DHS

Running Head: THE AL QAEDA

THE AL QAEDA 8

The Organization's Ideology, Goals & Objectives, Leadership, Funding, And Terrorist Capabilities

Name

Institution

Date

The Organization's Ideology, Goals & Objectives, Leadership, Funding, And Terrorist Capabilities

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group that has existed since prehistory. Al-Qaeda was started as a logistical network during the period when Muslims were fighting against the Soviet Union. Al-Qaeda began to support fight the Soviet Union during the Afghan War. Members of Al-Qaeda emerged from the entire Islamic world. In the late 1980s, the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan, and the Al-Qaeda dispersed. However, the organization remained united and powerful afterward. The group continued to oppose the corrupt Islamic regime and foreigners such as the Americans in Islamic lands. The group was first based in Sudan before it established its headquarters in Afghanistan in 1996 (Gunaratna, 2002). The group was re-established under the patronage of Taliban Militia. Several Islamic organizations also emerged during this time, such as the Jihad of Egypt. On several occasions, these Islamic organizations' leaders declared a war against the U.S. Al-Qaeda have recruited members throughout the Islamic world and established camps for Muslim militants. The group equips its members with special skills through training. The members of Al-Qaeda are also engaged in terrorist attacks. The Al-Qaeda agents have succeeded in destroying U.S embassies in Nairobi (Kenya) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania). Besides, the group organized a suicide bomb attack against the United States worship center in Yemen. Many Al-Qaeda members organized the 2001 attack, and many properties were lost, and many people died. The attack led to the great depression in the U.S. the U.S responded to the attack before a week collapsed and attacked Taliban and Al-Qaeda organizations in Afghanistan. This led to the mass killing of the militants, and many were captured, including the members who were alleged to have organized the 9/11 attack. The rest of the Al-Qaeda members were forced into hiding, including their leader. The U.S attack compromised the group’s visibility, communication, and operations. The attack also affected the financial linkage between the members of the group and their leaders. The U.S attack weakened the group, and it also promoted the structural evolution of the group. The groups dispersed and started to operate in several countries as a means of hiding their identity.

The attacks on Al-Qaeda increased from centralized leadership and in the localized areas that encouraged it. Several grassroots independent groups emerge with a common agenda, and they subscribed to the Al-Qaeda name and its ideology. This made Al-Qaeda so difficult to confront, and it became a more diffuse militancy. The Al-Qaeda was liked due to the organization shift directly to more attacks in six years after the 9/11 attack. During this period, Al-Qaeda attacked many places worldwide, including Jordan, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, UK, Israel, Turkey, Algeria, and Indonesia.

During this time, Al-Qaeda utilized the internet for organizing its operations, which included communication and recruitment. They used the internet for video messages and broadcasts. The U.S strategy to eliminate Al-Qaeda did not succeed, and towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the group becomes more powerful. However, in May 2011, the U.S military captured the Al-Qaeda leader and killed him (Jenkins & Rand Corporation, 2002). The U.S military forces killed Osama Bin Laden after U.A intelligence located him in his residence in Abbottabad, Parkistan50 kilometers from Islamabad. The death of bin Laden was announced by former U.S President Barack Obama, who hailed the operation as a big achievement in the fight against military groups. After bin Laden's death, Al-Qaeda announced the long-serving deputy as the new Al-Qaeda leader to replace the bin Laden.

Organizational ideology

Al-Qaeda was formed under the idea of extremism. When Al Qaeda was formed, there was no clear sharia law, and the Muslim world no longer existed. This led to a shift from pre-Islamic ignorance. The law led to the formation of various military groups that included Al-Qaeda and other military groups in Islamic countries. Without the writing, even Al-Qaeda is suspected to could not have existed. The formation of Al Qaeda was driven by ideologies of a true Islamic state that established the implementation of Sharia laws. This law was meant to rid the Muslim world of non-Muslim influences, including socialism and nationalism. The need for a vanguard movement was necessary to get rid of the influences from the non-Muslims (Wright, 2006). A greater influence was received from Qutb on Ayman-Zawahiri to be the leader of the military group. Another idea that led to the formation of Al Qaeda is that many Muslims were claiming to be Muslims, and they were not, but instead, they were apostates. This ideology gave the movement a legal loophole that prevents them from killing another Muslim but made it a religious obligation to execute the self-proclaimed Muslims.

