Al-Qaida penetrates the American Heartland...Or does it?

This is a story that shows the depths which people will go to use "al-Qaida" for their own personal benefit. This writer has always maintained "al-Qaida" was more of the establishment's imagination than reality and the potency of this organization such as it is was always more bluster than reality. Rather it's a convenient device used by people in and out of government to use either to bolster policy, frighten people or silence opposition. The story below is an example of that.

A professor at an Iowa community college says he was suspended from his job last month shortly before FBI agents questioned him about illegal computer activity linked to the terrorist group al-Qaida.

The FBI won't talk about the case, and the president of Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon denies any knowledge of a link between the government probe and the Jan. 25 paid suspension of Steven Gifford, who teaches computer programming.
But Gifford said he was questioned on Jan. 28 and believes the suspension and the visit from FBI agents are connected.

He said he suspects William Giddings, president of the college, wanted "to humiliate and intimidate me."

"This FBI thing is so totally incredulous," said Gifford, 52, adding that agents told him the investigation centered on an allegation from within the college that he and his students had pirated movie and music software and sold it to support al-Qaida.

No arrests have been announced.

So now can we assume that al-Qaidaism is a part of organizations' human resource strategy for getting rid of troublesome employees as well as citizens? Stay tuned!!