Essay Example on Al-Qaeda: One of World's Largest Terror Orgs Led by Bin Laden & Al-Zawahiri

Al-Qaeda is one of the largest terror organizations in the world today, formed by Osama bin Laden and currently headed by Ayman- Al-Zawahiri. The institution began as a network that supported Muslims that fought against the Soviet Union during its war with Afghanistan. However, after the war, the organization continued to exist and opposed claims on corrupt Islamic regimes and the overwhelming presence of foreign nations, particularly the United States, in Islamic territories. The headquarters of the al-Qaeda group are in Afghanistan under the support of the Taliban militia. Al-Qaeda is a terror institution that has launched attacks in various parts of the world and whose desire has been to overthrow corrupt Islamic regimes.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Islamic military is varied and complex. According to Burke (2004), al-Qaeda is more of an ideology of a set of values. The motivations for the continued terror attacks by al-Qaeda vary from one attack to another. In the destruction of the World Trade Centre in the year 1993, for instance, the bombers were driven by lust more than religious issues. Similarly, the leader of the 9/11 attacks in the United States did so in a bid to wage jihad or holy war on America, which was a way of fulfilling religious motivations. The bomber of a club in Bali 2002 claimed that he was disgusted by the adulterous behavior that occurred in the club, hence explaining his actions (Burke, 2004). Another bomber contended that he was not happy with the waging war orchestrated by the United States in Afghanistan. Other bombing scenarios in Madrid aimed at warning the government to withdraw Spanish troops from Iraq. From these few scenarios, it is clear that the motivating factors for the al-Qaeda terror groups vary.

Importantly, the al-Qaeda started as a group advocating against the presence of Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s (Burke, 2004). As the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, Bin Laden and other group’s associate decided to capitalize on the network and take jihad to a global perspective. The vision of Bin Laden was to create a group of fighters that would lead a global jihad project and bring together small groups of jihadists. The main objective was to bring down corrupt regimes and replace them with true and genuine ones. By the mid-1990s, Bin Laden reoriented the movement in a way that focused on the newly acquired enemy, which was the United States. Joining the extremist groups would mean access to money, assets, expertise, training, and support. Thus, the group attracted many recruits with a practice focusing on educating the people on jihad and the holy war.

In the year 1998, the terror group launched attacks on the United States by bombing its two embassies in Africa, which was followed by the 9/11 attack on American soil (Byman, 2015). The attacks demonstrated the capabilities, power, and audacity of the institution. The attacks elevated the al-Qaeda group to a global level, but the counter-response from the United States devastated the terror group substantially. The United States pursued the group, targeted its leadership, and disrupted its financing. Other activities included infiltration of communications, which are some of the actions that contributed to the possibility of killing their leader Osama bin Laden (Byman, 2015). From this analysis, one can see that the overall goal of the terror association was to overthrow corrupt Islamic regimes and fight the United States since they thought that the country was the root cause of most of the issues faced in the Middle East. By targeting the United States, al-Qaeda believes that it will coerce the United States to seize its support for the corrupt Islamic regimes and withdraw their presence from the region. In effect, this could make the territories vulnerable to attack. Therefore, one can see some of the goals and objectives of al-Qaeda and reasons for its continued existence in the world today.

Preventing and countering terror attacks is a challenge for most people, even for nations that have immense resources and skilled personnel. After the 9/11 attack, the United States implemented some measures that included tightening of the airport security and the adherence to security procedures in hospitals and shopping centers. However, van Um and Pisoiu (2014) indicated the need to recognize that al-Qaeda is working towards finding new means of invasion. Governments cannot deal with terror threats alone. Countries considered to have effective counter-terrorism measures acknowledge the value of community involvement, integration of the private sector, the media, and other groups in the process. Effective techniques of countering attacks from al-Qaeda would entail an exchange of intelligence, expertise, and information between national and international agencies. Van Um and Pisoiu (2014) argued that the broader the response, the higher the effectiveness of the interventions. With this in mind, it would be appropriate to suggest measures such as enhanced coordination and cooperation of countries and their neighbors as a means of ending al-Qaeda and terror activities.

According to van Um and Pisoiu (2014), breaking institutional barriers and the creation of trust between agencies would take time. However, once trust between countries is acquired fully, nations would collaborate and work towards ending terror activities by encouraging brainstorming of the best practices. One of the known strategies that would help in countering terror actions includes linking of databases in borders. Primarily, this helps in preventing terrorists from getting into a country while also enhancing the safety of a country’s border points.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the al-Qaeda group is responsible for the deadliest attacks on Am Erica and its allied nations. The group formed at the time when the Soviets had infiltrated the Afghanistan region. However, after the withdrawal of the Soviets, the group’s objectives changed to removing the corrupt Islamic regimes and replacing them with true and genuine ones. Over time, the institution realized that the goal would not be achieved due to the increased presence of the United States in the Middle East. The group started its fights with America with claims that the country was responsible for the emergence of the corrupt regimes in the Middle East. Preventing terror attacks from this group would require coordination and cooperation between states and enhanced measures of safeguarding a country’s borders.

References

Burke, J. (2004). What exactly does al-Qaeda want? The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/21/alqaida.terrorism

Byman, D. L. (2015). Comparing al-Qaeda and ISIS: Different goals, different targets. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/comparing-al-qaeda-and-isis-different-goals-different-targets/#:~:text=Although%20the%20ultimate%20goal%20of

van Um, E., & Pisoiu, D. (2014). Dealing with uncertainty: The illusion of knowledge in the study of counterterrorism effectiveness. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 8(2), 229–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2014.981400