With the help of the Internet, its symbols and training materials became easily available around the world. Whether al-Qaeda had a direct role in the Madrid and London bombings, or the recent plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic, is less important than the way it has been transformed into a powerful “brand.”
基地组织失去了核心组织能力，却成了号召思想极端的模仿者们的旗帜和焦点。通过互联网络，基地组织的标志和训练材料可以在全球范围内轻易得到。无论基地组织是否直接参与了马德里和伦敦爆炸案，或者前不久在大西洋上空炸毁航班的阴谋，与它已经转型为恐怖主义最大“品牌”的事实相比都显得无关紧要。极端分子赢得了第二回合。