Category: Osama Bin Laden

There is a fine line between what humanity believes what is right and what is wrong. If we learned anything from history, it is that calculated and precise decisions are crucial factors in any outcome otherwise history is doomed to repeat itself. That is certainly the case when it comes to Operation Geronimo. I believe that President Barack Obama had the legal authority to order Operation Geronimo which led to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden, the founder and the first leader of the Islamic terrorist group, Al-Qaeda.

On September 11, 2001, the entire landscape of the United States shifted in the blink of an eye. It was early on a Tuesday morning when four airplanes were hijacked and initiated to carry out a suicide mission when the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City were hit. Two of the four planes that were hijacked were aimed to target the twin towers and it was categorized as a terrorist attack. At that moment, the United States quickly realized that it was under attack and it triggered President George W. Bush’s reaction for a counterattack. Reportedly, the masterminds behind the terrorist attacks were the Islamic terrorist group, Al Qaeda who was led by Osama Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden remained at the top of the most wanted list and was at large until Operation Geronimo would take effect. Around 2007, one of Osama Bin Laden’s closest couriers was identified which aided U.S. Intelligence officials in grasping ideas and theories on where the radical terrorist may be located. By the time 2010 came about, intelligence officials were able to pinpoint the courier to a compound in Pakistan known as Abbottabad. Once the compound was identified and verified as it being Osama Bin Laden’s hideout, President Barack Obama acted on getting the stamp of approval on Operation Geronimo. Operation Geronimo’s main objective was to capture Osama Bin Laden, dead or alive. President Obama organized a small special operations team known as SEAL Team Six, who were authorized to carry out the capture mission. On the morning of May 2, 2011, the mission would officially begin as a group of 25 Navy SEALs assumed to raid the compound. Osama Bin Laden was located on the third floor of the compound and was shot in the head as he was trying to resist. As SEAL Team Six was wrapping up their historic mission, they would clean up any remaining debris and/or destroying evidence such as demolishing one of their helicopters that crashed before capturing Osama Bin Laden. After proper identification was made that it was indeed Bin Laden, President Obama would address the nation and Osama Bin Laden’s body was buried at sea as it was compliable to the Islamic Law.

Operation Geronimo is believed to be a lawful military operation, however a lot of eyebrows were still being raised questioning the legality of the mission. Many believe that just because the world be better if Osama Bin Laden met his demise, doesn’t mean that conducting a raid without legitimate approval it isn’t breaking the law. President Barack Obama initially had to rely on Congressional approval but ordered the mission to take out an international threat that we have been hunting for about a decade. It came to a bit of a surprise to the masses throughout the country that the President and his legal team offered careful consideration and paid critical legal attention before moving forward with the Osama Bin Laden operation. Many would argue that it was unlawful or even unethical due to the fact that the Al-Qaeda leader was unarmed and/or did not indicate hostile intent. However, the “Rules of Engagement” within military operations would come to the conclusion that Osama Bin Laden was in fact a “combat-based target”. An article was written shortly after the raid giving key points on how targets can be identified regarding the “Rules of Engagement”:

“People who act in a hostile manner or display hostile intent. Hostile actions are easy to identify. (If a cabdriver fires a rifle at a soldier, he instantly becomes a combatant.) Establishing hostile intent is harder. (If a cab is racing toward a soldier, is the driver’s intent hostile, or is he drunk?) Whenever a soldier uses force, the rules say, his reaction must be proportional to the threat. In part because judging intent and proportionality are subjective, the Army scrutinizes every incident in which one of its weapons is discharged.” (2011, Raffi Khatchadourian).

The quote stated above would support the fact that Osama Bin Laden did display hostile intent despite being unarmed. The assumption can be made by the Navy SEALs involved that the mere presence of Osama Bin Laden would indicate hostile and criminal intent. His bodyguards were surrounding the Al-Qaeda leader shooting at the SEALs to ensure the safety of Bin Laden. Also due to past history of terrorist attacks, you never know who under Osama Bin Laden’s command can be wearing suicide vests, immediately putting the Navy SEALs lives in danger. These are heavily armed men who are categorized as “extremely dangerous individuals” that would save their leader by any means necessary. Many implications can be made on why anyone in support of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in general would have hostility in their blood. Thus, giving SEAL Team Six a justifiable alibi in order to move forward with the mission resulting in the assassination of the long-time Al-Qaeda patriarch. The outcome would result in major controversy due to President Obama jumping ahead of the congressional green light so to speak. The “International Humanitarian Law” also came into play due to the actions. The “International Humanitarian Law” was created simply to minimize armed conflict between host nations. It is also known as the “Law of War” which has the primary objective of protecting individuals who are no longer portraying malice intent or behavior. Many would argue that President Obama violated the “International Humanitarian Law” when he orchestrated and presumed Operation Geronimo due to the fact that Osama Bin Laden was unarmed and incognito. I personally believe that Al-Qaeda relinquished whatever rights they had within the “International Humanitarian Law” as they continue to plan attacks on the United States as recent events would show. President Obama was doing what was right in order to protect innocent civilians in the great country of the United States. Al-Qaeda’s criminal behavior clearly makes it problematic for the United States to cooperate with them under the “International Humanitarian Law” as it was understandably indicated that they were simply following orders of Osama Bin Laden. Such orders that would put ordinary citizens in danger and feel unsafe.

