These are not real grievances for al-Qaida (it does not bear mentioning that Bin Laden is probably not very concerned with campaign finance reform). They are a means of weaving local and global resentments into a single anti-American narrative, the overarching aim of which is to form a collective identity across borders and nationalities, and to convince the world that it is locked in a cosmic contest between the forces of Truth and Falsehood, Belief and Unbelief, Good and Evil, Us and Them.
From The Al Qaeda Reader. – By Reza Aslan – Slate Magazine
This is a must read article on Al Qaeda. I will continue to follow Reza Aslan’s writing on the subject as it provides a well written counter weight to Slate’s bombastic Mr Hitchens.
