You make some semblance of sense, yes, in a Beckian Sick, twisted Freakish sort of way :^)
However, don’t lose track of where you hid your lifeboat, either...
(I’m not saying you’re wrong... I’m not sure what, if any, real thinking goes on in the minds of the AQ brass. Besides hate and screwing goats, I mean!)
A lot. They’re fanatical, not stupid.
These guys worked with the CIA for a long time during the Afghan-Soviet war. During that period they learned how our intelligence services operated, and how to fly almost completely under our intelligence umbrella. They also learned how to send our Intel guys haring off on wild goose chases after false, misleading or dead-end leads (example: before they left on 9/11 for the attack, the hijackeers make sure they called attention to their car so that it would be found quickly - it was loaded with lots of useless “intel” to waste the CIA’s time...).
During this time, they also made their contacts with the Saudi and Paki Intel that have served them well to this day.
A good read is America’s Secret War: Inside the Hidden Worldwide Struggle Between America and Its Enemies by George Friedman. Keep in mind its a bit behind the times (2004).