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Al Qaeda wants Western fighters

by David Braybrooke
3 replies
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"We're seeing now the appearance of training complexes in Syria to train people to go back to their countries, and, of course, conduct more terrorist attacks," he said.
If only there were an 'off' switch for AQ. Unbelievable!

Officials: Al Qaeda tries to recruit Americans in Syria - CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs
  • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
    Originally Posted by David Braybrooke View Post

    They may well be able to carry it out considering that there is no obvious "off" switch for it, as far as I can tell (and I am no authority). Better living conditions so that desperation wouldn't drive them to terrorism? Osama Bin Laden came from an extremely wealthy family that profited big-time from business with the West. Most of the 911 terrorists were well-educated Saudi nationals from well-off families. Al Qaeda is a cult and most cult members in general are well-educated and come from either middle-class or upper-middle-class families. So if good education and comfortable living environments don't help stem it, what will? I don't know.
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  • Profile picture of the author socialentry
    Well, there's a reason why there hasn't been that many would be terrorists in the West even though theoretically anyone could have just buy a rifle and start shooting.

    In Afghanistan and Iraq, suicide bombers are often connected in some fashion to an outside player just in case the martyr gets second thoughts about martyrdom .

    Al Qaeda is not a cult. Almost by definition it cannot exert the same amount of control as cults due on their members. It is a very loose organization made up of many many groups. Al Qaeda is more like a bank where these groups draw from.
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    • Profile picture of the author thunderbird
      Originally Posted by socialentry View Post

      <snip>

      Al Qaeda is not a cult. Almost by definition it cannot exert the same amount of control as cults due on their members. It is a very loose organization made up of many many groups. Al Qaeda is more like a bank where these groups draw from.
      Al Qaeda most certainly is a cult. Cults are not constricted according to the limits of our definitions. It splinters into mini-cults, so what. I met fairly self-sufficient cult members whose leader was based in New York. Cults entail irrational beliefs held by the group (with or without "splinters) that lead to extremist actions by individuals. For example, PETA is a cult (and even supports animal rights terrorism).
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