On a Terrorist Group - Research Paper Example

? Research Paper on a Terrorist Group The Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization consisting of Islamic individuals belonging to sixty different countries. The network was developed in Afghanistan by Osama bin Laden, who hailed from a rich Saudi Arabian family. The group was originally formed to launch a counter attack against the Soviet Union which had wanted to uproot a growing Islamic revolution. Gradually Bin Laden and his associate members of the organization had adapted the fundamental principle of Islam into a violent struggle to suit their own interests. Following this ideology, the Al Qaeda perpetrated a devastating attack on the USA on September 11, 2001, claiming at least three to four thousand human lives. The US and its partner nations immediately directed their efforts towards combating this terrible enemy. Ultimately, in 2011, Osama bin Laden was tracked down from his hideout and killed. However, even after this, the regional franchises of the Al Qaeda continue to pose a threat of terrorism to the western world. History of Development The “Al Qaeda” was formed in Afghanistan in 1989 to fight the members of the Soviet Union in that country. During that time, the Soviet Union wanted to suppress a budding Islamic Revolution. Thus, the founders of Al Qaeda wished to counter this oppression under the common banner of Islam. A huge number of Arab Afghans travelled from all parts of the Arab world to participate in this “jihad” and enrolled at the recruitment camp of the organization at Peshawar, situated at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri arrived at Peshawar and took over the leadership of the group. During the beginning the organization functioned as a hierarchical structure to facilitate its participation in the war against the Soviets. This arrangement helped the group to send military troops and war aids to Afghanistan and gradually prepared the organization to launch a concerted attack on the countries of the Western world. Thus, during the early years of its formation, the Al Qaeda was a highly structured and systematically arranged organization. After the Soviet troops were defeated in Afghanistan, the group changed its structure into a network organization. (Mishal, Rosenthal, 2005, p 3) Typology The Al Qaeda can be classified as an international political terrorist organization. In the opinion of Mishal and Rosenthal (2005), the organization followed a hierarchical order in the beginning and later changed into a network organization. After the attack on Afghanistan in 2001, it assumed the form of a Dune organization. During the time, when the Al Qaeda was engaged in a war with the Soviets in Afghanistan, the group was a hierarchical organization. It was divided into small units which were arranged like pyramids under the group’s common leadership. After its transformation into a network-based organization, the structures within the group were redefined. Al Qaeda became more of a transnational organization which was willing to direct its activities towards multiple causes. During the period 1998 – September 2001, the terrorist group operated as a network organization. (Mishal, Rosenthal, 2005, p 2) Objectives The Al Qaeda was initially formed to counter the Soviet Union’s attack on the growing Islamic revolution in Afghanistan. After the defeat of the Soviet troops, the group became a transnational organization which was engaged in pursuing a number of causes as its objectives. In February 1998, Osama bin Laden brought together a group of state-level Muslim leaders and organizations to form the “World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Crusaders (IIF)”. The IIF formulated its objectives in accordance with the World Islamic Front Statement of 1998: to free the al-Aqsa mosque and the Holy Mosque of Mecca from the hold of America and it allied nations, it was the duty of every Muslim to extricate civil and military citizens of USA and its allies. They were free to carry out their mission in any country which they thought provided a conducive environment to do so. It was also the responsibility of the Muslims to drive out the troops of the Western countries from the Islamic lands so that they would not be able to threaten the Muslim inhabitants. (Mishal, Rosenthal, 2005, p 5) Tactics The Al Qaeda was formed and expanded in Afghanistan which was a huge country consisting of undulating and rugged terrains. It had long borders with its neighboring countries which were not monitored properly and were situated far from the western countries. This proved to be of a huge utility for the Al Qaeda and the group was able to develop its network away from the watchful eyes of the western world. Islamic individuals belonging to different nationalities came to Afghanistan to be trained in terrorist techniques and activities. The group started training its members in various tactics of warfare like “kidnapping, hijacking, bombing, assassinating, suicide bombing” etc. The Al Qaeda gradually started expanding its network by including other Muslim terrorist groups under the purview of its common leadership. The group established a local branch in the Saudi Arabian Peninsula and also acquired the possession of franchises in “Iraq and North Africa”. Recently, it had also been offered the ownership of a potential franchise in Somalia. Leaders The Al Qaeda leaders and the majority of its membership are located in Afghanistan. Since the group’s formation in 1989, Osama bin Laden has been the undoubted leader of the organization. He was a rich Saudi Arabian who had participated in Afghanistan’s rebellion against the troops of the Soviet Union. Bin Laden directly commanded the majority of Al Qaeda’s troops. Bin Laden’s famous lieutenant was Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri who was a powerful leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ). Bin Laden formed the IIF in 1998 and since then the group has expanded its purview to include the terrorist organizations of Pakistan: the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, the Sipah-e-Shahaba Pakistan. In addition to this, the IIF also includes the leader of Egypt’s