Posted by
Dawnsblood on Friday, September 08, 2006 8:52:28 PM
Seems a mixed
result:
LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Five years after it carried out the attacks of Sept. 11, al Qaeda remains a powerful organisation but its support is waning, a leading British think-tank said on Friday.
The U.S.-led response to the attacks has "seriously undermined" the group's ability to recruit, communicate and fund itself, but has also inadvertently enhanced al Qaeda's image, the Royal Institute of International Affairs said in a report.
"Five years after Sept. 11, a mixed picture of al Qaeda's fortunes is emerging," the report's author Dr Maha Azzam said.
"Although its image as a powerful terrorist organization has been enhanced, its leaders hide in caves and have lost the broad support of Muslims in the Arab world who oppose its terror tactics and its justification of violence in the name of Islam."