ABC: Qaeda Has 18,000 Militants for Raids

[RamboLiberal]

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20040525_67.html

Al Qaeda has more than 18,000 militants ready to strike and the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq has accelerated recruitment to the ranks of Osama bin Laden's network, a leading London think-tank said on Tuesday.

Al Qaeda's finances were in good order, its "middle managers" provided expertise to Islamic militants around the globe and bin Laden's drawing power was as strong as ever, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said.

It warned in its annual Strategic Survey that al Qaeda would keep trying to develop plans for attacks in North America and Europe and that the network ideally wanted to use weapons of mass destruction.

"Meanwhile, soft targets encompassing Americans, Europeans and Israelis, and aiding the insurgency in Iraq, will do," the institute said.

"Galvanized by Iraq if compromised by Afghanistan, al Qaeda remains a viable and effective network of networks," it said.

[gasperc]

1. FUCK

:mad:

[arcane1]

2. boy am I glad they caught Saddam, I feel so safe now!

sadly, this means that Osama and Bush are still buddies, scratching each other's backs

[callous taoboy]

3. Jeez, what next?

Will they get to the point where they will send the nanny out to poison the mall?

"Alva, be a dear and blow up the parking garage at the mall after you pick up Abdul at day care."

[underpants]

4. It's better to fight them THERE rather than HERE

I believe that is how the saying goes. Repeat it several hundred times and you too may start to believe that it is any way based on the current situation.

[MikeG]

5. How do they know this?

[Just Me]

7. Yeah,...where are they coming up with their figures?

Are they doing major guesstimating?

[LionInWinter]

8. Yup ...

"The estimate of 18,000 fighters was based on intelligence estimates that al Qaeda trained at least 20,000 fighters in its training camps in Afghanistan before the United States and its allies ousted the Taliban regime. In the ensuing war on terror, some 2,000 al Qaeda fighters have been killed or captured, the survey said"

http://us.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/05/25/alqaeda.ap/index.html

[maxsolomon]

6. bring it on

this is crap as much as bush's crap is crap.

competing propaganda & lies.

[Moderator]

9. Duplicate topic, please add your link and discuss here, thanks

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=580802