The Al Qaeda and Its Attempt to Use Chemical and Biological Warfare as a Means of Attack
For approximately the past three decades, a terrorist group has come to plague the world with its activities (Gunaratna, 2002). This group is known as Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, when translated means “The Base”. It is a terrorist organization that seeks to remove western influence from the Middle East and spread its radical Islamic views. Al Qaeda’s most prominent leader was Osama bin Laden, until his death during a raid upon his compound in Pakistan. The Al Qaeda’s motivation stems primarily from extreme and deeply rooted religious beliefs. Their most used method of attack is through suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. This organization has also used chemical warfare and at this time is believed to still actively seek to utilize chemical and biological agents as means to battle.
The most infamous leader of the Al Qaeda is Osama bin Laden of Saudi Arabia. Osama Bin Laden did not derive his theories, practices, or views because he was educated or raised through the teachings of Islamic seminaries, though his principal inspiration appears to be based upon far-reaching religious sentiment. His higher education was actually the study of engineering at a prominent university in Saudi Arabia (Schweitzer and Shay, 2003). Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian, was a highly regarded mentor and the primary source of persuasion for Bin Laden’s ideology and fundamental vision. Azzam was the main architect behind jihad views and is credited as the founder of Al Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden also shaped his outlook from the works and actions of zealous Islamic philosophers from all over the middle-eastern region of the world that opposed Soviet occupation (...
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...spread cells, and gaining support, and constantly evolving employment of technology, it continues to thrive. Friendly forces continue to gain knowledge about the Al Qaeda in efforts to bring the organization down and prevent further implementation of chemical or biological warfare.
Works Cited
Gunaratna, R. (2002). Inside al qaeda: Global network of terror. Chichester: Columbia University Press.
Karasik, T. W. (2002). Toxic warfare. Santa Monica: RAND.
Schweitzer, Y., & Shay, S. (2003). The globalization of terror: The challenge of al-qaida and the response of the international community. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
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(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=6
Operations forces and UAV’s has been a key role in operations to counteract al-Qaeda lead
Where did the animosity which lead to the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 originate? It is obvious at this point in time that the leader of the al Qaeda network, Osama bin Laden, was the mastermind behind the attacks, but the reasons why the attacks occurred and the fact that a small majority of people can support such acts remains very unclear. Osama bin Laden stated in his February 1998 Fatwah, “The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies- civilians and military- is an individual duty for every Muslim.” When examining the three direct reasons given by Osama bin Laden to kill Americans his reasoning based on factual evidence veers far from the truth and his reasoning based on religion is not a true reflection of the Islamic religion thus creating an illogical argument. Osama bin Laden’s reasons for killing Americans and their allies are insufficient in the sense that his claims about United State’s motivations are wrong and that his justifications are not rooted in the Muslim religion. In looking specifically at each of Osama bin Laden’s reasons their invalidity as well as, their true purpose, to create an uprising amongst his followers to succeed in his Fatwah, to kill Americans and their allies becomes apparent.
Currie, Stephen. "Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda." Terrorists and Terrorist Groups. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2002. 69-83. Print.
Osama bin Laden was perceived to be a brave, intelligent, and independent man who always held a high standard for himself and the Muslim world. He was driven by the term jihad, which means “holy war”. People viewed him as a genuine professional that embraced all aspects of his culture. The Christian West is considered Islam’s main enemy due to the perceived belief that they oppose Muslims and their culture. Muslims believe that the Israelis are trying to oppress them by claiming their rightful land, Palestine. This did not settle well with Osama and he would not stand to not do anything about it. As years went on, every decision he made was based off of his life and faith. Through radicalization, exile from homeland, and anti-western sentiments, Osama bin Laden built the terrorist organization known as Al- Qaeda.
In the post Osama bin Laden era al-Qaedist ideology is flourishing across the Arab world. A significant development has been the rise of al-Qaeda offshoots in the Middle East. The Abdallah Azzam Brigades franchise has increasingly become a noteworthy actor in terrorism. On May 8th, 2012 Thomas Nides, Deputy Secretary of State designated Abdallah Azzam Brigades as a foreign terrorist organization (Nides, T.R. , 2012). Abdullah Azzam Brigades may have only recently been added as a foreign terrorist group; nevertheless the organization has deep roots, lethal capacity, and is capable of contributing to supplementary instability in the Middle East.
Al Qaeda’s history began during the Cold War. Western countries, such as the United States, and its allies supported militant units within Islam to fight the Soviet Union. The United States formed an alliance with the Pakistan Interservice Intelligence Agency (ISI) (White, 2012). The ISI is equivalent to the United States intelligence agency CIA. The ISI, along with the United States began training and arming the mujahedeen (holy warriors) to fight the Soviet Union. In 1979, Afghan mujahedeen along with Saudi Arabia fought the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan (White, 2012). The United States supported the Afghan mujahedeen along with any other form of Islam to combat the Soviet Union. The United States developed an unde...
Terrorism is not a new concept and although the treat has been highlighted by the events of September 11th, there has been a history of terrorism in America leading as far back as the establishment of the country. Although the proverb of “one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter” can be true on certain accounts, there is a distinction. The CIA uses a definition outlined by Title 22 Section 2656f(d) of the US Code, which states, "terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents ” (2013). This definition has two important aspects, politically motivated violence and the targeting noncombatants. These two aspects address the motive and methods of a terrorist organization. Through the understanding of this definition it becomes clear that organizations like Al-Qaeda are ...
