Paper 1 – Al-Qaeda
10/19/10
It would not at all be surprising if this decade comes to be known as the decade of terrorism in years to come. Since the turn of the millennium, terrorism, maybe more than any other global issue or topic, has plagued the world stage with constant news and horror. It can be argued that terrorism is a problem with no solution and no end in sight. The Islamic militant group, Al-Qaeda, is the most well known terrorist organization in the world. Al-Qaeda has been held accountable for some of the most tragic and horrifying acts of terror in history. Still, many people do not fully understand what Al-Qaeda is, who is behind it, and why it exists. A fluid, agreed-upon definition does not exist for the extremist
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The Law Committee rules on whether certain actions follow Islamic law. The Islamic Study/Fatwa Committee issues religious edicts, also known as fatwas, that the rest of the organization and even the territory it controls must follow. For example, in 1998, Al-Qaeda issued a fatwa that all Muslims should kill any American if given the chance. The most recent addition to Al-Qaeda has been the formation of As-Sahab, Al-Qaeda’s media outlet that supplies video and audio recordings and sends them out to the rest of the world (Inside Al-Qaeda). Tapes of bin Laden have been released to the United States where he takes responsibility for the September 11th attacks, as well as numerous other hateful speeches about the evils of Western culture and perceived Muslim intolerance. Although there is a large following of people that believe Al-Qaeda has been dismantled and broken down since the War on Terror, evidence still points to a structurally organized and strategically planned organization in which each department works in conjunction with each other to carry out acts of terror. Osama bin Laden is advised by a Shura Council, estimated to consist of twenty to thirty members, who make plans and decisions for the entire organization. They recently released a
Modern terrorism, as deduced from this literature, is acts to violence strategically used by secular groups spanning international borders with the aim of achieving a desired outcome. Further, it can be seen as organized activity whose genesis can be traced back to the 1880’s. From then to now there are identifiable traits and patterns observed from different (terrorist) groups which have allowed for the conceptualization of the term modern terrorism. This concept therefore, can be best explained in the context of being a wave or having a life cycle. That means it is a cycle of activity demarked by phases from inception and expands along the way then eventually it declines. The world, thus far, has experienced four waves of modern
Many Americans do not understand the implication and role of terrorism in the modern world. Terrorism is not a something that can be measured or held in hand. It is a theoretical idea that has many different meanings to many different people (Aziz, 2014). U.S. Citizens in general need to understand the full effect of modern terrorism. Blinded by media coverage and dramatized by slow-motion video replay of terrorist attacks,
In Feb. 1998, Al Qaeda leaders issued a second fatwa, which instructed Muslims everywhere to kill Americans and their allies – civilians and military. It states, “Every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God’s order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it.” At the same time, Osama Bin Laden declared war on the West and Israel once
With the emergence of the 21st century the necessity for a broader understanding of security have said present. The world has experienced a variety of new security challenges that have put at stake human safety and have made policymakers all around the world rethink their approach and strategies when it comes to the decision making process. The rise of terrorist organizations in the international arena as well as the development of extremist groups has offered extreme significance to the quest for power and the search for peace, while requiring us to look back and examine our achievements and failures in the analysis of terrorism, extremist groups and our counterterrorism efforts since 9/11. It is essential for all Americans to understand
It is nearly impossible to go an entire day in the United States without hearing of some act of terrorism. Whether it be a shooting in a public place or threats against a group of people, this violent form of conflict is prevalent in every American’s life. These ruthless acts of cold-blooded murder demonstrate evil in its purest form, and leave death and mourning in their wake. The article “Homegrown Terrorism: Is There an Islamic Wave?” gives an overview of the rise of domestic terrorism since the tragedy of 9/11. Though it was written in 2011, the core message is the same today: terrorism in the United States still continues to grow at a sickening pace, with each new attack seeming more barbaric than the last.
Al Qaeda, or Al Qaida, is a global militant Islamist organization. It was agreed upon as a terrorist organization by almost every nation such as the United States, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty), the European Union, United Kingdom, United Nations, India, and many more countries. Al Qaeda is a organization
Before 2001, al-Qaeda, an Islamist militant organization founded by Osama bin Laden, had proven itself a security menace to both the West and the Muslim world. Achieving its height of power in 2001, the group and its Taliban allies were on the verge of taking over Afghanistan (Longest, 7). Then the group made a central mistake: It choose to wage an offensive jihad attack against the United States on American soil. For a time after 9/11, al-Qaeda appeared largely victorious from the devastation left behind of their ruthless exploit; but instead, the craven act would prove to be the beginning of the terrorist organization’s demise.
