Osama Bin Laden, Hitler, and their followers

I've been thinking about something Rachel Maddow is hoping for, now that Osama is dead.

Rachel said there really isn't anyone with Osama's qualifications, such as they were, to lead Al-Qaeda.
I hope Rachel is correct in this.
And that we'll see Al-Qaeda go the way of the "Red Brigade" they had in Italy.

I'm thinking about Nazi Germany, had Adolf Hitler died in battle during WW1, instead of being only wounded.

Would the Nazis have gained as much power as they did, without Hitler?

Because its usually one persons ideology that cult idiots tend to follow. The entire NAZI ideology formed around Hitler's brand of hate speech.

when we get the fuck out of their countries and oil bullshit.

just to get our hands on that sweet, sweet crude.

Hitler went to a number of small beer hall meetings in 1920 and got so mad at the NAZI meeting he made a several minute tirade. The guys liked it so much they invited him to speak next time and their membership took off.

Certainly not bin Laden, so his second was, and is, quite possibly the more effective leader, and is indeed qualified to step in.

As far as Hitler goes, it probably depends on who Ford, Brown Brothers Harriman, IBM and other US corporations decided to back morally and financially.

Hostility toward the west in the Islamic world is widespread, centuries-deep, and fueled by geopolitical reality. To wit: the west is trying to control the ME, its politics and resources.

We are surprised that they're not happy about this?

Good god.

The allies dismantled Germany. There was no way for them to keep going. Terrorism works differently. You only need a few nuts to do a lot of damage. The idea for "jihad" is tough to beat if there's willing participants. They are more like modern day barbarians.

His version of Islam is so austere and harsh, with virtual religious dictators ruling the underclasses, that I believe it would be impossible to "sell" in this era of the spring uprisings in the Arab world which are really about economic empowerment linked with democracy. The Arab world "knows" what a dictator looks and feels like. They have Iran as a model of a theocratic regime.

I believe it's less about OBL's "leadership" skills being unique to the job, as that Al Qaeda's message of horrific revolution transforming societies through violent jihad is unappealing. The version of society that AQ offers as well isn't appealing either.

Hitler harnessed Germany's economic duress inflicted by the western powers after WWI very effectively. I'm not sure another leader could have exploited that perfect storm so well but it's possible. The payouts that were extracted from Germany at Versailles were so punitive it was only a matter of time before SOMEBODY stepped up and said "enough". That it was Hitler may have just been fortuitous.

What's odd to me, is that many people always say how "charismatic" these leaders are. They just seem like cartoons to me. Maybe it's because my cynicism meter is calibrated too high but none of them have ever made me "swoon" - not even Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton or even Carter. While Carter may be a first rate humanitarian right now, he has to know the international global manipulation game that's played. He's diminished by not naming names and exposing the evil at the core of international power brinksmanship.