The Future of Terrorism Poliquicks
First, it is important to note that Arabic nouns can be spelled a number of different ways. Al Qaeda at RAND is spelled al Qa’ida.
Below is an excerpt from RAND document dated 24 May 11, regarding the status of al Qa’ida today.
“A current assessment of the al Qa’ida threat requires an understanding of what al Qa’ida is today. With a leadership structure primarily in Pakistan, al Qa’ida is a notably different organization than a decade ago and can perhaps best be described as a “complex adaptive system.” The term refers to systems that are diverse (composing multiple networks) and adaptive (possessing the capacity to evolve and learn from experience). One key element of complex adaptive systems is they include a series of networks, which are often dispersed and small. Different nodes can communicate and conduct their campaigns with some coordination. As terrorist expert Bruce Hoffman argued, al Qa’ida is “in the main flatter, more linear, and more organizationally networked” than it has previously been. The killing of bin Laden may accelerate this decentralization.
“Al Qa’ida today can perhaps best be divided into five tiers: central al Qa’ida, affiliated groups, allied groups, allied networks, and inspired
individuals.”
While the above analysis is true for Al Qaeda, it does not explain other the competition of terrorist groups that are expanding across the globe, e.g. Hamas, Hezbollah, LeT, etc.
We cannot lose focus and think Al Qaeda is the only threat to the U.S. from terrorism.