Al Qaeda

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Al Qaeda

Al Qaeda ("the base" in Arabic) was established by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s, while he was in Afghanistan. Though, bin Laden and his associates never used this term, Al Qaeda, until after 9/11.[1]

The precursor to Al Qaeda was the Afghan Service Bureau (Maktab al-Khadamat or MAK), which organized Arab mujahidin in Afghanistan to resist the Soviets. Towards the end of the 1980s, key battles took place with mujahidin involvement, leading to the withdrawal of the Soviets in 1989. After the defeat of the Soviets, members of the mujahidin went home and desired social and political against the corrupt, dictatorial regimes in the Middle East. Al-Qaeda (MAK) provided support for those opposing the regimes in places including Somalia, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.[2]

As the Soviets were going down in defeat, bin Laden and Azzam had discussions about the future of MAK and what to do with the mujahidin force that had built up. Osama and Azzam both wanted to use the force as a "rapid reaction force" to defend oppressed Muslims around the world. He wanted to train the Egyptian mujahidin in terrorist tactics; Azzam strongly disagreed with this approach, issuing a fatwa saying that it would violate Islamic law. Azzam reiterated the hadith that orders Muslims not to kill any women or children.[3]

In 1989, Bin Laden split from his former mentor, Abdullah Azzam, taking a more radical path where he advocated jihad against governments across the Muslim world.[4] In November 1989, soon after bin Laden and Azzam split, Azzam was killed in Peshawar, Pakistan. Azzam and his two sons were travelling to Jummah (Friday prayer) when a remote-control activated bomb detonated and killed them. It is not known for certain if Osama was behind this, but thought unlikely. Nonetheless, Osama was free to take full control of MAK, laying groundwork for Al Qaeda.[5]

Umar Abd al-Rahman (the "Blind Sheihk"), who was spiritual leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group, succeeded Azzam as leader of the "international jihadists" and spiritual leader of Al Qaeda.[6] Under guidance of Dr. Ayman Muhammad Rabi' al-Zawahiri, Osama became more radical.[6] Progress against the Arab regimes was slow, so Al Qaeda decided to also give attention to the United States and its allies as targets. Bin Laden believed that the United States, Israel and western allies stood in the way of regime change in the Middle East.[7]

Ideology

Al Qaeda adheres to an ideology of radical Islamism, a form of religious totalitarianism, which views the world as one where "faith must reign supreme and can be affirmed and held passionately only if all others are negated."[8] In many Islamic madrasas, children are taught this fundamentalist religious ideology. In contrast, the United States and many other western countries reflect an ideology of pluralism, which embraces religious diversity and tolerates secularism and other religions.

In its desire to oust regimes in the Middle East, Al Qaeda's position is that "Islamic governments have never been and never will be established through peaceful solutions and cooperative councils. They are established as they [always] have been, by pen and gun by word and bullet by tongue and teeth."[9][10]

Characteristics

Al Qaeda has worked as a shadowy group, using various other names, and maintains tight controls on who an join the inner circles.[11] Al Qaeda followed several key protocols, including never to claim responsibility for its acts.[12]

Another hallmark of Al Qaeda are the lengthy, elaborate preparations for attacks, as well as extensive training for recruits. Between 1989 and October 2001, an estimated 70,000 - 110,000 recruits were trained by Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.[13][14]

Unlike suicide bombers in the Palestinian intifada who often come from impoverished backgrounds, the 9/11 hijackers and many other Al Qaeda members are well-educated and come from more privileged backgrounds. When they came to the U.S., the hijackers easily blended into the society, shaving their beards, working out at gyms, and some drinking alcohol.[15]

Though operating from remote parts of Afghanistan, Al Qaeda makes use of modern techniques and technology.[15] Back in 1996, when Bin Laden issued his first fatwa, he used a computer (Apple Macintosh) to prepare the message, had it e-mailed or faxed to others in Pakistan and the U.K., who got it to the news media who spread it widely across the Middle East and elsewhere.[16]

