The terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda was responsible for the largest terrorist attack in the United States: the twin tower attacks on September 11, 2001. Their founder, Osama Bin Laden, was later killed in 2011 in a U.S.-led operation. The group became less dominant over the years, but is still active today. Al-Qaeda has had influence over much of the middle east and northern Africa, but operates worldwide. Their goal is to establish an islamic caliphate throughout the middle east.
Al-Qaeda was established in the early 1980’s as a resistance group against the Russians in Afghanistan. After the soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, many islamic fighters returned to other countries in the middle east. Sometime in 1989, Al-Qaeda focused its efforts against the U.S., who were supporting Saudi Arabia and Israel. They planned to carry out violent attacks against non-islamic governments and eventually overthrow them. During this time they established a headquarters in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda posed as enemies to the United States for quite some time before the September 11th attacks. They were heavily against the influence of the U.S. in the middle east, and devised a way to try to threaten them to leave. In 2001, four passenger planes were hijacked by members of Al-Qaeda. Two were crashed into the world trade center buildings in New York City. The other two were aimed at the pentagon and the White House, respectively. The attempt at the white house was foiled by the passengers on the plane, but the other three hit their mark, leaving almost 3,000 people dead.
After the war on terrorism by a U.S. led coalition, Al-Qaeda was left weakened but not destroyed. In 2005, bus bombings in the U.K. left 52 dead. A year later, a bombing operation on U.K. international flights was thwarted. After years of terror, the CIA had collected enough information to put an end to the hunt for Al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama Bin Laden. On May 2, 2011, Bin Laden’s compound was raided and he was killed in the gunfire. Al-Qaeda, weakened by the loss, appointed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s second in command, as their leader. Al-Qaeda still remains active today and is capable of more attacks against the U.S. and its allies.
Because Al-Qaeda is such a large network, it is extremely difficult to completely remove the group from power. I believe the most effective strategy to remove the group from power would be to cut off its funding and limit the amount of recruits to its ranks.
Sources:
http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/al_qaida.html
https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/al-qaeda-international
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/al-qaeda-terrorism.html
http://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda was established in the early 1980’s as a resistance group against the Russians in Afghanistan. After the soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, many islamic fighters returned to other countries in the middle east. Sometime in 1989, Al-Qaeda focused its efforts against the U.S., who were supporting Saudi Arabia and Israel. They planned to carry out violent attacks against non-islamic governments and eventually overthrow them. During this time they established a headquarters in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Al-Qaeda posed as enemies to the United States for quite some time before the September 11th attacks. They were heavily against the influence of the U.S. in the middle east, and devised a way to try to threaten them to leave. In 2001, four passenger planes were hijacked by members of Al-Qaeda. Two were crashed into the world trade center buildings in New York City. The other two were aimed at the pentagon and the White House, respectively. The attempt at the white house was foiled by the passengers on the plane, but the other three hit their mark, leaving almost 3,000 people dead.
After the war on terrorism by a U.S. led coalition, Al-Qaeda was left weakened but not destroyed. In 2005, bus bombings in the U.K. left 52 dead. A year later, a bombing operation on U.K. international flights was thwarted. After years of terror, the CIA had collected enough information to put an end to the hunt for Al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama Bin Laden. On May 2, 2011, Bin Laden’s compound was raided and he was killed in the gunfire. Al-Qaeda, weakened by the loss, appointed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s second in command, as their leader. Al-Qaeda still remains active today and is capable of more attacks against the U.S. and its allies.
Because Al-Qaeda is such a large network, it is extremely difficult to completely remove the group from power. I believe the most effective strategy to remove the group from power would be to cut off its funding and limit the amount of recruits to its ranks.
Sources:
http://www.nctc.gov/site/groups/al_qaida.html
https://www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/al-qaeda-international
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/al-qaeda-terrorism.html
http://www.britannica.com/topic/al-Qaeda