Al-Qaeda Profile - Research Paper

Introduction

The al-Qaeda is a terrorist group which operates in Islamic extremist networks. The term al-Qaeda is an Arabic word that means the database of the foundation. The group has been categorized among the terrorist groups by the United States, NATO, Russia and the United Kingdom (O'Toole et al., 2016). These nations have confirmed the group to be threatening human life through their military and non-military attacks in various countries, and this has resulted in great terror within the affected states.

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Origins

Al-Qaeda terrorist group was founded in the late 1980s by Osama bin Laden.

Ideology

The ideology of al-Qaeda is based on the Islamic movements that were radical during the rise of the Islamic change and Islamic revival after the revolution that took place in Iran. However, according to some people, the Sayyid Qutb writings led to inspirations that were adopted by the al-Qaeda group. The main reasoning of the group was to restore the Muslim world since the lack of sharia law had affected the Muslim religion (O'Toole et al., 2016). Hence, for Islam to be repaired the right Islamic states had to be established by righteous Muslims who would implement the sharia and therefore get rid of any non-Muslim influences that were present in the Muslim world. Through the efforts of al-Qaeda, all those who oppose Islam would be subdued.

Goals

It is evident that the al-Qaeda terrorist group seeks to get rid of the western influence that is seen in Muslim countries and replace it with fundamentalist Islamic regimens that are found within their states. Thus, the group seeks to restore the apostate regimes of the Middle East with Islamic governments that were regarded as valid.

Objectives

The terrorist organization has the objective of recruiting as many young people as possible so that the group of al-Qaeda could be transformed into a movement. Also, the group aims to completely drive away the armed forces of the United States who were in Somalia and Saudi Arabia by force (Pazos & Starr-Deelen, 2018).

Leadership Discussion

The leadership of al-Qaeda was in the hands of Osama bin Laden who was regarded as the senior operator of the group. His command was active from 1988 to May 2011 when the armed forces of the US assassinated him. It was revealed that Bin Laden used to receive advice from the senior al-Qaeda members who made the Shura council. The council is believed to have contained more than 30 people including Sayed al-Madani. Another leader of the group was Atiyah al-Rahman was presented to be the commander of the group before he died in August 2011(Hamilton-Hart & McRae, 2015). After the death of Bin Laden Saif al-Adel took charge as the interim commander in charge of the group but Ayman al-Zawahiri later replaced him. Al-Qaeda terrorist group has various leadership levels ranging from money committee, the military committee, law committee, Islamic study committee and media committee which contributes to the success of the group activities. Each of the committees has specific roles which support the effective operation of the terrorist group.

Funding

Osama bin Laden majorly did the funding of al-Qaeda during the 1990s through his wealth. However, the organization had other sources of income which included; a donation from supporters who were in the Islamic Gulf States, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. The support that Saudi Arabia gave to the al-Qaeda group was regarded as the Golden chain and was seen as a significant threat. In the same manner, it was also shown that the terrorist exploited charities to access material and financial support that supported the group's operations around the globe.

Capabilities Such as Physical Bases or Operating/Support Location(s)

Its operating areas favored the groups. In most cases, the training and support activities of al-Qaeda were carried out within the Muslim territories where most of the members present were supporting the events of the group. Nevertheless, the strategic positioning of the training bases and operation areas favored the group to thrive at a higher level.

Personnel Strengths

The personal strength of al-Qaeda members was presented through their leaders especially Bin Laden. He gave much of his wealth to support the group. Moreover, the loyalty pledge to bin Laden was used as a source of strength by most of the suicide attackers.

Training Programs

The al-Qaeda were shown to have extensive training programs that allowed them to carry out their activities as planned. During the training programs, every day is started with prayers after which a sermon showing jihad follows. Then during the day, operational training and physical drills took place. The various procedures are carried out under the authority of an instructor who was mainly a veteran jihad. In doctrinal practice were carried out in the evening (Luli, 2016). The recruits got the chance to learn how to use arms, military attacks tactics and proper use of grenades.

