In some ways I PRAY that Al Qaeda succeeds in taking over Pakistan and becomes a standing army that our troops can completely annihilate. It would be laughable to see Al Qaeda attempt to form a standing army with tanks, planes, etc. and fight the United States in conventional warfare...
However the enemy knows this, and thus will never undertake such a stratagem. They may be suicidal, but that would be going too far. This is why they will set up an IED/VBED/EFP and leave it by the roadside to blow up some military vehicle, instead of taking Kalashnikovs and RPGs and going out into the battlefield to trade lead with our boys (why? Because the terrorists wouldn't last an hour under such circumstances, and once we decided to bring in the BONES and BUFFS it would be over fast and messy). Thus they have to fight according to their strengths and against our weaknesses, and for now that means they have to fight a guerilla-insurgency where they hide from the general populace.
Now, if they ever took over Pakistan (would not happen, even if Musharraf was to be found hanging tonight) and got access to Pakistan's F-16s, Agostas, and T-series tanks ...that would NOT mean that AQ would now be zipping through the skies trying to fire the AMRAAMs we gave to Pakistan from the Vipers we gave to Pakistan at us. Nope! Why? Because it would mean a very quick and easy death for them. Even if they somehow managed to get the training to fly and do all that stuff (let's assume that the entire military of Pakistan turns Jihadi ....once again an assumption that would never happen).
If Al Queda got access to Pakistan, what they would do would be truly dangerous. They would leave those F-16s, leave those D-E submarines, leave those Al-Khalid tanks and what not ....and simply go for the nuclear weapons.They would not want the launch vehicles (no need for the Ghauri and whatever other missiles Pakistan has), simply the warheads. And for that matter not the estimated 55-100 nuclear warheads that Pakistan has ....they would simply (at least if i led the organization) go for 5-10 warheads. The simplest ones available. Then use a nation's resources (not that AQ really needs to, since Mexico has so many 'coyotes' willing to smuggle people in ...and who have reputedly smuggled in 'illegal immigrants' who paid them US$ 50K each for assured entry ....which obviously indicates that those were not Mexicans looking for a fruit-picking job in Florida or a roach-motel cleaning job in Texas) to get at least a couple of those warheads into the US, and a couple into Western Europe (even easier than getting them to the US). Thus say you have 3 warheads in the US (take any 2 major cities, with the 3rd being New York), and 2 in Europe (take London, and maybe some urban center in Denmark ....they are still a little sore over the Muhammad cartoon thing, which was for the most part just an excuse to burn things up). Then 'boom' happens.
The war would be lost. We would retaliate, nuke the darn b@$tard$ from here to Valhalla, tear down all their systems, impose a general sense of Gehenna that would burn throughout history ....but it would be lost. Our way of life would be seriously affected, our economy would be in trouble, and things would really be different (even after we 'heal').
Whcih is why Governments need to take this scum seriously. I don't mean rhetoric, or some JDAMs dropped on some huts, or ribbons (made in China mind you) hanging from trees and stuck to the back of pickups. I mean serious attention. Because, thinking back to when they attacked the US embassy in Kenya, if they are willing to kill so many Kenyans and wound even more, just to kill 9 Americans, then imagine what they would do if they could get a WMD into the US proper.
Anyways, let me stop ranting. Oy, let's talk about more 'serious' issues /....like whether the next season of American Idol will be better than the one just past......