Al Queda has often been referred to as a franchise like organization and indeed in one of my early Blog posts I had mentioned this. But if you really look at Al Queda it is more like a MLM Multi Level Marketing Company than anything else. If you study multi level marketing, net-work marketing or pyramid schemes you can see the evolution of their hybrid business plans and models, which have come forth and you can quickly understand how Al Queda has changed over the years too. The Franchising or Branding of Al Queda has seemed to embraced a renewed theme of Jihad and has enabled them to recruit new members, especially weak minded individuals looking for a sense of purpose. With the Middle Eastern religion so pervasive in every aspect of life the defeated individual is looking for something more. The well-branded Al Queda was able to use this to recruit more holy warriors to fight and die for Allah. Stopping a franchise organization or a MLM organization is not so hard. First you divide their message and brand and weaken the strength of their brand name. Next you increase attrition rates to the point of no new relevant growth and then you character assassinate their leadership so no one believes in them. Eventually the organization will implode and cease to be a formidable enemy and at that point it is more of janitorial mop up job than anything else really. Consider this in 2006. |
