tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post6093348088101846303..comments2024-03-19T01:48:39.709+00:00Comments on Power and Control: Iran And Al QuedaM. Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09508934110558197375noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-23546827603411790802007-08-02T22:31:00.000+00:002007-08-02T22:31:00.000+00:00An interesting snippet I learned (unfortunately in...An interesting snippet I learned (unfortunately in a documentary so I'm not sure of it's validity) was that Al Queda was a name invented by someone on "this side" to label the loose association of groups that Osama bin Laden happened to be funding. There was no name for the association. The groups he funded were disparate and had different aims, the fact that Osama was funding them was just coincidence. So according to this theory Al Queda is a boogey-man... a boogey-man which may have had teeth at some stage in the past, but a boogey-man nonetheless.Cormachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01693274142696718846noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-32015854469452179712007-08-01T20:29:00.000+00:002007-08-01T20:29:00.000+00:00He probably figures that, under a democratic presi...He probably figures that, under a democratic president, following an Iraq pullout, Pakistan would quickly fall to Taliban. (Perceptive, since there would be nothing else for jihadis to do.) That being the case he is just hoping to get a jump on things by attacking them before they become the enemy. This is surprisingly efficient for a Democrat. Declaring defeat in Pakistan before declaring war will save a lot of time.Snake Oil Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14365352742028282744noreply@blogger.com