[knak]

I wonder how they come up with their numbers? 18,000?!

good morning

[knak]

In another article of the same story it says this: The United States remains al-Qaida's prime target, the report said. An al-Qaida leader has said 4 million Americans will have to be killed "as a prerequisite to any Islamic victory," the survey said.

18,000 Potential al-Qaida Said at Large

[Myrddin]

I wonder how they come up with their numbers? 18,000?!

They estimated 20,000 al Qaeda terrorists were trained in Afghanistan before we went to Afghanistan and rooted out the Taliban. They claim to have killed 2,000 al Qaeda since that time. The 18,000 figure is an estimate, not a hard count. There is no accounting or estimate for how many new al Qaeda have been recruited since we entered Afghanistan. In short, the numbers are unsupported by facts. It sure makes for flashy headlines.

[JustPiper]

Report: al-Qaida Ranks Swelling Worldwide
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=540&ncid=716&e=3&u=/ap/20040525/ap_on_re_mi_ea/al_qaida