“We all agree that we’ve got to bring these terrorists to justice and to make sure that they’re never allowed to perpetrate such an evil act as they did. And so all of us are dealing with that. We know that the President has the authority to go to war under the War Powers Act.” (2001, Barbara Lee). The quote above is stating the full support of a Congresswoman regarding the president’s decision under the “War Powers Act of 1973”. The “War Powers Act of 1973” also known as the “War Powers Resolution” was officially initiated on November of 1973 following administrative preclusion by President Richard Nixon. The law’s judicial outline explain that the president’s as well as Congress’ decision will be taken into consideration when it comes to armed forces being deployed overseas. I support President Barack Obama’s decision. I believe that he had free reign and was exercising his rights under the ‘War Powers Act”. It is also led to believe that the law itself is an essential verification on the president’s ability to come to significant conclusions without official consent of the Congress. Many would believe that the President is challenging the War Powers Act due to him disregarding consent from Congress, however many attempts by Congress to take the matter to court have been ineffective. President Obama did what he and many believe what is wrong. The president acted on instinct in order to prevent further terrorism and save many innocent and law-abiding citizens from any future danger and/or threats for the time-being. This can be summed up as President Obama properly abiding by the “Law of Armed Conflict” in order to go after and capture a threat that has been at large for nearly a decade. One of the laws talk about preventing violations of the “Law of War” among others such as fighting only enemy combatants. Al-Qaeda has been our enemy since the infamous twin tower attacks and President Barack Obama did what was necessary.

In conclusion, I fully support President Barack Obama’s decision in ordering Operation Geronimo. Although many have arguments, I believe that the supporting facts in why it was a completely lawful military operation outweigh the people going against it. His legality is supported by the “International Humanitarian Law” which gave him full jurisdiction to engage the enemy identified as an international threat in order to save innocent lives. His “challenge” against the “War Powers Act of 1973” which resulted in the president acting without official consent from the Congress, showed outstanding leadership skills that saved innocent civilians as well. As the President of the United States of America, you must always lead by example and that is exactly what Barack Obama did.

In 1988, one of America’s worst enemies was founded in Pakistan. Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization, which happens to see the United States of America as the root of the Middle East problems. Like every terrorist organization, Al Qaeda is a strong believer that what they are doing is for a good cause and the greater good. Al Qaeda’s main goal is to overthrow the corrupt regimes in the Middle East and replace them with true Islamic governments (Byman, 2015). Throughout the years that Al-Qaeda has been active, it has planned several attacks and has infamously achieved going through their planned attacks. On September 11, 2001, the United States was changed forever due to the terrorist acts of Al-Qaeda. The terrorist organization planned skillfully and carefully three plane hijacks on the United States. The first two attacks hit the Twin Towers, in New York City. The third attack was towards the Pentagon and the fourth attack was headed towards the White House in Washington DC, but it failed. Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization, which used to be directed by Osama Bin Laden that hates the United States of America and wishes to destroy it for the “greater good.”

Organization’s History

Al Qaeda was founded on August 1988 to Bin Laden’s declaration of war against the United States in Afghanistan in 1966 (Bergen 2011). Information about Al Qaeda’s history was found in the Sarajevo office of the benevolence International Foundation, where a computer file was found with all the history inside. The formation of the organization lasted three days in Osama bin Laden’s house in Peshawar, Pakistan. At the meeting that formed the organization, there were two more men with Omasa, a military commander which ended up being Al Qaeda’s military commander and Al Qaeda’s religious advisor. The three leaders formed a council, a list of membership requirements, and an oath for all the new members Al Qaeda was destined to have.

Bin Laden named his organization Al Qaeda Al Askariya which is translated to “the military base.” Al Qaeda was founded to help support the Muslims that were fighting in the Sovi-Afgan war. Throughout the files that were found on the organization’s history bin Laden stresses the need for change over and over again. Part of the reason the organization was founded was bin Laden’s constant desire he had for change. Osama was part of the group of men that were fighting in the jihad (holy war) against the Soviets. It was there where he realized that he did not only want to support the troops he wanted to make a change and turn Afghanistan into an Islamists Government (History Channel 2019).

