Al Qaeda

From the streets of Madrid and Hamburg, to the tunnels of Waziristan, to the jungles of the Philippines, a secret and shadowy network called Al Qaeda is evolving into its next phase. Its disciples have weathered two years of war and billions of dollars in U.S. Defense expenditures since September 11th, but the global terrorists of the 21st century are still going strong. [Link]

Or are they?

What is al-Qaeda? Al-Qaida (the ‘Base’ in Arabic) was the CIA sponsored training camp for the Afghan Mujahideen, including Osama bin Laden and his fighters. The group was created and financed by the US administration against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. They were called "freedom fighters" by former US president Reagan. In fact after meeting a group of bearded Mujahideen in the White House, the former president said: "These are the moral equivalent of America’s founding fathers". So, not long ago Mr Bin Laden and his men were the equivalent of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln.

Al-Qaeda has become a convenient phantom to justify an ongoing war. The continuing existence of al-Qaeda is a very useful pretext for the Blair-Bush axis and allies. It provides the necessary tool to create fear and manipulate public opinion. [Link]