katie+b

Katie Bedel Bedel 1 CP American Writers Mrs. Downey 7 May 2008 Al Qaeda Al Qaeda is considered “the most serious terrorist threat” to the United States. It was started by [|Osama bin Laden] in 1988. The main principles of the al Qaeda are to drive Americans and American influence out of all muslin nations, especially Saudi Arabia, destroy Israel, and topple pro-Western dictatorships around the Middle East. Bin Laden has implied that it is the duty of Muslims around the world to wage holy war on the U.S., American citizens, and Jews. Muslims who do not uphold this are considered to have forsaken their faith. It is also known to be led by Aymen al-Zawahiri, the head of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. For a time he seemed to position himself as a rival to bin Laden, but on 2004 he officially declared his allegiance to al-Qaeda. He also changed the name of his organization from Unification and Jihad to al-Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Qaeda has it’s origins in the uprising against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. This is when thousands of volunteers from around the Middle East came to Afghanistan as mujahideen, or warriors fighting to defend other Muslims. The mid-1980’s was when bin Laden became the prime financier for an organization what recruited Muslims from around the world. These thousands of “Afghan Arab” mujahideen played a crucial part in defeating Soviet forces. Osama bin Laden has also been know to study with radical Islamic thinkers and may have been already forming al-Qaeda in 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. He was outraged when the government allowed for U.S. troops to be stationed in Saudi Arabia, because it is the birthplace Bedel 2 of Islam. In 1991 he was expelled from Saudi Arabia for anti-government activities. After this expulsion bin Laden established his al-Qaeda headquarters in Khartoum, Sudan. The first actions against America were attacks on servicemen in Somalia and in August 1996 bin Laden issued a “Declaration of War” against the United States. As of the present time there is no single headquarters of the al-Qaeda. The group has independent cells in about 100 countries, which may even include the United States. Law enforcement has broken up al-Qaeda calls in the UK, the U.S., Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Albania, Uganda, and in other places. One reason why the al-Qaeda is so dangerous is because of these uncertainties, along with the uncertainty of how big the al-Qaeda really is. It is impossible to say exactly how big it is, because it has been decentralized. Estimates range from several hundred to several thousand members, with most members coordinating in Pakistan. Al-Qaeda is different from other terrorist organizations because it is a franchise. It provides financial and logistical support as well as name acknowledgment to groups in such diverse places such as the Philippines, Algeria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Yemen, Kashmir, Somalia, and Tajikistan. This shows that the group has links in many places. Also, local groups may even act in the name of al-Qaeda in order to improve their reputation even if they aren’t receiving any support from the group. Another reason for the al-Qaeda being such a threat is because of its work of forming alliances with other radical groups that share its fundamentalist views. Al-Qaeda has known alliances with “the International Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders,” the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Jama’at al-Tawhid wal Jihad in Iraq, and ECT. Some experts say that Bedel 3 al-Qaeda has also stepped up its collaboration in logistics and training with Hezbollah, which is a radical, Iran-back Lebanese militia drawn from the underground Shiite strain of Islam. On September 11, 2001 there were attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. In response to these attacks the U.S. invaded Afghanistan in October of the same year to dismantle al-Qaeda and the Taliban. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7ZfsVXXcFE). Al-Qaeda’s infrastructure in the country was destroyed and their military commander, Muhammed Atef was killed. Although other top operatives were captured, both bin Laden and al-Zawahiri escaped. Despite the U.S. "war on terror," al-Qaeda continues to be a threat world-wide. There have been more than a dozen major attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists since September 11, 2001. Both Osama bin Laden and al-Zawahiri, although in hiding, still play an important role in shaping the group's mission. In April, 2004, bin Laden offered a truce to Europe, saying that al-Qaeda would not attack any country, with the exception of the U.S., that withdrew its troops from the Islamic world within three months. European leaders quickly rejected the offer. Al-Qaeda has been known to be involved in the Madrid railway bombing, which killed 202 people and injured 1,400 and the London bombing of three subway stations and one double-decker bus, which killed at least fifty two people and injured more than 700. One of the biggest victories in the war on terror was in June 2006 when U.S. warplanes dropped 500-lb. bombs on the house of Iraq’s most wanted terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killing him. This is considered an enormous success in the continual war on terror, for the al-Qaeda continues to be a great terrorist threat to the United States, and all over the globe. The U.S. persists on fighting back against the al-Qaeda by sending troops to the Middle East, Bedel 4 bombing certain areas, and by holding discrete investigations to try and withhold more information about Osama bin Laden, and the al-Qaeda. Katie Bedel CP American Writers Mrs. Downey 7 May 2008 Work Cited __A War with Al-Qaeda?__. Dir. FOX. Perf. General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. Online video. Veracifier. [|www.youtube.com]. "Al QAEDA." __Frontline__. 1995-2008. 8 May 2008 . Bajoria, Jayshree. “al-Qaeda.” __Council of Foreign Relations.__ 2007. 8 May 2008 http://www.cfr.org/publication/9126/. Canberra, Sarah Smiles. “Death of Osama: officials cautious; photos.” __FairFax__ __Digital__. September 25,m2006. 8 May 2008 [|www.theage.com.au/ffximage/2006/09/24/25W_OSA...]. Hayes, Brunner, Rowen, Laura, Borgna, Beth. "Al-Qaeda." __infoplease.com__. 2007. 8 May 2008 . “Military (al-Qaeda).” __Global Security.__ 2005. 8 May 2008 http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/al-qaeda.htm.