, Eurasia Review, 10 February 2010

EXCERPT: "Al Qaeda (AQ) has evolved into a significantly different terrorist organization than the one that perpetrated the September 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, Al Qaeda was composed mostly of a core cadre of veterans of the Afghan insurgency against the Soviets, with a centralized leadership structure, made up mostly of Egyptians. Most of the organization's plots either emanated from the top or were approved by the leadership. Some analysts describe pre-9/11 Al Qaeda as akin to a corporation, with Osama Bin Laden acting as an agile Chief Executive Officer issuing orders and soliciting ideas from subordinates. Some would argue that the Al Qaeda of that period no longer exists. Out of necessity, due to pressures from the security community, in the ensuing years it has transformed into a diffuse global network and philosophical movement composed of dispersed nodes with varying degrees of independence. The core leadership, headed by Bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, is thought to live in the mountainous tribal belt of northwest Pakistan, where it continues to train operatives, recruit, and disseminate propaganda. But Al Qaeda franchises or affiliated groups active in countries such as Yemen and Somalia now represent critical power centers in the larger movement."

Read the full .

Related articles:
Is al-Qaeda bankrupt?, Forbes, 11 February 2010
Biden: Qaeda moving to small, frightening attacks, Reuters, 10 February 2010
, Foreign Policy, 10 February 2010
, The Washington Post, 8 February 2010
Taliban, Qaida, LeT: One for all, all for one, The Times of India, 6 February 2010

Related posts:
Protests erupt after woman linked to al-Qaeda found guilty in US, 4 February 2010
Testimony of Steve Coll before the the House Armed Services Committee: The paradoxes of Al-Qaeda, 28 January 2010
Al-Qaeda seeks to trigger India-Pakistan war: Gates, 20 January 2010
Al-Qaeda's sights on Pakistan, and beyond, 23 December 2009
Report: Islamic terror rising as al-Qaeda fades, 15 December 2009