Bin Laden has managed al-Qaeda in a very businesslike manner, influenced by how his father operated the Saudi Bin Laden Group. Al Qaeda has a shura counsel that advises Bin Laden and is involved in formulating general policies for the organization. Al Qaeda also has various subcommittees, managing military affairs, business interests, media, and other aspects.[17]

In December 2001, Wall Street Journal reporter Alan Cullison bought a computer from a looter, which was used by senior Al Qaeda members and taken following a November 2001 bombing raid that killed several Al Qaeda members.[18] The computer contained numerous files that reveal the inner workings of Al Qaeda. Memos on the computer referred to Al Qaeda as "the company" and its leadership as "the management".[19] The computer also contained files relating to Al Qaeda's chemical and biological weapons programs, as well as a propaganda video celebrating the attacks which featured 9/11 footage.[20] As well, there was a letter with details on the death of anti-Taliban leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud, on September 9, 2001, who was conned into an interview with a "journalist" and killed when a bomb detonated.[21]

Funding

Al Qaeda was not funded out of Bin Laden's personal fortune, but rather from funds raised through charities, as well as "legitimate" business activities. While Bin Laden was based in Sudan in the early and mid-1990s, the organization operated numerous legitimate businesses and paid salaries to Al Qaeda members.

Training camps

At the time of the 9/11 attacks, Indian intelligence officials estimated there were over 120 Al Qaeda training camps operating in Afghanistan, as well as some camps in Pakistan that may have been operated by Al-Badr, a possibly related group.[22]

According to a CIA report, by early 2001, Al Qaeda had trained as many as 5,000 militants, who in turn had created cells in 50 countries.[23]

At the al-Badr camp in Afghanistan during the 1990s, recruits were trained in use of high-tech explosives.[15]

Hamza al-Ghamdi, Ahmed al-Ghamdi, and other "muscle" hijackers are known to have trained at the al-Farouq camp in Afghanistan.[24] There, Mohammed Zein Abu Zubaydah selected the participants for the 9/11 attacks.

African embassy bombing trials

In January-February 2001, four members of Al Qaeda went on trial for the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The defendants included Wadih El-Hage, Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali, Mohammed Saddiq Odeh and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed. The trial included testimony from Al Qaeda defectors, L'Houssaine Kherchtou and Jamal Ahmed Al-Fadl.[25] Ali A. Mohamed also provided important information during the trial.[26]

