Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) is a major terrorist organization whose intent is to push aspiring jihadists, who are more willing to use its gruesome tactics to advance their local ambitions. The government of Yemen continues to fight for the provinces occupied by AQAP. Areas such as, the Abyan and Shabwa provinces are partly or entirely out of the governments control. The information delivered in this paper is intended to enable a better understanding of the agenda behind AQAP while examining AQAP’s influence of regional and global importance specifically U.S. interests.
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is formerly known as Al Qaeda in Yemen (AQY) was established in 1998 after the disestablishment of the Islamic Jihad in Yemen (1990-1994) and the Army of Aden in Abyan (1994-1998). The bombing of the USS Cole and the French oil tanker M/V Limburg illustrated the beginning of a threat to U.S. interest in the region by AQY. Abu Ali al-Harithi was the leader of AQY and was killed in 2002 by a U.S. drone strike. The death of this criminalist leader hampered the operations by AQY and put them in disarray. Unfortunately, in 2006 twenty-three terrorist escaped from the prison in Sanaa, Yemen which marked a critical turning point for AQY. In 2008 an Al Qaeda franchise fled across the border into Yemen due to a crackdown by the Saudi government. This franchise united with AQY and in 2009 merged under the banner of AQAP. Currently members from the groups mentioned previously hold top leadership positions in AQAP (Masters, 2011).
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has a significant affect on the regional interest within Yemen. Since the reestablishment of Al Qaeda in 2009, AQAP has continued to pressure different provi...
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...US interest will always be affected as AQAP undermines our relevance in the region Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is likely to continue its growth and reach on the world in order to continue jihad and push for all persons to be consumed under the Muslim faith.
Works Cited
Barfi, B. (2010). Yemen on the brink: The resurgence of al qaeda in yemen. New American Foundation, Retrieved from http://www.newamerica.net/sites/newamerica.net/
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Masters, J. (2011). Al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula (aqap). Council on Foreign Relations, Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/yemen/al-qaeda-arabian-peninsula-aqap/p9369
Smarick, K., & Miller, E. (2011, September). Background report: Al-qa'ida in the arabian peninsula (aqap), anwar al-awlaki, and samir khan. Retrieved from http://www.start.umd.edu/start/publications/br/BR_AQAP_alAwlakiandKhan.pdf
In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States was incredibly eager to strike back at the nations thought to be responsible for this horrific tragedy. These attacks were quickly attributed to the terrorist group al-Qa’ida, led by Osama bin Laden, and to the Taliban-run government of Afghanistan, which had provided sanctuary to al-Qa’ida. In response, Washington approved a covert plan led by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to directly attack those responsible in their Middle East safe haven. Initiated on 26 September 2001 with the approval of the warlords of the Afghan Northern Alliance, with whom the CIA had formed an intelligence liaison relationship, Operation Jawbreaker resulted in the fall of the Taliban regime, the killing and capture of a significant amount of al-Qa’ida leadership, and elimination of a terrorist safe haven by early December 2001. Moreover, the Taliban’s collapse denied al-Qa’ida a pseudo-nation-state partner, serving to reduce the organization’s sanctuary to areas residing along the Pakistani border.
Saddam’s government collapse in the US impacted the country of Iraq by creating a democratic government where the citizens have rights. Two years earlier Afghanistan was invaded by the us because their government was believed to be an aid to Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. Later the US defeated Afghanistan’s government, the Taliban and established a democratic government like in Iraq today. We can infer that the Middle East has complicated problem going on with the region, that not even the u.s. president can figure out. (Doc C) all in all the US has impacted the region of the Middle East and build a strong relationship with it over the past
attacks of terrorist cells, such as al-Qaeda. The strategic location of the base in Djibouti, Africa
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.
