How Rich is Al Qaeda?

We keep getting conflicting reports on the resources Al Qaeda has at its disposal.

-- After 9/11 it was common to refer to bin Laden as a billionaire.

-- Claudia Rosett claims that he was nearly broke when he was pushed out of Sudan in 1996

-- Ramzi Yousef claimed that his 1993 plan to topple the World Trade Towers failed because he was not given enough money to do the job right. From all appearances that operation went forward on a shoestring budget.

--Yousef and KSM seemed to have plenty of money in 1994 when they were in the Philippines. They frequented bars and KSM could afford to rent a helicopter to impress a potential girlfriend.

-- The 9/11 Commission estimates that al Qaeda spent $30 million annually prior to the attacks on New York and Washington.

-- The current Atlantic publishes copies of emails from Zawahiri (AQ's number two man) complains that an operative spent $470 on a fax machine: "Where are the two old faxes? Did you get permission before buying a new fax under such circumstances?" There are also emails that maintain that salaries have been cut by 50%.

The over-all picture is clear as mud.