Notable members

  • Osama bin Laden - leader
  • Abd al Aziz al-Jamal
  • Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi - also known as Abu Abdallah.
  • Abd al Rahim al Nashiri - Subordinate commander, mastermind of the Cole bombing and the eventual head of al Qaeda operations in the Arabian Peninsula
  • Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah - 1998 indictment
  • Abdullah Azzam - Involved in the mujahidin, along with Osama, during the 1980s. Together, they established the Afghan Service Bureau (MAK) to coordinate Arab mujahidin in Afghanistan.
  • Abu Basir al-Yamani - bin Laden aide
  • Abu Hafs (the Mauritanian) - also known as Mahfouz Ould al-Walid and Khalid Al-Shanqiti, involved in 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Africa
  • Abu Mohamed al-Masri - involved in the 1998 United States embassy bombings
  • Abu Musab Zarqawi - Involved in Iraq
  • Abu Zubair al-Haili - operational commander
  • Abu Zubaydah - also known as Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn and Tariq; a Pakistani, was the former head of Egypt's Islamic Jihad. As a top lieutenant of Bin Laden, he was the "director of external affairs", responsible for Al Qaeda recruitment.[27]
  • Ahmad Sa'id al-Kadr (aka Abu Abd Al-Rahman Al-Kanadi and Abu Abdurrahman) - bin Laden aide
  • Ali A. Mohamed - Egyptian and naturalized U.S. citizen, involved in 1998 African embassy bombings, pleaded guilty and provided testimony in the 2001 trial of four others.
  • Amin al-Haq (aka Muhammad Amin) - security coordinator for bin Laden
  • Ayman al-Zawahiri - former leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad* Bilal Bin Marwan - bin Laden senior lieutenant
  • Ibn Al-Shaykh al-Libi
  • Issa al Britani (Dhiren Barot) - sent to Malaysia by KSM in 1998/99 and to the United States in 2001. Arrested in August 2004, for involvement in the 2004 Financial buildings plot.
  • Jihad Mohammad Ali al Makki (also known as Azzam) - Suicide bomber for the Nairobi attack, cousin of Nashiri
  • Khalfan Khamis Mohamed - Tanzanian, involved in 1998 African embassy bombings, went on trial in early 2001.
  • Khalid Sheikh Mohammed - Subordinate commander, chief manager of the "planes operation."
  • Mahfouz Ould Walid - bin Laden top aide; thought to have assumed operational control of al Qaeda's military committee, following the death of Atef in 2001.[28]
  • Mamdouh Mahmud Salim - Bin Laden aide, studied electrical engineering in Iraq;[29] Arrested in Germany, charged with involvement in the 1998 African embassy bombings.[30]
  • Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-'Owhali - Saudi, involved in 1998 African embassy bombings, went on trial in early 2001.
  • Mohammed Atef (Atif) - leader
  • Mohammed Salameh - Yousef co-conspirator in 1993 WTC bombing
  • Mohammed Saddiq Odeh - Jordanian, involved with 1998 African embassy bombings, went on trial in early 2001.
  • Muhammad Salah - also known as Nasr Fahmi Nasr Hasanayn.
  • Muhsin Musa Matwalli Atwah - 1998 indictment
  • Ramzi Yousef - 1993 WTC bombing, nephew of KSM
  • Riduan Isamuddin (better known as Hambali) - Subordinate commander, Southeast Asia operations
  • Sa'ad bin Laden - Osama's son, possibly a successor to his father.[28]
  • Saif al-Adel (Sayf al-Adl) - Egyptian, involved in the 1998 United States embassy bombings; thought to have assumed operational control of al Qaeda's military committee, following the death of Atef in 2001.[28] Trainer, military leader, and key member of bin Laden's security detail.[31] Adl's diary was recovered in a 2004 raid in Saudi Arabia.[31]
  • Saqar al-Jadawi - bin Laden aide
  • Shaykh Saiid - also known as Mustafa Muhammad Ahmad.
  • Sulaiman Abu Ghaith - al Qaeda spokesperson
  • Tariq Anwar Al-Sayyid Ahmad - also known as Fathi and Amr al-Fatih.
  • Tawfiq Attash Khallad - operational commander
  • Thirwat Salah Shihata - Egyption Islamic Jihad
  • Umar Abd al-Rahman (the "Blind Sheihk") - Successor to Azzam as spiritual leader of Al Qaeda; arrested after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.
  • Wadih El-Hage - American citizen, involved in the 1998 African embassy bombings, went on trial in early 2001.
  • Wali Khan Amin Shah, also known as Usama Asmurai - enlisted by KSM in Manila air plot
  • Zaid Khayr - operational commander

Hamburg cell

Hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, and Ziad Jarrah all spent time in Hamburg, where they were students and part of the Hamburg cell that was involved in the 9/11 plot.

Others in Hamburg:

Hizbul-Ittihad El-Islami (Islamic Union Party)

  • Abdul Rasul Sayyaf - provided KSM with military training at Sayyaf's Sada camp

Jemaah Islamiyah

Hambali and Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) assisted al Qaeda operatives passing through Kuala Lumpur. One important occasion was in December 1999-January 2000. Hambali accommodated KSM's requests to help several veterans whom KSM had just finished training in Karachi. They included Tawfiq bin Attash, also known as Khallad, who later would help bomb the USS Cole, and future 9/11 hijackers Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mihdhar. Hambali arranged lodging for them and helped them purchase airline tickets for their onward travel. Later that year, Hambali and his crew would provide accommodations and other assistance (including information on flight schools and help in acquiring ammonium nitrate) for Zacarias Moussaoui, an al Qaeda operative sent to Malaysia by Atef and KSM.

