I laughed out loud reading this remarkable foray into fantasy. The author seems entirely oblivious to the well documented evidence that al Qaeda is the Islamic branch of the CIA. How one can write an article on this topic and be completely oblivious to the historical realities suggest that the author is either ignorant or a deliberate purveyor of misinformation. Either way the article is a waste of space.

Yes "a waste of space" in another sense in that the article could be perceived as suggesting some sound Western Management Consultancy tips could help out al Qaeda.

Thought Saudi (bin Laden) strategies were too effective and pernicious enough for any century.

That the US didn't invade Saudi Arabia after 9/11 speaks volumes for Bush family-Saudi business realities.

I laughed out loud when I read James O'Neill's claim that Al-Qaida was part of the CIA.

Thank you, thank you James. When I was a young trendy lefty myself, what convinced me that lefties were loonies, was not just the ideological contradictions. Or the the blatant double standards. Or the conviction that white people were always wrong and minorities were always right. Or the fact that Americans, white people in general, and the Jews, were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't. It was mind boggling doozies like your above statement which tipped me right over the edge from leftist fantasy into thinking straight.

Great work, James. Even Arjay and DavidG are probably looking askance at you for that one.

But I urge you to do better than that. How about repeating the old todge that the Joos were responsible for 9/11? MI6 knocked off Princes Diana? Or the pyramids were built by space aliens? C'mon James, help me here. There is a whole generation of young people who have been conditioned to believe in left wing claptrap, and I need you to show to them how stupid lefties are.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/america-created-al-qaeda-and-the-isis-terror-group/5402881

I've just been taking a look at the Army of Conquest.
I want to quote something from this article below.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/02/world/middleeast/syria-russia-airstrikes-rebels-army-conquest-jaish-al-fatah.html?_r=0

"The Army of Conquest, or Jaish al-Fatah in Arabic, is a loose alliance of armed rebel groups formed in March to fight the forces of President Bashar al-Assad. It is not a unified army; its member groups share resources and coordinate their efforts in battle, but they remain independent, and there is no overall military commander. The alliance consists of a number of mostly Islamist factions, including the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate; Ahrar al-Sham, another large group; and more moderate rebel factions that have received covert arms support from the intelligence services of the United States and its allies."

So, the so-called moderates armed by the West are working alongside and in co-operation with Al Nursa.

I know it will be hard for many people to believe the CIA has been involved in assisting Al Qaeda, Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS, but the evidence is overwhelming. The sources come from official State Department documents, Pentagon officials, including the former head of JSOC, and high ranking US politicians.

Here are official intelligence documents from the US State Department, obtained under FOIA by conservative group, Judicial Watch.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Pg.-291-Pgs.-287-293-JW-v-DOD-and-State-14-812-DOD-Release-2015-04-10-final-version11.pdf

They show that US intelligence was aware in August 2012 that salafists (Sunnis who support strict observance of sharia),the Muslim Brotherhood, Al Qaeda have been "the forces driving the insurgency (against Assad) in Syria". It also states "AQI (Al Qaeda in Iraq - the old term for ISIS) supported the Syrian opposition from the beginning"

The report also states, "if the situation unravels,there is the possibility of establishing a declared or undeclared salafist principality in Eastern Syria ... and this is exactly what the supporting powers to the opposition want..." The supporting powers to the opposition include our allies, the Gulf States and Turkey.

Here's a website that highlights some of the important bits of the report as it is quite difficult to read.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/05/newly-declassified-u-s-government-documents-the-west-supported-the-creation-of-isis.html

cont'd

Retired LTG Michael T Flynn, the Pentagon's Intelligence Chief at the time, says he saw this report and argued against supporting these terrorist groups, but the White House made a "willful decision" to continue supporting Al Qaeda, Al Nusra and the Muslim Brotherhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG3j8OYKgn4 - need to go 8 - 12 minutes into interview.

Here is a clip of Hillary Clinton saying the USA is responsible for Al Qaeda. In the 1980s The CIA encouraged the Saudi's to bring their Wahhabism (the most extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism) into Afghanistan to fight the Soviets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqn0bm4E9yw

Look up Operation Cyclone - it just happens to be one of the CIA's most expensive and longest running programs.

When the MSM says the Russians are attacking Western backed groups, these groups aren't moderate like they say, they include terrorist groups like Al Qaeda and Al Nusra.

Here is a clip of US Vice President Joe Biden
"There was no moderate middle, because the moderate middle are made up of shopkeepers, not soldiers... My constant cry was that our biggest problem was our allies (The Turks, Saudis, Emeraties etc) they were so determined to take down Assad ... they poured 100s of millions of dollars, thousands of tonnes of weapons to anyone who would fight against Assad, except the people being supplied were Al Nusra, Al Qaeda ..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w04YE5zRmc8#t=67