The reported rolling up of a significant percentage of Zarqawi?s known leadership echelon, with the parallel upsurge in insurgent attacks in Iraq , may seem paradoxical. However, the underlying dynamics explaining these conditions may be the result of a mirroring of the global organization and network characteristics of al-Qaeda?s global network and may demonstrate a decentralized durability of the insurgency in Iraq.

As discussed in WAR Reports over the past year, in broad strokes, al-Qaeda the organization has seemed to evolve?or ?devolve??into a global Islamist militant movement rather than a monolithic, hierarchical Islamist terrorist organization. While al-Qaeda retains a core leadership and veteran operative nucleus, the al-Qaeda network of Islamist militant groups has expanded around the world with viral dynamics, energized by the political-religious revolutionary purchase of its ideology, which has compelled Islamist groups into more square alliance within the al-Qaeda network. It has also inspired the emergence of ?vanguard outpost? groups from within Muslim populations outside that conduct entrepreneurial attacks in the service of al-Qaeda?s strategic goals. While al-Qaeda?s core nucleus continues to facilitate specific operations, its role seems to have evolved to issuing strategic guidance through global communiqu?s and operational support for the swarming militant groups of the network. The core leadership has inspired some cells to conduct entrepreneurial attacks and has offered financial, logistical, and/or materiel support to others. Thus, the al-Qaeda network has seemed to take on energy and dynamics of its own, with an expanding network of Islamist militant groups that were inspired and strategically oriented in the al-Qaeda ideology but are far less dependent upon hierarchical organizational structures for operations.