Transcript document

Jonathan R. White
www.cengage.com/cj/white
Chapter 12:
Religious Terrorism and the
Soviet–Afghan war
Rosemary Arway
Hodges University
Afghan War
 Afghan Mujahedeen with Saudi Arabia
fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in
1979.
 The United States in those days were
ready to support any form of Islam against
the Soviet Union.
o They worked closely with Pakistani
Interservice Intelligence Agency (ISI).
 After the Soviets left Afghanistan,
Mujahedeen groups continued to fight over
the control of the country.
Afghan War
 Al Qaeda
o Osama bin Laden created al Qaeda during
the last stages of the Soviet-Afghan War.
o Group was composed of Islamic students
who wanted to bring order to Afghanistan
through the forced imposition of Islamic law.
o It is one manifestation of the Jihadist
movement that has millions of supporters
and sympathizers.
Bin Laden, Zawahiri and al Qaeda
 Bin Laden:
o Son of a wealthy Saudi Arabian construction
executive who worked with the Saudi Government.
o Tutored by the brother of Sayyid Qutb.
o After the 1990 U.S. invasion of Iraq, bin Laden
turned against Western nations.
o In 1993 bin Laden was active in Somalia, but was
forced to flee to Afghanistan.
o After September 11, al Qaeda decentralized and
spread activities around the world.
Bin Laden, Zawahiri and al Qaeda
 9-11 Commission Report
o bin Laden emerged as a symbol of Islamic
discontent in the 1990s.
o bin Laden formed an alliance with Abdullah
Azzam.
o bin Laden established a foundation as a
potential general headquarters for future Jihad.
o bin Laden developed a relationship with Ayman
al Zawahiri.
 Umbrella organization similar to EIJ
 bin Laden and Zawahiri began planning model for
al Qaeda.
Bin Laden, Zawahiri and al Qaeda
 Osama bin Laden became incensed when
U.S. troops were stationed in Saudi Arabia
after Desert Storm.
o Began training and financing terrorist groups.
o Called for overthrow of unsympathetic Muslim
governments.
▪ Saudi cracked down on bin Laden because of
his protests against Desert Storm.
 Bomb in Yemen hotel seen as the opening
shot in bin Laden’s war against the U.S.
 9-11 Commission believes bin Laden was/
remains funded by wealthy sympathizers.
Bin Laden, Zawahiri and al Qaeda
 Bin Laden’s philosophy:
o Contends after Abdullah Azzam that Islam
is corrupted and needs purification.
o Blame is placed on heretical Islamic leaders
o Believes much of the corruption is due to
values and economic power of the West
▪ Especially the U.S.
o Called to destroy the evil influence
Bin Laden, Zawahiri and al Qaeda
 Ayman al Zawahiri
o Son of a prominent Egyptian family who became
active in the Muslim Brotherhood and later in
Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
o Creator of Egyptian Islamic Jihad.
o bin Laden joined Zawahiri
▪
▪
In 1996 they declared war on the United States.
In 1998 they declared the formation of the World Islamic
Front against Jews and Crusaders.
 Ayman al Zawahiri’s philosophy
o Jihadists should focus on the ‘near enemy’
(Corrupt governments in Muslim societies) before
turning against ‘far enemy’ (Israel, the U.S.A).
Bin Laden, Zawahiri and al Qaeda
 Al Qaeda’s Political Theology
o Radical Islamic schools – madrassas – glamorize
violence.
o Al Qaeda emphasizes its mission as a vanguard
of popular uprising.
o Many terrorist organizations uses al Qaeda in their
names but tended to be fully autonomous groups
with no connection to the al Qaeda structure that
exists in Pakistan today.
o Martin Hart believes that al Qaeda has lost much
of its appeal because it has failed to inspire
religious support beyond the members of its cells.
Misappropriated Theology
 Myth
o Jihadist theology of violence does not convey
the meaning of Islam.
o Islam is a religion valuing peace and
toleration.
o Violent passages like those in the Koran can
be found in the writings of all major religions.
 “...kill the disbelievers wherever we find them” (Koran
2:191)
 “fight and slay the Pagans, seize them, beleaguer
them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem”
(Koran 9:5)
 “murder them and treat them harshly” (Koran 9:123)
Misappropriated Theology
 The truth
o Muslims quote early, relatively peaceful,
tolerant verses while obscuring the more
violent verses that abrogated those early
verses.
o Muslims believe that peace comes with the
completion of global conquest when every
person on Earth submits to the will of Allah
(by force if necessary). In that sense, Islam
is a religion of peace.
Misappropriated Theology
 Confusion about mainstream Islam complicates
attempts to understand Jihadists.
o
o
o
o
Misunderstandings increase when Jihadists use religious
rhetoric and language.
Militant Muslims depart from the path of Islam while
endorsing violence.
Jihad is a duty and means for imposing their strict form of
Islam.
Muslims are allowed to lie to unbelievers in order to defeat
them.
▪
▪
▪
In order to protect Islam.
In order to gain the trust of non believers in order to draw out
their vulnerability and defeat them.
By Taqiyya (lie) and Kitman (omission)
Origins of Jihadist Networks
 Foundation of modern Jihadist power grew
from the Cold War.
 Western allies channeled support to militant
and nonviolent purification movements within
Islam.
o U.S. formed an alliance with Pakistani Interservice
Intelligence Agency (ISI).
o Began training and equipping the mujahideen, holy
warriors.
o Increased activities against the Soviets.