Communications Methods

The group communicated through various means. This involved encrypted communication to hind their essential information. They also use their media production houses to present videos of massive killings that they have carried out (Facal, 2019). Similarly, messages are sent online in almost all social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Description of Known and Suspected Weapons/Lethal Agents and Delivery Methods

The al-Qaeda terrorist group used different weapons to realize their plans. The utilized weapons are as follows. There were the melee weapons which seemed to be quite simple weapons including axes, box, and knives. These weapons were frequently used against the western democracies. There was also use of improvised devices that were explosives. This was shown to be the weapon which was most popular among the al-Qaeda (Anshori& Zakaria, 2016). In most of their previous attacks explosives had been used in large numbers. They also had the firearms which were seen as the second most crucial weapon choice among the al-Qaeda. This weapon was used to facilitate massive killings in the targeted sites (Cooke & Downie, 2015).

Procedures Used in Prior Attacks

In previous attacks that al-Qaeda has conducted, it has been noted that various procedures were utilized. Most importantly, the al-Qaeda were shown to use operational intelligence to make effective decisions of the strategies they needed to accomplish (Facal, 2019). Notably, a lot of new members were recruited to join the al-Qaeda group. Most of the members were from Jihadist and Salafist groups. The new members increased the number of attackers, and this made the group stronger (Tertrais, 2013). Additionally, Al-Qaeda was shown to utilize suicide attacks, and this allowed them to carry out bombing activities in various targeted places. The suicide activities were mainly conducted by those who had entirely devoted themselves to bin laden pledge of loyalty.

Propaganda

There is propaganda that is utilized by al-Qaeda to accomplish their activities. In this case, al-Qaeda terrorists use gory materials that show graphics of violence to attract more followers. This inspired others to leave everything behind and commit themselves to the terrorist activities (Anshori& Zakaria, 2016). Other individuals went to the extent of volunteering themselves to carry out the suicide attack duties. Nevertheless, various messages are sent to stir up the Middle East population.

Surveillance Methods

Notably, al-Qaeda utilizes counterintelligence and intelligence preparations to conduct their activities effectively. Through these preparations, the al-Qaeda were able to exert substantial control measures over its environment of operation something that caused them to have confidence that their planned events would take place as scheduled (Tertrais, 2013). Most importantly, the counterintelligence and intelligence enabled al-Qaeda to form highly realistic and accurate assessments of its surroundings something that helped the organization to be engaged in rational thinking.

Significant Events/Dates That May Be Used in Attack Planning

Unless the specific dates and events that aligned with the Muslim activities; the terrorist organization had no particular times that they could carry out their destructive activities (Cooke & Downie, 2015). Thus, most of the destructive actions happened when the group had expertly planned themselves.

References

Anshori, A., & Zakaria, M. (2016). The role of Islam in Indonesia's contemporary foreign policy.

Cooke, J. G., & Downie, R. (2015). Rethinking Engagement in the Fragile States. Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Facial, G. (2019). Islamic Defenders Front Militia (Front Pembela Islam) and its Impact on Growing Religious Intolerance in Indonesia. TRaNS: Trans-Regional and-National Studies of Southeast Asia, 1-22.

Hamilton-Hart, N., & McRae, 2015). Indonesia: balancing the United States and China, aiming for independence. United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, 14.

Luli, E. (2016). Cases Where Soft Power is Being Ignored. European Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies, 1(1), 126-131.

O'Toole, T., Meer, N., DeHanas, D. N., Jones, S. H., & Modood, T. (2016). Governing through preventing? Regulation and contested practice in State-Muslim engagement. Sociology, 50(1), 160-177.

Pazos & Starr-Deelen, D. (2018). Countering Violent Extremism and Deradicalization: Comparative Study of Spain, Belgium, and the USA.

Tertrais, B. (2013). Leading on the cheap? French security policy in austerity. The Washington Quarterly, 36(3), 47-61.