist until the early to mid 90s and did not carry out any attacks until even later. So while the CIA may have laid the ground work, they did not create al-Qaeda.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1920382&forum_id=2#20431277)