Al-Qaeda's Importance

I wrote in May 2003 that "The ultimate worry is not Al-Qaeda but a diffuse, global militant Islamic ideology that predates Al-Qaeda's creation, is locally organized and constantly recruits new volunteers." This view ran counter to the that of the U.S. government, which focused narrowly on Al-Qaeda. It was therefore with satisfaction that I read George Tenet's testimony today to the Senate Intelligence Committee in its annual public session in which he emphasized that the threat lies less with Al-Qaeda than with dozens of other militant Islamic organizations. Although Tenet makes the mistake of ascribing their views to Al-Qaeda influence, at least he sees that the issue is not one organization but a movement. "The steady growth of Osama bin Laden's anti-American sentiment through the wider Sunni extremist movement and the broad dissemination of Al-Qaeda's destructive expertise ensure that a serious threat will remain for the foreseeable future, with or without Al-Qaeda in the picture." This new view marks real progress, so let's hope that it spreads to other parts of the U.S. government. (February 24, 2004)