silly questions I know.
Posted on 05/25/2004 5:47:41 PM PDT by NCjim
Far from being crippled by the U.S.-led war on terror, al-Qaida has more than 18,000 potential terrorists scattered around the world and the war in Iraq is swelling its ranks, a report said Tuesday.
Al-Qaida is probably working on plans for major attacks on the United States and Europe, and it may be seeking weapons of mass destruction in its desire to inflict as many casualties as possible, the International Institute of Strategic Studies said in its annual survey of world affairs.
Osama bin Laden's network appears to be operating in more than 60 nations, often in concert with local allies, the study by the independent think tank said.
Although about half of al-Qaida's top 30 leaders have been killed or captured, it has an effective leadership, with bin Laden apparently still playing a key role, it said.
"Al-Qaida must be expected to keep trying to develop more promising plans for terrorist operations in North America and Europe, potentially involving weapons of mass destruction," IISS director Dr. John Chipman told a press conference releasing "Strategic Survey 2003/4."
(Excerpt) Read more at dailynews.att.net ...
The technical term for these is "Democrats." :)
Looks like they'll be needing 18,000 coffins.
Well, now we know why Kerry is so high in the polls, of late.
Who knew that one pair of panties would have such an effect?
And not necessarily in that order.
PROBABLY? Unfortunately it's probably going to take some of those attacks for more of the world to get serious about this.
It's WWIII, no less.
18,000 of Satan's minions. Make no mistake about it, he's their general!
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is the world’s leading authority on political-military conflict.
The IISS, based in London, is both a limited company in UK law and a registered charity. It has offices in the US and in Singapore with charitable status in each jurisdiction.
The IISS was founded in 1958 in the UK by a number of individuals interested in how to maintain civilised international relations in the nuclear age. Much of the Institute’s early work focused on nuclear deterrence and arms control and was hugely influential in setting the intellectual structures for managing the Cold War.
The Institute grew dramatically during the 1980s and 1990s, expanding both because of the nature of its work and its geographical scope. Its mandate became to look at the problems of conflict, however caused, that might have an important military content. This gave fresh impetus to the Institute as it began to cover more comprehensively political and military issues in all continents. As this mandate developed, the Institute worked hard both to provide the best information and analysis on strategic trends, and to facilitate contacts between government leaders, business people and analysts that would lead to the development of better public policy in the fields of international relations and international security.
The IISS is the primary source of accurate, objective information on international strategic issues for politicians and diplomats, foreign affairs analysts, international business, economists, the military, defence commentators, journalists, academics and the informed public. The Institute owes no allegiance to any government, or to any political or other organisation.
The Institute’s high- profile publications are both timely and authoritative. They are universally regarded as providing the best independent, internationally sourced information and commentary on the main conference activities are considered to be at the forefront of public policy development, especially given that its convening power is such that it can often bring government officials and others together in formats and circumstances that they could not easily manage for themselves.
The Institute’s staff and governing boards are international and its network of some 3,000 Individual Members and 500 Corporate and Institutional Members is drawn from more than 100 countries. The IISS, through its various activities, seeks to provide excellent information and analysis that can improve wider public understanding of international security problems and through its network, influence the development of sounder public policy.
Adds a whole new meaning to the concept of franchising.
I looked at the web site for the International Institute of Strategic Studies and the only name that I recognized was Fareed Zacaria - the anti-Bush butt boy on Stephie's Sunday morning program.
I'll wait for more resonsible reporting.
May 25th - This link is to a subscription-only website - Associated Free Press - Al-Qaeda boosted by Iraq war, warns think-tank
"The US-led war on Iraq, far from countering terrorism, has helped revitalise the Al-Qaeda terror network, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) think-tank warned."
"The London-based body said in its annual Strategic Survey 2003/2004 that the deadly train bombings in Madrid in March, the worst terror strike in Europe for more than a decade, showed that Osama Bin Laden's terror network "had fully reconstituted".
IISS in the Press
May 25th - This link is to a subscription-only website - Reuters - US cannot afford to fail in Iraq, IISS
"A failed Iraqi state would be a strategic nightmare for the United States and the West, a leading London think tank said on Tuesday."
"If Iraq fails, or reverts to a dictatorship, positive recent developments may fade... the U.S. would be seen as an unredeemed aggressor," the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its annual global survey."
yeah, those must have you're yellow streaked panties on the Iraqi's head
You missed my tag: </LeftistAntiWar>
silly questions I know.
If these bozos spent 1/2 as much time trying to build their country's infrastructure as they do trying to destroy it, they'd be way ahead of the game.
Osama should start a shoe factory. Everyone would be better off. At least in this life.
Whoa...I almost mistook you for someone else we both know.
Looks like we're going to need to outsource some jobs.
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