The relations between the U.S and the Middle East are strained at best. The troops deployed in the area face constant threat of attack by a militant group. These broken relations between the U.S and the Middle East started over 50 years ago, with the Iran Hostage Crisis. Root causes of the crisis were many. One was U.S greed over oil in Iran. The second, the coup in Iran organized and funded by the CIA. The U.S dependence on foreign oil is another cause of the problems. Lastly, should the U.S stop moving into other countries sovereign lands and trying to “Prevent the evil of communism”, the nation would not have so many problems around the world. This worry was even shown in Iran (Kinzer, 10). While often blamed on radicals, the strained relations between the U.S and the Middle East are a direct result of a poor US foreign policy.
On September 11, 2001, our country was hit with enormous devastation, just after eight o’clock a.m. the first of the twin towers was struck by a suicide pilot, the second was struck slightly later. The towers fell just after ten o’clock a.m., devastating the entire country, and ruining the lives of many. A plane also hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and another in rural Pennsylvania causing just as much grief. The U.S. is still in mourning, but standing tall, more Americans showed their American pride in the following months than ever before. In the months to come the only thing that was on the minds of millions was: Should we go to war? War is necessary for the survival of our country. Going to war with Iraq is a fight against terrorism. Many people believed that going to war with Iraq is unjust. Some believe that there are other ways in looking at the situation.
Indeed, as prior U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote when describing the war on terror, “this will be a war like none other our nation has faced.” However, these changes bring the morality of this new face of war into question, and the justification of drone use and other modern military tactics involved in the war on terror is a subject of much debate. Focusing on U.S. involvement in Yemen from 2010-2015 as part of the war on terror, this essay will argue that, while the U.S. has met most of the criteria of jus ad bellum, the methods the U.S. has employed to counter terrorist organizations such as al Qaeda have ultimately violated the principles of just war theory, even when analyzed from the perspective of modern warfare within the framework of the current global
Chaliand, G. & Arnaud, B. (2008). The history of terrorism: from antiquity to al Qaeda.
Khashan, Hilal. “The New World Order and the Tempo of Militant Islam.” British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. Volume 24, Issue 1 (1997. 5), 5-24.
This paper will discuss the history of the Houthis and the Yemeni government, the regional instability it causes and implications to the United States. This paper will also discuss consequences that will ensue if these issues continue to go unresolved and there is increas...
United States starts fighting terrorism in Afghanistan by overthrowing Taliban (Terrorist Organization). Tried to support Pakistan and Afghanistan people by bringing their Force into their countries to end war. When Osama Bin Laden was killed, it was a big victory for the US to change everything and not weaken Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda has a mission to overthrow all American troops from the land of Muslim countries. Here I recommend the United States to leave Muslim countries in their own way and do not intervene in their foreign policies and other internal decisions, if they really want to end up in a war on terror.
The United States Military Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa (HOA) is a geographical region that encompasses the countries of Djibouti, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, and neighboring Yemen. Each country in the region houses many culturally unique distinctions to include groups, which comprise the HOA area of operation. Specifically one of these culturally unique groups originates out of Yemen. The country of Yemen, according to a 2004 census, has reached almost 20 million people (UNDP, 2010). Over 45% of the population lives on less than $2.00 U.S. a day (UNDP, 2010). The poverty-stricken people in Yemen have shaped a cultural group that in essence contains the majority of the Country’s population. The purpose of this thesis is to illustrate the current Yemen culture shaped by the effects of poverty on the people of Yemen. These effects span a wide array of problematic issues predicated on three major topics. The effects of poverty on the people of Yemen include severe health problems spanning a majority of the region, the decay of the Country’s political infrastructure, and the growing support of terrorist organizations in the region. The dilemmas in Yemen did not solely originate internally. Yemen is host to some 91,587 (as of 2007) refugees from Somalia (CIA, 2011). The wake of events perpetuated by the effects of poverty on the people of Yemen, left unchecked, will continue to erode with significant and lasting negative effects on the entire HOA Area of Responsibility (AOR) to include local, regional, and U.S. interests.
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