The Al-Qaeda Threat

The Al Qaeda documents make an interesting reading of the way the Al Qaeda functions as a well knit, well organized self financed global organization. The Introductory Chapterr deals with the basic structure of any terrorist organization and how Al Qaeda was structured. It also deals with the types of terror manuals which have been discovered by the Allied Forces at various points of time. Thesecond chapter deals briefly about Al Qaeda and is the congressional statement made by the Federal Bureau of Investigation before the sub-committee on International Operations and Terrorism, Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Seate, Washington DC. The Third chapter makes the most interesting and spine-chilling reading as it is the Al Qaeda training maual or Jihad manual which has units on Qualifications of members of Al Qaeda, its organization, training and also highlights special operational plans of the Al Qaeda. Most of it was placed on record as testimony by the US Department of Justice and was released on December 7, 2001. Some controversial and sensitive chapters were withheld and havae been reproduced from other sources. The next section deals with the testimony of a terrorist of Al Qaeda, Ahmed Ressam who was convicted for his conspiracy to blow up the Los Angles Interrnational Airport in December 1999. It deals with the various aspects of how the Al Qaeda operations were planned and co-ordinated in countries across the globe. The next chapter is the document from the United States District Court for Eastern Disctrict of Virginia, Alexandria division. (USA vv/s Zacarias Mousaoui) which deals with the changes pressed against the co-conspirators of the September 11 Bombings. Subsequent articles from the New York Times show Al Qaeda could exhort the Muslim brethren to join the global camnpaigns of terror against the so called infidels. Some came with the willing consent of their families, the others came without it. The training imparted to the Al Qaeda cadres was highly scientific, and structured. It constituted of a basic course and an advance course. Training queries were entertained from across the globe and then systematically imparted using indoor and outdoor techniques complete with progress charts. All this was monitored in a highly bureaucratic fashion with a complete command structure. The resources were also selected intelligently, using experts in the field, library books, and military manuals available on line and using indigenous materials locally available. The articles from Financial Times show how the acts of terror were glorified as that of martyrdom. The articles also tell us how the various inputs of the training manuals were put into actual practice. The catastrophic failure of intelligence is also highlighted as is the global financial clout of this umbrella, terrorist organization. The primary reason why the articles from the above said sources are included is the fact that they testify to the fact that the various manuals of the AL QAEDA are not a figment of anybody’s imagination but are in fact implemented in letter and sprit by the Taliban. Another point which may be validated by many sources is the fact that the manuals may not be the brainchild of the AL QAEDA but they have rresearched into various documents of the various agaencies across the globe and painfully produced an ideal manual which even the most reputed police academies across the globe would like to keep in their libraries.