Broyles, Janell. Chemical and Biological Weapons in a Post-9/11 World. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2005. Print.
Chemical weapons and their use is one of the most important issues facing the world today. Not only is the use of such weapons highly controversial, but also the very idea of such weapons of mass destruction being in the hands of dangerous leaders. Next to nuclear weapons they are the most feared, and the prospect of these weapons not only concerns people, but also frightens them. As a result of these fears, America has entered a new war that could bring devastating effects upon our world. It is a very sensitive topic among many countries, and is out of hand primarily because of the introduction of chemical weapons to the world in the First World War. Many people have the same feelings about chemical weapons. Chemical weapons are wrong and those that exist in the world should be destroyed, but it is not that simple. Chemical weapons are very dangerous and even after their destruction, they are still very hazardous. Innocent people are being killed accidentally with chemical weapons, whether it is poor storage or bad transportation. The fact is that chemical weapons need to be destroyed, through very careful means. The production and use of chemical weapons is ethically wrong based on the devastating effects they have on the entire world. The weapons are something that is very difficult to get rid of, and we need to develop better ways to protect ourselves against their use and disposal.
Biological weapons are frightening, in part, because of limited public understanding of this type of warfare. The popular and uninformed opinion on biological warfare is that huge communities of people will be wiped out in one fell swoop by fatal infections. In this paper I will answer basic questions about biological warfare to provide a better understanding of what biological warfare means and how we can defend against it. Although biological warfare is frightening, it will not necessarily lead to the destruction of life on Earth. These infections are often fatal if untreated, but people can survive the illness if they seek appropriate medical treatment.
Al Qaeda is leading by Osama bin laden that was born and grown up in Saudi Arabia; his family was very rich and respected by Saudi Royal household and the public. When he finished his University in Saudi Arabia, he becomes an extreme religious person. Osama started to help Islamist movement against communist in Yemen (Gunaratna, 2005) . In December 1997 when Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan he went to Pakistan and then Afghanistan to help Afghan group to protect it from Soviet Union. At the time a Palestinian Jordanian, Dr Abdullah Azzam esta...
Likewise, Goodwin illustrates how the use of categorical terrorism can be seem being used by Al-Qaida during the attacks of 9/11. Nonetheless, it is evident that Al-Qaida is unusual in terms of using terrorism to influence the rise of unity rather than trying to overthrow a standing state. For the purpose of instigating a pan-Islamic revolutionary movement, Al-Qaida tries to unite all Islamic people under one state to develop umma, or Muslim community. The logic of Al-Qaida remained that if their “revolutionaries” could illicit a reaction from the powerful US state, resulting in oppression of the middle-eastern region, that Al-Qaida could, as a result, unite all Muslims to counter this suggested oppression. Although the end goal of Al-Qaida clear failed, it does suggest the organization’s attempt at implementing categorical terrorism.
Parallel to the rapid advancement of society is the increased emphasis placed upon technology. Simply put, it is as pervasive as ever. Yet it goes without saying that technology’s accelerated climb up the human pyramid of progress arrives with a cost: terrorism. On the basis of its most fundamental aspects, terrorism runs on the currency of fear (Zubay 1). In the modern context, terrorists have exploited the biological basis of the human race in order to forge the fatal idea of bioterrorism. The ultimate goal is to inject a note of fear within the general human population. Amongst the vast number of potential agents, ranging from viruses to biotoxins, a select few have noted abilities, particularly for their ease of dissemination, capacity to cause widespread anxiety, and potential to become biological weapons. Those that have been noted are catalogued into the Center for Disease Control’s Category A, B, and C list of bioweapon agents. Evidently, each agent has its own specific story. Ranging from the pathogenesis, epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of each agent, all of these facets grant terrorists an even greater convenience to further exert their reign of terror.
In reality, Al Qaeda dropped off the radar very abruptly and without a reason. Since the news sources have been focused more on ISIS, it is thought that Al Qaeda could be rebuilding their power in the background. In fact, it has been reported in Syria that there is an estimated 30,000 troops set up, containing the most skilled terrorists who have already planned past attacks. (cnn.com) While we have been watching ISIS attacks, Al Qaeda has begun hiding its face and recruiting members in places where war is happening. There is no way they are simply satisfied with their work, because there are still a ton of secular governments around the world. Because there is no single headquarters from the group and there are only little areas that they work from, it would be impossible to stop them from a specific area or source without causing uproar from unknown locations. Because they are decentralized, it is also almost impossible to scale how big or small the group is becoming. However, they definitely have less support than they used to. According to a poll taken in 2008, only 24% of Pakistanis support Bin Laden, compared to the 46% in 2007. (cfr.org) This is a step in the right direction. Al Qaeda still owns underground cells, though. Some have been found in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Albania, and Uganda. As they are recruiting members out
The founder of the Al Qaeda organization is Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda was founded and started in Peshawar, Pakistan. The origins of Al Qaeda are traced back between August 1988 and late 1989 to the Soviet War in Afghanistan. Qaeda is known for suicide attacks and bombing of various locations and targets. They believe that the killing of innocent civilians is religiously sanctioned and which means that it gives them the authoritative permission. The different Al Qaeda operations vary .