Hambali used Bin Ladin's Afghan facilities as a training ground for JI recruits. Though he had a close relationship with Atef and KSM, he maintained JI's institutional independence from al Qaeda. Hambali insists that he did not discuss operations with Bin Ladin or swear allegiance to him, having already given such a pledge of loyalty to Bashir, Sungkar's successor as JI leader. Thus, like any powerful bureaucrat defending his domain, Hambali objected when al Qaeda leadership tried to assign JI members to terrorist projects without notifying him.

Members

  • Abdullah Sungkar - Indonesian Muslim cleric co-founder and leader of Jemaah Islamiyah
  • Abu Bakar Bashir - co-founder of Jemaah Islamiyah
  • Yazid Sufaat - U.S.-educated JI member
    • Al Qaeda needed a scientist to take over its biological weapons program. Hambali obliged by introducing a U.S.-educated JI member, Yazid Sufaat, to Ayman al Zawahiri in Kandahar. In 2001, Sufaat would spend several months attempting to cultivate anthrax for al Qaeda in a laboratory he helped set up near the Kandahar airport.

Other related groups

Abu Sayyaf

Abu Sayyaf is a militant separatist group in the Philippines, which has carried out numerous terrorist attacks. The group was led by Ustadz Abdurajak Janjalani, who befriended Osama bin Laden, while he was in Khost, Afghanistan training in an Al Qaeda camp.[32]

Responsibility for 9/11

A video on the computer obtained in December 2001 by the Wall Street Journal contained a video, which showed Sheikh Abu Gaith, a top al-Qaeda figure. In the video, he appeared to acknowledge al Qaeda's responsibility for the attacks, "God Almighty has enabled our brothers to carry out these strikes," he says, "and make the enemies of God taste what they made our brothers taste."[21]

During a 2002 interview with Al Jazeera journalist Yosri Fouda, Binalshibh provided Fouda with a 112-page document, entitled The Reality of the New Crusaders War, which explained Al Qaeda's "justification" for the attacks under Islamic teaching.[33]

Motives

In May 2005, Sayf al-Adl outlined some of the motives for the 9/11 attacks, including:

  • Prompting the United States "to come out of its hole" By drawing America into the Middle East, he explained, Al Qaeda knew it could easily fight Americans and that it would gain "credibility" among Muslims and "the beleaguered people of the world."[34]
  • According to Al Adl, Al Qaeda's "main objective" in perpetrating the September 11 attacks was to carry out a damaging strike against the United States in retaliation for its perceived aggression in the Islamic world. Al Adl indicates that in the opinion of Al Qaeda's leadership, this primary objective was "partially achieved," although "other strikes" would have had a greater impact if they had been successful.[35]
  • A third objective was to signal and support the "emergence of a new virtuous leadership" dedicated to opposing "the Zionist-Anglo-Saxon-Protestant coalition" that Al Qaeda blames for a litany of social and political ills in the Islamic world. This reflects Al Qaeda's views of themselves as the vanguard of a broader global Islamic movement and their desire to inspire political upheaval and change across the Islamic world.[35]

Videos

Partial list of videos produced by Al Qaeda:[36]

  • The Destruction of the Destroyer USS Cole - pre 9/11
  • The New Crusader Wars - February 2002
  • Wills of tne NY & Washington Battle Martyrs (Arabic and English) - April 2002
  • The Nineteen Martyrs (Arabic and English) - September 2002
  • Address to Americans & Muslims in Iraq (English) - August 2003
  • American Hell in Afghanistan & Iraq (Arabic and English) - September 2003
  • The Wills of the Heroes: The Martyrs of the Two Holy Places - October 2003
  • The Martyrs of Confrontations on the Arabian Peninsula - December 2003
  • Badr al-Riyadh: The Assault on the Crusader al-Muhaya Settlement and Discovering Important Details - February 2004
  • Azzam al-Amriki Statement - Fall 2004
  • The Ten Matryrs of Riyadh - April 2005

