Project Summary: AQAM has launched terrorist attacks in Indonesia, Turkey, Spain, Algeria, Pakistan, Iraq, and India, along with the September 11, 2001 attacks. It is simultaneously a global ideological movement, a coalition of regional terrorist groups, and a collection of local insurgencies. Despite the extensive media coverage and study of Al Qaeda by terrorism experts, little is known about how it has evolved and how it currently is structured. Experts continue to debate the following questions: Is Al Qaeda a hierarchical organization led by Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri? Or has it evolved into a "leaderless insurgency", more a movement than an organization? How one answers these questions has major implications for counter-terrorism policy and strategy. In the readings this week, you look at arguments by two terrorism experts, Bruce Hoffman and Marc Sageman, about the evolution and structure of Al Qaeda. With these arguments in mind, you will consider your position in the debate about Al Q