The good thing about Al-Queda

The good thing about Al-Queda, from their perspective, is that they do not have a territorium and a population.

They are a network of networks. Groups within the network trade and barter with each other. It makes co-ordination really hard. Al-Queda cannot really deliver stuff. If you want a road from say Najaf to Kerbala, well they will tell you they do not really built roads. They built some roads in Afghanistan but that was because they were in an area that was so remote, that it was a little bit too wild even for the guerilla's. Besides this was 20 years ago, when they were fighting the Russians.

Generally they do not deliver anything to any fixed population base. They live from illegal trades and smuggling, from crime, from the alms that Muslims in the Middle East and the rest of the world give them.

For the givers it is just a way to get back at the arrogant and decadent infidel Westerners. They get a feeling of vengance and pride.

Anyway because Al-Queda is non-territorial and because there is no fixed population base they are also impervious to the fire power of Western and other armies. You do not know which Muslims give to Al-Queda. They may not know themselves. You do not know which Muslims decide to become warriors and let themselves be recruited for one of the myriad groups, militias and armies that fight in the name of God, the merciful and his prophet Mohammed.

In 1997 General Lebed told reporters that from the 100 suit case nuclear bombs Russia had, two thirds could not be accounted for. Al-Queda can use nuclear warheads the US. They can smuggle it inside over the Mexican border, hidden between the in- and outbound traffic of millions of illigals. Or they can slip over the Canadian border. Or have one of their drugs smuggeling operations in the US seaports smuggle it in. Then they can detonate it in San Fransisco or a place like that.

They do not have to fear retaliation the way China or Russia had to. Because they do not have a territory or a population base. Their Stronghold is not a target for Nucleair missiles. So how are we going to deal with that?