This paper will talk about the largest terror group called Al Qaeda. Stating the facts on when this terror group formed, their motives, and graphs on numerous innocent lives. The most notorious Islamic terrorist group is Al Qaeda. Its pioneer, Osama Bin Laden, issued a fatwa (a religious decision) in February 1998 requiring an overall Islamic sacred war to slaughter Christians and Jews. Laden's key targets seem to be U.S. property. Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group that was established by Osama Bin Laden in the late 1980s. It started as a strategic system to help Muslims in Afghanistan battling against what was then the Soviet Union amid the Afghan War. Individuals were enrolled all through the Islamic world standing Al-Qaeda's roots and connections.
During the 1990s, Osama bin Laden, a fundamentalist militant and leader of Al-Qaeda, issued several fatwas (legal edicts) opposed to the stationing of US troops in Saudi Arabia. By middle of 1996, Al-Qaeda was barely functioning as a terrorist organization, and had only thirty members. Facing irrelevance and anxious that he was losing his leadership role over Islamist militants worldwide, bin Laden, announced a "blessed jihad" to oppose the United States and its Western allies on August 23, 1996 (Bruce, et al., 2005). As part of this jihad, bin Laden declared war on the United States, which he intended to recruit new members for Al- Qaeda. This effort failed.
Since the brutalizing attacks that occurred in the United States on September 11, 2001, terrorist groups such as al Qaeda, and its subdivision turned adversary - the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria - which we affectionately refer to as ISIS, have metastasized into a worldwide threat that has shaken our way of life, our culture, and our approach to our opponents (Kohlmann). From 2013 to 2014 there was a whopping 35% increase in terrorism with attacks in 95 countries, proving that despite the valiant counterattacks, terrorism will not go down without a fight (Williams). Of course, the United States did declare a “war on terror” that despite many cons did result in the ultimate pro - the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and mastermind behind many terrorist attacks, including 9/11 (Shah). All casualties aside, the death of bin Laden, and more specifically the means by which his
During that period, Al Qaeda was composed generally of core cadre of veterans of the Afghan insurgency against the Soviet Union, with a centralized leadership structure made up mostly of Egyptians. It’s leader during that time Osama Bin Laden who issued orders and solicited ideas from his subordinates. They have describe their actions as a violence-based philosophy. Al Qaeda has focused their attacks on the U.S. and its allies, including the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole docked in Aden, Yemen. In 2011, U.S. forces killed Bin Laden in Pakistan, and Bin Laden's deputy Ayman al Zawahiri assumed leadership of the group. While many officials would agree that Al Qaeda have been degraded, they still pose a significant threat. While Al Qaeda’s affiliates have proven resilient, and are deem more hostile than
This paper analyzes Al-Qaeda as a very difficult somewhat intelligent, most circulated and uncontrollable organization, an organization which has made it a duty to confront our Nation’s national security and intelligence for about 15 years. Even with the death of their leader Osama bin Laden’s in May of 2011; the organization remains actively at large by replacing it leadership head with Ayman al-Zawahiri. I also analyzes 5 aspects of Al-Qaeda as an organization, namely the, History, Goals, Internet Campinas, Al Qaeda Affiliating Group and Finances. Furthermore, I analyses the Impact of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention (IRTPA), mainly on
Spindlove, J. (2015). Terrorism Today: The Past, The Players, The Future (5th Edition). McGraw Hill, pp.
Terrorism in the twenty-first century has some similarities and differences from terrorism in the twentieth century. Terrorism is, in its broadest sense, the use or threatened use of violence in order to achieve a political, religious, or ideological aim. Also useful to remember that because the two entities involved, the terrorists and the terrorized, are on the opposite end of the political, religious or ideological continuum, the same act is viewed by them differently. There is much sense in the phrase one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
The history of terrorism can be traced back as far as the French revolution. Some of these acts of terrorism only seem as distant reminders of our past, but at the same time, are not a far cry from today’s brutal acts; and although these acts seem distant, it doesn’t also mean they are no longer in the thoughts of individuals in today’s time.