Wow, it's been a lot longer than i thought! Anyway, i was reading an article, in LaMonde, today, (April 17, 2007), about the French intelligence agency knowing all about "911", well in advance. They said the information was passed on to the CIA as early as Jan., 2001.
The part of the article that interests me most, however, is about the Al Quada network, and where various factions come from, and from what we've all read and heard about Al Quada, it seems that at least 99% of these fighters and leaders come from 3rd world countries, while much of the financing appears to come from these same nations, but from the often fanatical ruling families, whether it be Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, or Indonesia, in the form of royalty or capitalist elites. The only known major exception to the financing aspect is the US funding of the Mujahidden, (the early make-up of Al Quada's core, with many of its leaders going on to head up Al Quada, including bin Laden).
Its the "fighter" aspect that keeps Al Quada alive, though. Without the 'man-fodder', Al Quada becomes nothing more than another "crime-family" in the world. Since the invasion of Iraq, Al Quada's membership rolls have grown exponentially worldwide. It seems to me that this would increase the risk of more terrorist events worldwide eventually. Experts blame this increase in risk on certain US policies, including, the invasion of Iraq, Abu Ghriab, Gitmo, US rejection of Geneva Convention standards, etc. While these policies are likely the cause that finally tipped the scales, they are not the original underlying cause of the problem; the problem being the swelling ranks of Al Quada and allies fighters. This is the part that causes the greatest risk to society, in terms of violence.
Let's take a look at these "fighters" from all of these poor countries and try to understand why they might choose to join the ranks of Al Quada, etc. Its hard for many of us, (able to afford to read this on the internet), to imagine what it's like to live without indoor bathrooms, without electricity, without decent drinking water, without adequate shelter, without enough food, without medical facilities, with high infant mortality rates, low life-expectancy rates, brutal oppression, torture, etc., and for many of these people this is all they've ever known for generations. More than a billion people in the world live in appauling conditions, and they all want better lives, and more and more are starting to try more radical approaches.
Now, how des this come back to haunt us in the western world, you may ask. Well, while these people may be poor, that doesn't make them stupid. First of all, many work or worked for corporate giants like Hilton, McDonalds, Bechtell Corp., Haliburton's KBR, mining companies, shipping companies, etc. They see what "United Fruit" gets away with in their home countries, and they know 1st hand the treatment by Nestles and Kraft. They know Dow is polluting their only supply of drinking water, and they see their lands devestated and their harbours destroyed by Exxon and Chevron, and they see their own suffering increase, while these corporations and the crooked politicians these corrupt companies buy in these poor countries get richer and richer. And, these corporate and political criminals cannot say they do not see what poverty is doing to their nations, otherwise they would have no reason to live in high-class barred and fortified communties.