"Even as it’s disintegrating, has Al Qaeda managed to establish itself as the default setting for societal angst and, therefore, the template on which the insane act out their delusions?"
Al Queda has morphed, predictably, into another sort or sorts of entity. Al Queda, the idea, has taken hold as a means for radicals to rally followers under a variety of banners. Bush was wise to declare war on terror as a general agenda, rather than attempting to identify nationalities or a specific group. The idea of conquering by terrorizing has taken hold through a variety of venues, although not as successfully as the initial efforts of the Taleban, so for now that balloon has been deflated.
The radical Islamicist movement now centered around the borders of Pakistan/Afghanistan does not identify itself as Al Qaeda. Although it is still fundamentally Sunni Muslim, it is more complex and sophisticated than the Taleban of a decade ago. It has become more like the Shiite model operating in the shadows of Iraq under Moqtada Al Sadr.
We are no longer able to manage the crazies in the world by identifying them and treating them as unacceptable or intolerable individuals because it has become politically incorrect to address them until they have committed a heinous crime and because they don't get isolated in their condition, and in some cases they are attracted to these radical movements. Even when they are not part of a radical movement, they are now able to identify with a virtual community of like minded people via the internet and such, which supports and feeds into their tendencies. |