Development

Osama bin Laden created the organization in his house, and he was able to create an oath and a list of membership requirements. The organization was developed by its strong infamous leader and its religious advisor who helped get the word out and make the members believe that they are in the right with what they are doing. Al Qaeda’s development can be seen through its recruitment and training process. Without knowing its recruitment or training process one will never know how Al Qaeda came to be.

How does a terrorist organization recruit people to follow them blindly? There are many different answers to how a terrorist organization is able to have people follow them blindly, but the main reason will have to be because of faith. Faith is something the drives people to do what they are told, and faith is the reason why people actually go through and join certain groups. Al Qaeda focuses most of its recruitment in the Middle East and they come from a variety of backgrounds. The members that are in charge of recruiting show up to “mosques that are known for extremist interpretations of Islamic texts and seek out the most curious or fervent believers” (Counter Extremism project ). Another way the organization recruits its members is online. Using the internet and video games the organization sends religious messages that are able to catch people’s attention and lure them in. Lately, the organization has been focusing on recruiting young adults. They get people known as the “inbetweeners” who are people who don’t really have a place and an identity so when they see someone calling out to them and making them important they connect with them and end up joining the organization. Al Qaeda trick is that it finds the extremely faithful people that will do anything for their faith that they will join this type of organization. It also focuses on getting the people who have no place in their life and do not know what to do that they need to find a purpose.

Another aspect that contributes to the development of Al Qaeda will be the way it is training. Part of what makes Al Qaeda is the extensive training that its members have to go through. Its training ha a whole lot of different varieties it goes from actual physical training camps to all types of propaganda. They send messages throughout magazines and publish how to carry out attacks. Al Qaeda has a training Camp where people go and train how to be in combat. The training camps are located in various countries across the world a lot of the training camps are in Afghanistan. The training camps are usually eight months or longer to get their members in shape and ready to carry out any attacks. There are physical trainings and a type of training called indoctrination. Indoctrination is training through study, videos and praying. It is here Al Qaeda gives its trainees of the jihad that it wishes to inspire in them ( Counter Extremism Project).

One of the aspects of the organization that contributes to its development is its financing. Without the proper financing, the organization will most likely fail. In the beginning, Al Qaeda’s financer was Osama bin Laden. Since bin Laden’s death, Al Qaeda has received a number of donations and extorted funds for financing. Its donations come from private sectors such as private donors, Islamic charities, state sponsors, drug trafficking, bank robbery, and hostage taking. The organization has planned out every single detail to allow the organization to keep striving money wise and continue being one of the top terrorist organizations today.

Political Culture and Affiliations

Al Qaeda’s political culture is set on their beliefs, traditions, and character. The way they do the things they do is because of their political culture. They put what they value the most as their priority and act on it. To act on it they do countless attacks and get together with other groups to carry out their carefully and closely planned attacks. Just like any organization Al Qaeda is affiliated with multiple organizations that help them carry out their countless attacks.

Al Qaeda exists today due to its belief in their religion. The organization is in the middle of a holy war against all its enemies and anyone who don’t believe in their religion. Their attacks and reactions to many things that happen around the world is a response to their political culture. To this day they seek to remove all foreign influences in Muslim Countries and desire to create a new caliphate ruling over the entire Muslim world. They want the Muslim world to be ran and directed at all times by Islamic Leaders and believers. Al Qaeda is set up on the fact that it “would channel the energies of the Afghan mujahidin into fighting on behalf of the oppressed Muslims worldwide – a Islamic ‘rapid reaction force’ ready to spring to the defense of their fellow believers and to advance the principles of Islam on short notice” (Gunaratna, 2005). The members of Al Qaeda do not desire to see anyone with opposite beliefs to them ruling the Muslim world. They only seek to see the Muslims who share the same ideals as them and are willing to support the jihad in control of the Middle East.

The organization is affiliated with many other terrorist organizations around the world that help them carry out their planned attacks on their enemies. According to Alan Mclean (2011) from the New York Times, “Al Qaeda has six regional branches and affiliations with at least fourteen other terrorist groups.” All together they have operations in about thirty countries worldwide. The countries where Al Qaeda and the organizations that they are affiliated with have operation in are: China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt, Libya, Niger, Nigeria, Algeria, Mali, Senegal, Mauritania, Spain, Germany, Samia, Uganda, and Kenya. Al-Qaeda’s affiliates receive money, training, and weapons, and some of them just look at Al-Qaeda for guidance (Rollins, 2011).

It is unclear to know all of the groups are exactly affiliated with Al-Qaeda due to their secrecy. There is a group called Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group which happens to be one of Al Qaeda’s most lethal affiliates. The group shares the same ideology of Al Qaeda and they are responsible for several terrorist attacks including the Madrid train bombing in 2004. Another group that is associated with them is Ansar Al Islam which was founded in 2011 by militants loyal to Osama bin Laden whose goal is to establish an Islamic Nation in northern Iraq. Other groups that are affiliated with Al Qaeda are Ansar al-Sunna, Lashakr e Taiba, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (ADL 2019).