al-Jama’s al-Islamiyya, the secretary general of Pakistan’s al-Jamiyyat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) and also the leader of the Bangladeshi Jihad movement. (Mishal, Rosenthal, 2005, p 5) Enemy Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri had clearly identified the enemies of the Al Qaeda in their vision statement about their global war and transnational objectives. They wished to end the reign of the Arab rulers who failed to adhere to the Muslim “Sharia” rules. The group specially targeted Egyptian President Mubarak and the royal rule in Saudi Arabia who did not subscribe to the Sharia rules. However, the leaders of Al Qaeda stated that the group and its affiliated Muslim organizations would not stay inactive till the time these Muslim governance systems were overthrown. In December 2001, Dr. al-Zawahiri declared that they would in the meantime unite under the common Islamic banner to fight against an external enemy which was devoid of any religious faiths and who had been groomed by a dishonest internal system. Therefore, the group identified the USA, Russia and Israel as its main enemies and wanted to liberate the Islamic world from the domination of these countries. Al Qaeda believed that the USA consistently provided support to the Christians in traditional disagreements between the Muslims and the Christians, posed a threat to the Arabian ruling regimes and also extended its support to Israel. For this, the group wanted to terrorize the US so that they would be forced to restrict their activities. “The United Nations, the Arabian non-Islamic regimes, multinational corporations, international communications network, news agencies and international relief agencies were clearly listed by Dr. al-Zawahiri as the primary targets of the Al Qaeda. (Mishal, Rosenthal, 2005, p 2) Success in Achieving Objectives On September 11, 2001 a group of Al Qaeda men launched a massive suicidal attack on the USA. They hijacked two US aero planes and forced the pilots into a head-on collision with the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. Due to the huge impact, both the buildings collapsed to the ground in a matter of minutes. The attack claimed the lives of about three thousand people and resulted in considerable amount of material damage as well. The casualties included mainly American citizens and also people from eighty-seven countries. On the same day, the terrorists also hijacked another plane and forced it to crash into the US Pentagon. This series of attacks by the Al Qaeda were unprecedented in the history of civilization and left the entire global community reeling under a state of shock. Earlier, only battles and warfare used to cause such widespread destruction. Thus, the Al Qaeda attacks heralded that terrorism was no longer a mere crime; it was war. (Aldrich 2002, p 891) Government’s Counterterrorism Efforts As a counter response to these attacks, the US and many of its allied countries started actions to deprive funds and support to the Al Qaeda and simultaneously capture and extricate the members of the group. The Taliban controlled the major part of Afghanistan, the home country of the Al Qaeda and therefore the US Government requested the Taliban to assist them in their efforts. The Taliban declined the request and continued to shield the terrorist group. The US and its allied nations were left with no choice but to attack the military forces of the Taliban and the Al Qaeda killing a large number of their men and also taking a huge number as hostages. The US leaders pledged to direct a major part of their efforts to track down Osama bin Laden. (Wedgwood 2002 p 337) The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US continuously interrogated the Al Qaeda detainees to obtain information about bin Laden’s whereabouts. Finally in 2011, the CIA was able to gather reliable information about a man who served as bin Laden’s only source of contact with the outside world. Under the President ship of Barrack Obama, the US intelligence implemented a secretive and a high-risk operation which ultimately led them to finding the Al Qaeda leader in the compound of his house. A team of special US forces found bin Laden in Abbotabad in Pakistan and executed him. Conclusion Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri is expected to succeed Osama bin Laden as the leader of Al Qaeda. On one hand, the USA and its allies have been successful in tracking down the significant leaders of the group and dealing a severe blow to Al Qaeda’a central operational capabilities. However, this has not altogether dampened the activities of the organization. During the last few years, the group has concentrated its efforts in strengthening its regional centers. They have perpetrated attacks on western countries in their own respective areas. Thus, even after the demise of bin Laden, the Al Qaeda is far from being finished. The next episode in the efforts of the US and its allies to destroy the terrorist organization will have to focus on the small regional groups that still remain a deadly threat to the western world. References 1. Aldrich GH (2002), The Taliban Al Qaeda and the Determination of Illegal Combatants, The American Journal of International Law 96 (4) 891-898 retrieved on October 10, 2011 from http://www.jstor.org/pss/3070684 2. 2. Wedgwood R (2002), Al Qaeda, Terrorism and Military Commissions, The American Journal of International Law 96 (2) 328-337 retrieved on October 10, 2011 from 3. http://www.jstor.org/pss/2693927 4. Mishal S, Rosenthal M (2005), Al Qaeda as a Dune Organization: Towards a Typology of Islamic Terrorist Organizations Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 28()275-293 retrieved on October 10, 2011 from http://www.shaulmishal.com/pdf/sm_academic_04.pdf 5. Posen B.R (2006) The Struggle Against Terrorism Grand Strategy, Strategy and Tactics International Security 26 (3) 39-55 retrieved on October 12, 2011 from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/016228801753399709 6. Inkster N (2011) The Death of Osama bin Laden Survival 53(3) 5-10 retrieved on October 12, 2011 from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00396338.2011.586182 Read More