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gunaratna, Rohan (2002) Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror. Berkley Books.
  2. ↑ Gunaratna, Ronan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 6-7. 
  3. ↑ Gunaratna, Ronan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 29-30. 
  4. ↑ Bergen, Peter L. (2006) The Osama bin Laden I Know Free Press
  5. ↑ Gunaratna, Ronan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 31. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gunaratna, Ronan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 33. 
  7. ↑ Gunaratna, Ronan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 7. 
  8. ↑ Friedman, Thomas. "The Real War", The New York Times, November 27, 2001.
  9. ↑ Gunaratna, Rohan (2003). Inside: Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 7. 
  10. ↑ "Declaration of Jihad Against the Country's Tyrants, Military Series, Al Qaeda Training Manual", recovered from Manchester, U.K. Government Exhibit 1677 T. Recovered by the Manchester Police from the home of Nazihal Wadih Raghie, May 10, 2000
  11. ↑ Gunaratna, Rohan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books. 
  12. ↑ Gunaratna, Rohan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 8. 
  13. ↑ Gunaratna, Rohan (2002). Inside Al Qaeda. Berkley Books, p. 8. 
  14. ↑ Bin Laden's martyrs for the cause, Financial Times, November 28, 2001
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Bergen, Peter L. (2001). Holy War Inc.. Simon & Schuster, p. 29. 
  16. ↑ Bergen, Peter L. (2001). Holy War Inc.. Simon & Schuster, p. 30. 
  17. ↑ Bergen, Peter L. (2001). Holy War Inc.. Simon & Schuster, p. 31. 
  18. ↑ Alan Cullison of The Wall Street Journal discusses his purchase of a computer used by al-Qaida CNBC News Transcripts December 31, 2001
  19. ↑ Wall Street Journal says Kabul computer revealed files by top al-Qaida officials December 31, 2001, Monday, Associated Press - BC cycle
  20. ↑ Al-Qaida Files Revealed on Computer Associated Press Online December 31, 2001
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Al-Qaida Leave Cybermemos Behind; Top Aides' Computer Hard Drive Has Chilling Plans, Petty Frustrations, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 1, 2002.
  22. ↑ Bindra, Satinder. "India identifies terrorist training camps", CNN, September 19, 2001.
  23. ↑ Engelberg, Stephen. "One Man and a Global Web of Violence", The New York Times, January 14, 2001.
  24. ↑ "Driving a Wedge - Bin Laden, the US and Saudi Arabia (Part 1)", The Boston Globe, March 3, 2002.
  25. ↑ Goldman, John J.. "2nd Bin Laden Defector Tells of Targeting Bomb Sites", Los Angeles Times, February 22, 2001.
  26. ↑ Weiser, Benjamin. "Informer's Part in Terror Case Is Detailed", The New York Times, December 22, 2000.
  27. ↑ Bin Laden's martyrs for the cause, Financial Times, November 28, 2001.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Finn, Peter. "Al Qaeda Deputies Harbored by Iran; Pair Are Plotting Attacks, Sources Say", The Washington Post, August 28, 2002.
  29. ↑ Bergen, Peter L. (2001). Holy War Inc.. Simon & Schuster, p. 31. 
  30. ↑ The Suspects & Charges. PBS Frontline.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Binalshibh hearing transcript
  32. ↑ Smith, Paul J. (2004). Terrorism and Violence in Southeast Asia. M.E. Sharpe, p. 42. 
  33. ↑ Fielding, Nick. "Al-Qaeda puts its case for 'glorious' 9/11", Sunday Times (London), September 8, 2002.
  34. ↑ Khatchadourian, Raffi. "Behind Enemy Lines", The Nation, April 27, 2006.
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Blanchard, Christopher M. (June 20, 2005). Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology. Congressional Research Service Report.
  36. ↑ Al Qaeda videos. IntelCenter.

Other references

Books

  • Benjamin, Daniel, Steven Simon (2002) The Age of Sacred Terror, Random House.
  • Ibrahim, Raymond (2007) The Al Qaeda Reader, Doubleday.
  • Marty, Martin E., R. Scott Appleby (1994) Fundamentalisms Observed, University of Chicago Press.
  • Napoleoni, Loretta (2005). Terror Incorporated: Tracing The Dollars Behind The Terror Networks. Seven Stories Press. 
  • Sivan, Emmanuel (1990) Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics, Yale University Press.

Articles

Technology

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