Does al-Qaeda Exist?

A news story today reports the capture of a group of children in Iraq who were being trained as suicide bombers by al-Qaeda. Yet another despicable act attributed to this fictional organization. Contrary to popular belief, al-Qaeda was actually a creation of the United States Justice Department and not Osama bin Laden.

In 1993, the hapless perpetrators of the first, failed attack on the World Trade Center were quickly captured and the Justice Department wanted to prosecute them under anti-racketeering statutes. This required proof that the accused belonged to a criminal organization and the government lacked any evidence to support such a claim. At that time, Egyptian intelligence was being offered information about Osama bin Laden from a man who had worked for him, stolen money and was now on the run. The Egyptians considered the man a very unreliable source, but US agents were eager to interview him. When asked about the bombers' organization, the informant confirmed its existence and gave its name as al-Qaeda (the Base). He later admitted to having made it all up to get cash out of the Americans, but by then the bombers had been convicted.

Osama bin Laden only started referring to al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks, when he realized that the US government was using the name. Justice Department officials claimed that it was a vast organization with cells in more than sixty countries. In fact, when a British film crew interviewed him shortly before 9/11, bin Laden hired hooded gunmen for the day from another Islamist group to provide himself with an impressive bodyguard for the filming. His own organization amounted to a cook and a driver. The attacks on 9/11 and other terrorist actions attributed to al-Qaeda were actually carried out by independent groups whose only association to bin Laden was through his cheque book. The wealthy Saudi was a reliable source of funding for these operations, but he appears to have had little other involvement.

For the Bush Whitehouse, the truth was not helpful in persuading the American public that an imminent threat existed from a sophisticated worldwide terrorist network lead by an evil mastermind. A handful of cave dwelling Luddites hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan, armed only with 30-year old Kalashnikovs, would not have inspired the fear and rage that was manipulated to produced the War on Terror.

Since 9/11, Islamist extremist groups have applied the name al-Qaeda to themselves to borrow some of bin Laden's fame and the western press and governments have implied an affiliation to the non-existent organization to any terrorist group that appeared. The phantom menace, indeed. Osama bin Laden no doubt finds it all very amusing.