Another perspective. Not definitive, just my initial effort at reframing a clearer perspective on what governments are so quick to simply label as "terrorism."

Al-Qaeda: An illegal political action group with no specific state affiliation conducting a networked approach to unconventional and guerrilla warfare, often employing terrorist tactics, in order to shape the political domain of the greater Middle East to their will. AQ uses an extreme Islamist ideology to gain influence with their target populaces of disenfranchised Sunni Muslims to promote revolution to address poor governance in their respective states, coupled with a global resistance campaign against what is perceived as excessive Western influence over the governance of the region.

AQ is empowered by the confluence of two major events occurring over the past 25 years:
1. The demise of the threat of Soviet dominion over the region, and the general continuation of Western containment policies and postures;
2. The unprecedented breakthroughs in information technologies

The demise of the Soviets removed much of the rationale for the degree of presence and influence exerted by the US and West over the political and security landscape of the greater Middle East. While most governments were satisfied with sustaining the status quo, there has been a steadily growing discontent among the populaces of the region with their domestic governance, as well as the perceive role played by Western powers in sustaining what has been viewed increasingly as an unacceptable status quo. This was the catalyst.

The role of advances in information technology has been both the expander and the accelerant. As populaces became more aware of the larger surroundings it fed frustrations across the political, social and religious spectrums. Those in control acted to exert greater control, and those disempowered acted to gain greater power. Individuals, nationalist and regional organizations were all able to leverage these technologies by pass state controls on everything from sharing information to organizing to conduct revolutionary activities.

Governmental response:
To date governmental response has primarily been reactive and designed to enforce the rule of law and preserve the status quo. Acts of terrorism have been met with programs of counterterrorism. Acts of insurgency have been met with programs of counterinsurgency. AQ has suffered tactical defeats but is widely assessed as being stronger now than it was on 9/11. While AQ’s UW efforts have failed to gain traction with the broader populaces of the region, those populaces have acted out of their own accord to attain the change they seek nationally through the on-going revolutionary events of Arab Spring. There are essentially two kinds of states in the region; those that are experiencing revolution now, and those that will experience revolution soon. The unwillingness of governments to make reasonable concessions coupled with the over-reliance upon some mix of social bribery and internal security to sustain an artificial façade of stability will become increasingly untenable.