U.S. and the Mujahideen
 Research points to several important
conclusions:
o The U.S. helped Saudi Arabia develop a funding
mechanism and underground arms network to
supply the mujahideen.
o U.S. agreed to give most of the weapons and
supplies to the ISI.
o Islamic charities flourished in the U.S.
 Donations supported the mujahideen.
o U.S. abandoned war-torn Afghanistan when the
Soviets left in 1989.
 Virtually ignored by the U.S., the Jihadist
movement grew.
Jihad in Afghanistan
 al Qaeda was one of many paramilitary
groups fighting in Afghanistan.
 U.S. failed to recognize the problem
o U.S. oil companies sought alliances with
hopes of building an oil pipeline from
Central Asia to the Indian Ocean.
o U.S. paid more attention to potential profits
than to political problems in Afghanistan.
▪ Essentially ignoring the issues
War on the U.S.
 Osama bin Laden declared war on the U.S. in
1996.
 Followed this by two religious rulings, fatwas,
in 1998.
o Fatwas reveal much about the nature of al Qaeda
and bin Laden.
o bin Laden represents new phase in Middle Eastern
terrorism.
o bin Laden uses Islam to call for religious violence.
o bin Laden’s purpose is to kill; Fatwas call for the
killing of any American anywhere in the world.
America Responds: Afghanistan and Iraq
 The Afghanistan Invasion
o After September 11 America enjoyed international
support because most of the world community felt
that America was justifiably responding to the 9/11
attacks.
o The Afghanistan war evolved into a
counterinsurgency campaign against the Taliban.
o The Bush administration began policy of attacks
against militants in Pakistan.
 Obama's administration continues this policy.
o Counterinsurgency gave way to nation building, a
task far beyond the original scope of the mission.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
 Bush’s shift in attention from al Qaeda to Iraq
caused the U.S. to lose the national and
international support it enjoyed after
September 11.
 Two suppositions by the Bush administration:
o Iraq was holding weapons of mass destruction.
▪
Never found
o Hussein established ties with al Qaeda.
 These actions may have given Jihadists
incentive to fight.
 U.S. needs to fight terrorism by allying itself
with the international community.
Operation Iraqi Freedom
 The Iraqi War
o Quick defeat of Saddam Husain quickly
turned to campaign of violence against the
United States and its allies.
o The insurgency in Iraq was not simply
terrorism.
▪ Former Baathists
▪ Iraqis who sought the rapid departure of the
United States
▪ Jihadists who came to Iraq to fight the USA
Al Qaeda Operational Capabilities
 After 9/11 al Qaeda ability to attack changed.
o Still plotting and conducting attacks in the first
decade of the 21st century; by the end of the
decade its offensive capabilities were changing.
 Segeman
o The greatest threat to the west comes from
marginalized western Muslim immigrants and
citizens that feel disenfranchised.
o al Qaeda remains a significant presence, but the
internet has become the most important source of
radicalization.
Al Qaeda Operational Capabilities
 Hoffman
o Intelligence assessments in Europe and the United
States
 Bergen
o Al Qaeda has suffered the loss of key operatives.
o Al Qaeda has declining support among Muslims
because of its attacks on civilians.
 Von Knop
o Women have become increasingly important in al
Qaeda, typically recruited in sisterhoods.
Networks in the Horn of Africa
 Kenya
o
The only sub-Saharan with al Qaeda cells, but there are many
other known jihadist organizations in the Horn.
 The Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa
o

(CJTH-HOA) has been effective in limiting jihadist activities, but
the area still has an unstable political environment and a
population that supports terrorism against the U.S. and its allies.
Al Shabab
o
o
o
Emerged in Somalia in 2006 after the retreat of the Islamic
Courts Union.
Some observers emphasize connections with al Qaeda, others
emphasize its primarily local emphasis.
Nevertheless, Somalis living in the United States have been
drawn to service in their homeland.
Pakistan
 Two international issues dominate
Pakistan: nuclear weapons and relations
with the United States.
 Pakistan has two groups associated
with jihadist networks: Lashkar-eTayibba (L-e-T), which operates under a
number of names; and the Pakistani
Taliban.
Other Networks
 Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (based in Yemen)
is the most active group in the jihadist network.
 Al Qaeda in the Maghreb developed in Algeria grew
out of jihadist civil war in the 1990s.
 Bangladesh, whose ports have become centers of
organized crime, has spawned two internal jihadist
groups:
o
o
ul-Jihadul-Islami
Harkat ul-Jihad.
 Bangladesh
o
Radical religious parties have grown over the past decade,
fueled by an increase in madrassas funded by Saudi Arabia
and other Gulf States.
Other Networks
 Thailand is experiencing a rebellion in the
southern states that are primarily Muslim in the
otherwise predominantly Buddhist country.
 Indonesia has seen the growth of jihadist groups
since it gained independence from the
Netherlands following World War II.
o
Laskar Jihad and Jamaat Islamiyya have had contacts
with Osama bin Laden, but claim to be independent.
Other Networks
 The Philippines has seen the emergence of
three groups:
o Two are concerned with separatist movements in
the Southern islands of the archipelago:
▪
▪
the Moro National liberation Front
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front
o The third group, Abu Sayuf, claims to be
associated with the jihadist movement, but it is
more closely associated with criminal activity.