Leadership

When Al Qaeda first started it had one leader named Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden is one of the most infamous men to ever exist. Osama plotted the 9/11 terrorist attack where they hijacked four planes and crashed two into the twin tours, one into the pentagon, and the last one was headed towards the White house. After Osama bin Laden was executed by the United States Al Qaeda had other leaders that are in control till this day. Right after Osama’s death, Ayman Al-Zwahiri became the organization’s leader. Zawahiri is one of the most wanted terrorists that is believed to be the operational brains being the September 11 attacks on the United States. Since 2003 Zawahiri has been one of the organization’s most prominent spokesman appearing in dozens of videos and audiotapes (BBC 2015).

Another one of the leaders is Khalid al- Habib who is considered as the organization’s field commander in South East Afghanistan. Khalid was identified in November 2005 and is described as Al Qaeda’s military commander. Saif al Adel is a former Egyptian army colonel who was once Osama Bin Laden’s Security Chief ( BBC 2015). Adel was captured and arrested in Jordan and sent to the united states where he was released and made his way back to Iran. Adel has been involved in the “U.S embassy bombing in east Africa, training the Somali fighters who killed 18 us servicemen in Mogadishu, and instructing some of the September 11, 2001 hijackers.” Other leaders are Mustafa Hamid who was an instructor in tactics at an Al Qaeda training camp, Matiur Rehman who is Al Qaeda’s planning chief, Abu Khalil al-Madani, and Abou Mossab Abdelwadoud who is an infamous bomb-maker (BBC 2015).

Strength

Al Qaeda has always been strong with its attacks, beliefs, and recruiters. However, since September 11, 2011, Al Qaeda has gotten stronger and it seems like it won’t stop. Since September 11, Al Qaeda was recruited more than 40,000 members the more members it has the stronger it becomes (Taylor 2019). What has led the organization to become stronger is its patience and its strategic plans to remain on top. In order to stay on top and continue to strengthen Al Qaeda “has improved political control of major factions and rebuilt meaningful capabilities, and now seems poised to take advantage of a permissive strategic environment in Afghanistan” ( Mir, 2019). Improving its pollical control and rebuilding meaningful capabilities has allowed Al Qaeda to stay on top and continue strengthening.

Philosophy

The philosophy of the organization has always been violent and straight forward. Al Qaeda believes that the Muslim world should be ruled by the Islamic religion. For the most part, the philosophy of the organization has been pretty violent they make their statements through constant bombings and hijackings. Through their leaders, the members of Al- Qaeda wish to alleviate the Middle east from any foreign powers that do not allow them to promote sovereignty for Muslims ( Al – Gharbi 2014).

The organization’s true philosophy is their desire to see their members together with other groups trying to fight off corruption, injustice, and oppression. Their idea is to stand up for the Muslims and free the middle east of any power that wants to control it and their religion. A massive part of their philosophy has to do with their religion. They commit these terrorist attacks in order to prove a point for their religion. Their entire organization was founded based on religion, behind every single development of Al- Qaeda religion is a big part of it. They assume to think that what they do is morally correct because it is for their religion.

Attacks

Al Qaeda has declared a jihad on multiple countries who they believe are their enemies and against their religion. During their existence, Al Qaeda has committed multiple violent activities to prove their point. Apart from proving their points they have committed these violent attacks to recruit more members and have people fear them, so they won’t come and try to rule over the Muslim world. Al Qaeda is responsible for about 67 violent attacks.

From December 1992 through August 1998 Al Qaeda committed eight violent attacks. Their first attack consisted of them planting bombs in a hotel in Aden, Yemen where U.S. troops had stayed. The attack can be considered as them making a statement of how much they dislike the United States. Between April and June of 1993, the FBI topped bombs that Al Qaeda had plotted throughout New York, including the Statute of liberty, the united nation and in the diamond district. The last attack they committed in the 90s was on August 1998 where two suicide bombing occurred at the same time in a US embay in Dar es Salaam and in Kenya where about 258 people died ( Counter Extremist Project).

In the 2000s Al Qaeda has committed multiple attacks; the worst one being September 11, 2001. In 2001 Al Qaeda had members of their organizations get on four different flights where they ended hijacking the planes and crashing them into the twin towers, the Pentagon, and in a rural field in Pennsylvania ( Chikwendiu 2010). Around January and February 2002, a reporter from the Washington Post was kidnapped and beheaded in Pakistan by the terrorist organization. In 2019 Al Qaeda made countless attacks one after the other worldwide. The last attack they committed in 2019 was on August 21st and members of Al Qaeda ambushed Malian soldiers between the cities of Hombori and Boni; at least five soldiers are killed.

