Transcript al Qaeda

al Qaeda
a case study in ideological
terrorism
BIG IDEA


al-Qaeda is the single greatest terrorist
threat to the U.S.
al-Qaeda covers the spectrum of types
of terrorism
 Ideological
 State-sponsored
 Narco terrorism
 National liberation
BIG IDEA

al-Qaeda is especially threatening to
the U.S. because it has become
stateless
 Without a country to attack
 Without a central location
 Loosely-knit group - bound by an idea
al-Qaeda: Ideological
Overview
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ISLaM = submission to God
MuSLiM = one who submits to God
SaLaaM = peace
If you submit to God, you will achieve
peace
 Some believe they must fight those that
disrupt peace
You Say al-Qaeda, I Say al-Qaida
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al-Qaeda = “the base”
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al-Qaeda-al-Jihad = “the base of the
jihad”
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The World Islamic Front for Jihad
against the Jews and Crusaders
al-Qaeda: Ideological
Overview
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Multinational, militant Islamist org.
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established by Osama bin Laden in 1988
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Current goal: to work with allied Islamist
groups to overthrow corrupt regimes and
evict Westerners and non-Muslims from
Muslim countries in order to establish a
pan-Islamic Caliphate
al-Qaeda: Ideological
Overview
Goals and Objectives of Jihad
 Establishing the rule of God on earth
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Attaining martyrdom in the cause of
God
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Purification of the ranks of Islam from
the elements of depravity
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al-Qaeda: Ideological
Overview

February, 1998 - issued a fatwa,
calling on Muslims to kill U.S.
citizens - civilian/military - and
their allies everywhere
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9/11/01 - attacks on America
result in war in Afghanistan to
destroy al Qaeda’s bases and
overthrow the Taliban
Age-old Ideology
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al-Qaeda’s ideology not new justifications for jihad rooted in the
Qur’an
Inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood
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al-Qaeda = most recent manifestation
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VIDEO CLIP - ORIGINS OF ALQAEDA
Origins of al-Qaeda
1980s: Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
 inspire “mujahideen” to fight the jihad
 gather from all over to fight USSR b/c
disrupting peace in Afghanistan
 young + religious
 fight “godless” communists
 defeat of communists + collapse of
USSR
 OBL = rising leader, parts ways
Chronology: Snowball Effect
1988: OBL forms al-Q, looks for new jihads
1990: offers al-Q to defend Saudi Arabia
from Saddam in Kuwait, rejected for U.S.
U.S. presence in S.A. = MUST FIGHT U.S.
Chronology: Snowball Effect
1991: OBL kicked out of S.A. - to Sudan
 al-Q’s base of operations 1991-1996
 Teams up with Ayman al-Zawahiri
 Idea = evict U.S. from M.E.
 Search for nukes?
 Organize attacks
Chronology: Snowball Effect
Feb. 1993: WTC bombed, 6 die, 1000+
injured
Oct. 1993: Black Hawk down in Somalia,
trained by al-Q, 18 servicemen dead
Chronology: Snowball Effect
May 1996: OBL forced to leave Sudan
Afghanistan - new base of operations
June 1996: U.S. military base
in S.A. bombed,
19 servicemen
killed
Chronology: Snowball Effect
Feb. 1998: OBL issues “fatwa” - kill U.S.
Aug. 1998: embassy bombings in Kenya,
Tanzania, 220+ people killed, U.S.
retaliates
Chronology: Snowball Effect
Oct. 2000: USS Cole attacked, killing 17
Sept. 2001: Worst Day Ever, R.I.P. 3000+
al-Q’s climax
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U.S. retaliated
Disrupted al-Q
network
Tactics, Strategies, and
Targets
Tactics: assassination, bombing,
hijacking, kidnapping, suicide attacks,
etc.
Strategies: developing surrogates,
alliances, seeking WMDs
Targets: prominent symbols of U.S.
wealth and military dominance
Ideologically Justified
Killing?
“The undersigned, leaders of Islamic movements,
are horrified by the events of 9/11 in the U.S.,
which resulted in massive killing, destruction &
attack on innocent lives. We express our
deepest sympathies & sorrow. We condemn, in
the strongest terms, the incidents, which are
against all human & Islamic norms. This is
grounded in the Noble Laws of Islam, which
forbid all forms of attacks on innocents. God
Almighty says in the Holy Quran: ‘No bearer of
burdens can bear the burden of another’ (Surah
al-Isra 17:15).”
Ideological Debate
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Salafi = “proper” religious adherence to
strict moral code of Prophet Mohammed
 Implied other understandings are corrupt
 Most
believe in non-violent means of
supporting Islam
 Small radical fringe - violent means
Ideological Debate
al-Qaeda: “America started the war…”
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Supporters of non-violent response to
U.S. are corrupt, and thus not credible
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U.S. waging war against Islam,
therefore “defensive jihad”
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Killing civilians allowed in current
climate
Ideological Debate
Justified Jihad?
 Offensive jihad - not widely accepted
 Defensive jihad - religious duty, just
cause par excellance
Post 9/11
 al-Qaeda losing the ideological debate
 Attacks on WTC seen as offensive by
Muslim community
Ideological Debate
Post U.S. invasion of Iraq:
 Confluence of opinion
 Mainstream Islamic scholars, al-Qaeda
united in call for defensive jihad
 Iraq = chaotic, breeding ground for
terror
 al-Qaeda + Hezbollah
U.S. Response
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Has largely been a “police” operation
Capture and detain terrorists, rather
than going after the source of terrorism
 Ideology??
Are we giving OBL credibility?
Will catching OBL make a difference?
BIG IDEA
The U.S. response has recently come
under question (CIA, Michael Scheuer)
for supposed mistakes in the War on
Terror.
More and more, invading Iraq seems to
be