Organizational Goals and objectives

The objective of Al Qaeda was to drive U.S forces out of Somalia and Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda remained operational after the Soviet Union was forcefully evicted from Afghanistan because it wanted to remove the U.S military from the Islamic Islands. This was the mission of Al Qaeda after the war was over (Riedel, 2008). Al Qaeda wanted to eliminate the U.S military from all Islamic countries since they claimed that the Americans were corrupt, and they also mistreated Muslims. The Muslims considered violence against the U.S military as proper, and they acquired more members. The fatwa was a group that was formed to lead the movement, and it ensured that constant attacks were levied on the Americans and their supporters, which caused massive civilian casualties. The objective of the movement was to establish a pure Islamic state.

Organizational leadership

Al Qaeda has many leaders. The organization is administered by a council whose role3 is to prove the organization’s operations. Bin Laden led the organization until he was killed in 2011 by the U.S military. After the death of Al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri has announced the Al Qaeda leader. Other council members include Abu al-Yazid, who was an adviser to bin Laden before Laden died. Saif al-Adel is also a powerful leader in the military, and Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah. The leadership group who are under captive in the U.S include Abu Zubaydah and Abd al-Hadi al-Iraq. Other leaders such as Khalid Sheikh and Mustafa Ahmed are also serving jail term in the U.S. the organization has a military committee responsible for training, acquiring weapons, operative, and planning attacks (Riedel, 2008). More than five individuals head the committee responsible for funding the operations. The business committee funds the recruitment and training of new members. The organization operates through a banking system known as hawala. The Law Committee reviews the Sharia rules and decides whether consequences of action conform to it. Finally, the fatwah committee issues religious edicts with killing Americans, and the Media committee produces newspapers to publish the organization’s operations.

Organizations source of funds

The organization was funded by Laden’s wealth when it started. The organization also received support from other countries such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The organization also engaged in illegal trade such as trafficking of hard drugs such as heroin and cocaine to all Islamic countries. the organization leaders such as Laden engaged in financial transactions such as buying land for training recruits and establishing camps. The organization bought weapons of mass destruction and other dangerous weapons with the money they collected from these sources of income. the organization is involved in many businesses worldwide, including several Boeing 727 aircraft.

Organization capacity

The organization has a well-connected network, which is believed to be the main reason for its success. Al Qaeda is well capacitated to carry out its operations and plans in all Islamic countries. the organization has a more advanced leadership structure that enables it to execute its strategies efficiently and smoothly. The leadership structure consists of field operatives and insurgent forces. The company is suspected of having over 10 million members, and its members are sparse throughout the world.

Communication method

The organization adopts many communication techniques to ensure that information is shared with all its members globally. Al Qaeda uses the internet in most of its communication modes. This is one of the most convenient communication methods that the organization uses to escape the wrath of the U.S military. . They are using digital communication methods to escape detention from the government since the police highly want them. Today, the group uses the internet in financing, recruitment, networking, publicity, mobilizing, information collection, dissemination, and sharing. Al Qaeda owns a newspaper called Nashrat al Akhbarb that it uses to communicate to its members.

The possible attack in the U.S Homeland

The U.S intelligence service has suspected the possibility of other terrorist attacks from Al Qaeda. This has always made the country to be very vigilant in protecting its borders. Al Qaeda is very determined to start any terrorist attack in the U.S after killing their leader bin Laden in 2011. The last attack that the group conducted was on 9/11, and it led to massive loss of properties, deaths, and injuries. The next attack on the U.S might be more devastating than the previous one. Today, the group is recruiting even non-Muslims, and many U.S citizens are suspected of having joined the group over the last few years. The group has been very silent over the past years, and there is likelihood that it is planning something crazy on Americans. The exact spot and time are unknown, but it is highly likely that the group is determined to attack the U.S for the second time. I may predict that the organization may attack many people at a particular time, which may be possible when the organization attacks passengers, ships, or plains. Tactics that the organization is likely to use may be similar to the one it used on 9/11. However, this time, it can target a large audience, such as school-going children or ports or offices. They can hijack the plane or passengers ship and hold the passengers captive and start their mass killing of innocent people.

References

Gunaratna, R. (2002). Inside Al Qaeda: Global network of terror. New York: Columbia University Press.

Jenkins, B. M., & Rand Corporation. (2002). Countering al Qaeda: An appreciation of the situation and suggestions for strategy. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

Riedel, B. O. (2008). The search for al Qaeda: Its leadership, ideology, and future. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

Wright, L. (2006). The looming tower: Al-Qaeda and the road to 9/11. New York: Knopf.