Overall

Al Qaeda today is still as strong as ever recruiting more than 40,00 members in persona and online. Al Qaeda is responsible for about 67 violent attacks worldwide. Every attack they commit is because they are trying to make a statement to drive out any foreign powers out of the Middle East and have the Middle East be ruled by the Islamic religion. Al Qaeda is one of the worst terrorists’ organizations to exist. With six regional branches and fourteen affiliated groups, Al Qaeda has committed several attacks and managed to destroy thousands of lives. To the organization what they do will be rewarded by Allah which is the Muslim God. They do what they think is best for their religion it doesn’t matter if it means bombing and killing innocent lives to prove a statement.

References

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Introduction

On President George W. Bush’s two hundred thirty-third night as Commander in Chief, he addressed our nation from the White House Oval Office in response to the horrendous acts committed on September 11th, 2001 that ended the lives of two thousand nine hundred ninety-seven Americans. In that address, President Bush stated: “The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts” (Bush, 2001) and just nine days later, on September 20th, President Bush officially announced to the world that the War on Terrorism was commenced. That declaration was made in front of a joint session of Congress after data and intelligence collected over the previous days pointed “to a collection of loosely affiliated terrorist organizations known as al Qaeda” (Bush, 2001).

Fast forward almost two decades later to the present day. The War on Terrorism continues as the United States of America’s longest and costliest conflict in its history. This paper will dive deep into two elements that contributed greatly to one major accomplishment in this enduring conflict that brought justice to many and symbolized hope for both citizens of the United States, and across the globe. That accomplishment? Operation Neptune Spear: the death of Osama bin Laden who was the architect behind the attacks on September 11th. The first element that will be discussed were the vital intelligence breakthroughs discovered by personnel inside The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and confirmed by personnel inside The National Security Agency (NSA) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The last component that will be discussed is how the daring and multifaceted military mission known as “Operation Neptune Spear” was conducted by the men comprised of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which “is a sub-unified command” of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM)” (United States Special Operations Command, n.d.).

Intelligence

Spring 2009, under the new administration of President Barack Obama, he met privately in the Oval Office with his newly confirmed CIA Director, Leon Panetta. In a CBS News exclusive interview with Steve Kroft, President Obama revealed what he said to Leon Panetta in that private meeting “We need to redouble our efforts in hunting bin Laden down and I want to start putting more resources, more focus, and more urgency into that mission” (Obama, 2011).

Then, in the summer of 2010, the first major breakthrough occurred in the hunt for bin Laden. The CIA located, and tracked a cell phone to one of bin Laden’s most trusted couriers, Abu Ahmed al-Kuwaiti in Peshawar, Pakistan that later linked him directly to al Qaeda. This event was a major lead as bin Laden strayed away from any phone, e-mail, or internet use as methods of communication in fear that enemies of his may be listening. Immediately after the phone interception, the CIA deployed two of their assets to the region with the objective to conduct surveillance, collect human intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence on the courier. Soon after, the two assets managed to follow the courier undetected from Peshawar to a fortified and expensive compound embedded in a neighborhood in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

After further observation, the compound raised significant suspicion as it was surrounded by twelve-foot-high concrete walls, the windows on the second and third floor were entirely blacked out, it was guarded with several armed personnel at two entry and exit gates, there was no visual of telephone or internet lines connecting the compound to the outside world, all trash was burned on-site, all children were homeschooled on-site, and no cellphone activity or signals were ever detected from the compound. During all of this ground observance, a dedicated satellite was monitoring the compound above in real-time by several analysts. The analysts charged with this duty noticed overtime that a much taller man compared to his fellow occupants never partook in any activities and only walked around outside within the walls, giving this man the nickname “pacer”. The analysts were able to estimate the pacer’s height by taking measurements of his shadow provided by the satellite overhead and calculated the much taller man to be around six-foot, five inches tall. Now, that enhanced level of protection and privacy for a property, along with the live satellite imagery of a rather tall man that never leaves the compound, has an established al Qaeda linked courier, and other intelligence evidence added to the suspicion that the compound may have belonged to Osama bin Laden.

The Operation

Over the course of several months as U.S. intelligence agencies were working hard around the clock to present their findings to the highest level, military officials from JSOC were also working hard to develop several military plans if an operation were to be authorized by President Obama. By early 2011, the evidence provided by the intelligence agencies was not “absolutely conclusive, it was circumstantial evidence that he (bin Laden) was going to be there” (Obama, 2011). Yet, President Obama felt he had enough confidence in everyone involved on this matter, the evidence was convincing enough, and the risks were outweighed by the benefit of finally catching or killing bin Laden.

Then, two military plans were presented to the President, his team, and his closest advisors for deliberation and approval. The first plan was a series of airstrikes directly on the compound, and the second approach would be a ground assault conducted by The Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), the premier counter-terrorism unit comprised of already highly trained, capable and elite Navy SEAL’s. The benefits of the airstrike tactic would have been the complete obliteration of the compound, the occupants in it, and it posed a minimal risk of danger to any U.S. military personnel. However, at what cost though? The airstrike approach had great potential for extensive collateral damage as the compound was located in a residential area, which would result in the death or injury of many innocent civilians, and if bin Laden was in the compound during an airstrike, the ability to verify his remains would be extremely difficult resulting from the power of the airstrikes. Subsequently, that plan was disapproved by the President and the ground assault approach was selected on the morning of April 29th, 2011 as it was deemed the best fit for executing the mission. While the ground approach would put these elite operators in significant danger, it would minimize collateral damage significantly, and allow for positive identification of bin Laden, if he was found in the compound dead or alive.

At around 14:00 hours Eastern Standard Time (EST) in Washington, D.C. on May 1st, 2011, President Obama walked downstairs to the White House Situation Room to meet and watch with his closest colleagues, and advisors Operation Neptune Spear unfold. Many hours ahead, across the globe, and on a moonless night in Abbottabad, Pakistan is was soon to be met with many American visitors with a common goal. Across the border in an American base in Jalalabad Afghanistan, two modified Blackhawk helicopters, and two Chinook helicopters controlled by pilots of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment took off to the compound in Abbottabad, about 160 miles away. Onboard the modified Blackhawks were two dozen DEVGRU members, and one tracing canine named Cairo. The two Chinooks carried extra combat personnel, equipment, and extra fuel for ariel-refueling. Flying low and fast to avoid detection by Pakistan military radar for about ninety minutes, they finally arrived at the compound at 15:30 EST. Immediately after arrival, one helicopter skillfully crash landed as it lost lift in the warm thin air. Fortunately, no injuries occurred, and the mission went on. DEVGRU members blasted their way into the compound by blowing up several walls and made their way inside on the first floor. They cleared the compound by eliminating combatants, and secured noncombatants. Then, they finally made their way to the third floor where they met their much-anticipated high valued target, Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden posed a significant threat to the point man and was immediately met with three rounds to the chest where he died immediately. Right after, it was heard over the radio ‘Geronimo (bin Laden’s code name) EKIA” (Enemy Killed in Action) (Owen & Maurer, 2016). Once the compound was secured enough, team members collected the remains of bodies into body bags, and others gathered any pieces of equipment and intelligence that they could to take back for future analysis. Just after 16:00 EST, the first helicopter departs back to Jalalabad Afghanistan, and minutes after team members on the ground blew up the down helicopter from the beginning of the assault. At 16:10 EST, the remaining personnel on the ground were picked up by a Chinook helicopter to head back to Jalalabad Afghanistan. Photos were taken, DNA tests were conducted, and a positive match that the man on the third floor of the compound that was killed was in fact, Osama bin Laden. After the troops arrived safely back in Jalalabad, and positive identification of bin Laden’s remains were verified, President Obama then addressed the nation at 23:35 EST about the successful raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and the chief architect of the September 11th attacks. An hour after that address, bin Laden’s body was buried at sea within twenty-four hours with respect to Islamic law, and to prevent his body from becoming a memorial of any sort. In all, the operation claimed the lives of five enemy combatants, including the world’s most wanted man.

Conclusion

Immediately after 9/11 when President Bush stated: “The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts” (Bush, 2001) to almost a decade later when President Obama stated: “The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.” (Obama, 2011) sent a clear message to the entire world that America’s willpower, grit, capacity, and motivation as a population are not to be tested. Information found in this paper embodied those words by identifying in detail how the hunt for Osama bin Laden was accomplished through executive, intelligence, and military collaboration and how the world’s most premier counter-terror assault team brought justice to the man who arguably deserved it most.

Islamophobia (noun): irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against Islam or people who practice Islam.[footnoteRef:1] After the September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, many people, especially Americans, associate Islam and Muslims with violence and extremism. Despite the overrepresentation of radical terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS in popular media, Islam at its core is a peaceful religion that shares roots with Christianity and Judaism. Many of the beliefs of Islamic terrorists can be traced back to Ibn Taymiyya, a thirteenth century Muslim. Ibn Taymiyya’s fundamentalist ideas in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries served as a justification for contemporary radicals such as Sayyid Qutb, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and Osama bin Laden to use violence as a means of expressing distorted beliefs of Islam. [1: “Definition of ISLAMOPHOBIA,” accessed April 11, 2019, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Islamophobia.]

In order to understand Ibn Taymiyya’s views and their effects on modern radicals, it is important to first understand where those views came from. Ibn Taymiyya was born in Harran in 1263. After the Mongols invaded in 1269, his family relocated to Damascus, which was under the rule of the Mamluks of Egypt, and where they remained a part of the minority Hanbali community.[footnoteRef:2] The Hanbali School of Law is generally thought of as the more traditional and strict of the four schools in Sunni Islam. While Sharia is still derived from the Quran and the Hadith, members of the Hanbali School believe that laws cannot be decided upon based on judicial or communal consensus when there is no clear answer in the sacred texts. These beliefs, along with Ibn Taymiyya’s exceptional reading and writing abilities, are what made his ideas so influential in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. [2: Yossef Rapoport and Shahab Ahmed, Ibn Taymiyya and His Times / Editors, Yossef Rapoport, Shahab Ahmed., Studies in Islamic Philosophy ; v. 4 (Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2010).]

Ibn Taymiyya’s ideas were reignited again in the early twentieth century when Sayyid Qutb, an educator from Egypt, used his writings as a foundation for his beliefs about western culture and secular government. In 1948, Qutb traveled to the United States and obtained a Master’s Degree in Education. While in Colorado, he was shocked by what he perceived as sexual promiscuity and materialism. This led him to become a more deeply devoted Muslim, and he began to write about questions pertaining to Islam and politics. After he returned to Egypt in 1951, he joined the Muslim Brotherhood and wrote for a Muslim Brethren weekly, which was banned in 1954. Many of the Brethren, including Qutb, were imprisoned for their ideas. During his twenty-five year prison sentence, Qutb wrote his most influential and substantial works.[footnoteRef:3] These ideas were drawn from Ibn Taymiyya’s beliefs, and were passed down by Qutb to his followers. [3: Albert J. Bergesen, ed., The Sayyid Qutb Reader: Selected Writings (New York, NY: Routledge, 2008).]

Sayyid Qutb’s core beliefs about Islam can be broken up into several categories: the goal, the obstacle, and the solution. According to Qutb, the goal is to realize “the Islamic concept”. The Islamic concept centers around a radical Oneness of God, making other religions, including Christianity and Judaism, open to errors. One of these errors is limiting the Oneness of God to a specific human group, rather, Qutb believed that God is for all of humanity.[footnoteRef:4] Limiting the Oneness of God to certain individuals subdivides the global umma, and therefore God (with a capital G) into smaller gods (lowercase g). This closely reflects Ibn Taymiyya’s ideas that denied Sufism as a philosophy that requires a personal relationship with God and therefore holds individualistic standards. [4: Sayyid Qutb, “The Islamic Concept and Its Characteristics,” in The Sayyid Qutb Reader (Plainfield, IN: American Trust Publications, 1991) 187.]

Next, Qutb claimed that the obstacle to realizing the Islamic concept are jahili societies. In other words, human made social and political systems that center around human submission to other humans. To submit to anyone other than God is to violate the Oneness of God and creates what Qutb calls a “servitude of servants.”[footnoteRef:5] Similar to Ibn Taymiyya, Qutb believed that secular government perpetuated disunity among the umma, and could only be resolved by following Sharia Law as found in the Quran or the Hadith. [5: Qutb, 1.]

Lastly, Qutb wrote that the best way to enforce Sharia law on political structures was through jihad. While many interpret jihad to mean a struggle within oneself to overcome the temptation of sins, Qutb used the term to describe the struggle for the initiation and establishment of a system “for the benefit of all people, both Muslim and non-Muslim.”[footnoteRef:6] This political system would abide by Sharia law according to the Quran and the Hadith, and be enforced by an Islamic state. [6: Qutb, 12.]

Before his execution in 1966, Sayyid Qutb had many followers and students to whom he preached his beliefs. Among those was Ayman Muhammad Rabi’ Al-Zawahiri. Born in 1951, Zawahiri belonged to an Egyptian family of distinguished Islamic scholars. As a result, he grew up an intellectual, and like Ibn Taymiyya, was especially interested in literature and politics.[footnoteRef:7] Zawahiri joined the Muslim Brotherhood when he was only fourteen, and promised to carry out Qutb’s visions after his execution. [7: Aboul-Enein, Youssef H., “Ayman Al-Zawahiri: The Ideologue of Modern Islamic Militancy,” The Counterproliferation Papers, Furture Warfare Series, no. 21 (2004): 2.]

Zawahiri took Qutb’s beliefs about jihad another step forward, viewing it as an ideological struggle for survival. In his writings, Zawahiri claims that the September 11 attack on the United States was simply a gateway for war on Christian and Jewish “infidels”.[footnoteRef:8] Furthermore, like Sayyid Qutb and Ibn Taymiyya before him, Zawahiri believed that people governed by secular states (and not Sharia law) were apostates and therefore the killing of these individuals was an obligation and a duty until they chose to accept Islamic law.[footnoteRef:9] As a result, extremists such as Zawahiri used Ibn Taymiyya’s and Sayyid Qutb’s writings as a political tool justify the violence used against non-Muslims, and even Muslims whose beliefs may differ from their own. [8: Ayman Muhammad Rabi Al-Zawahiri, “Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner,” in His Own Words: Translation and Analysis of the Writings of Dr. Ayman Al Zawahiri (USA: TLG Publications, 2006), 19.] [9: Aboul-Enein, Youssef H., “Ayman Al-Zawahiri: The Ideologue of Modern Islamic Militancy.” 3.]

In 1988, Zawahiri assisted Osama bin Laden in the creation of an extreme militant Islamic group, al-Qaeda. Born in 1957 in Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden studied business and economics at King Abdulaziz University, though some scholars argue that he was more interested in politics and religion.[footnoteRef:10] After founding al-Qaeda, he served as both the leader and figure head of the organization until his death in 2011, when Zawahiri took over in his place. [10: Bruce Lawrence, ed., Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden (New York: Verso, 2005) 119.]

Osama bin Laden believed, like Ibn Taymiyya and Sayyid Qutb, that the best way to govern a country was based in Sharia law. Condemning other types of “secular” government, including communism, socialism, and democracy, bin Laden claimed in a 2001 interview that Afghanistan was the only true “Islamic” country.[footnoteRef:11] Afghanistan at the time was subject to the rule of the Taliban, yet another extremist organization that claimed to be an Islamic fundamentalist group. [11: Lawrence, 143.]

Osama bin Laden was also quite critical of the United States for several reasons that reflect his beliefs about Islam and politics. After claiming responsibility for the September 11 attacks on the United States, he explained that civilians from “enemy” countries, including children, were considered targets for his jihadist movement.[footnoteRef:12] He argued that violent jihad was necessary in order to correct the injustices committed by the United States and other non-Islamic states against Muslims in the Middle East. [12: Lawrence, 70.]

Ibn Taymiyya supported a more strict view of Islam, and sought to enforce a more fundamental understanding of the Quran, but he was not violent nor did he advocate for violence against others. Sayyid Qutb was the first to take Ibn Taymiyya’s writings and use them as a tool to justify violence on those who would not conform to his radical beliefs about sharia law. Furthermore, Qutb’s teaching impacted more recent extremists like Zawahiri and bin Laden to continue to carry out his visions of a global Islamic state that enforced his distorted version of Sharia Laws.

Islam is a peaceful religion, and the Sharia law the Quran teaches is similar to that of canonical law in the Christian church. It includes laws about marriage, divorce, inheritance, and business, as well as more religious matters like how and when to pray. The misuse of these laws in conjunction with the radical interpretation of Ibn Taymiyya’s works can be credited to the distorted view of Islam and Muslims in popular media. It is important to remember that it is not the religion people should fear, but rather the individuals that use it as a justification for terrorism.

Bibliography

1. Aboul-Enein, Youssef H. “Ayman Al-Zawahiri: The Ideologue of Modern Islamic Militancy.” The Counterproliferation Papers, Furture Warfare Series, no. 21 (2004): 1–19.
2. Al-Zawahiri, Ayman Muhammad Rabi. “Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner.” In His Own Words: Translation and Analysis of the Writings of Dr. Ayman Al Zawahiri, 19. USA: TLG Publications, 2006.
3. Bergesen, Albert J., ed. The Sayyid Qutb Reader: Selected Writings. New York, NY: Routledge, 2008.
4. “Definition of ISLAMOPHOBIA.” Accessed April 11, 2019. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Islamophobia.
5. Lawrence, Bruce, ed. Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden. New York: Verso, 2005.
6. Qutb, Sayyid. “The Islamic Concept and Its Characteristics.” In The Sayyid Qutb Reader. Plainfield, IN: American Trust Publications, 1991.
7. Rapoport, Yossef, and Shahab Ahmed. Ibn Taymiyya and His Times / Editors, Yossef Rapoport, Shahab Ahmed. Studies in Islamic Philosophy ; v. 4. Karachi: Oxford University Press, 2010.

Introduction

This essay will look into how Al-Qaeda were founded, and how did the founder of this extremist movement get radicalised, what links does this group have? Do Al-Qaeda still pose a threat to the western economy.

Thesis

When was Al-Qaeda founded, and by whom, also why were they founded and what’s in store for their future?

Al Qaeda or the Arabic annunciation is Al-Qa’idah which also translates to (“The Base”) is a militant Islamist group that was founded by Osama Bin Laden and Dr Ayman Al-Zawahiri in 1989.

The main objective of Al Qaeda in spreading Islam, to enforce the Sharia Law by establishing an Islamic state.

They want to rid the world of secularist and western influences that Non-Muslims and moderate Muslims support.

While Osama Bin laden was in his 20’s before Al-Qaeda were formed he joined a university called King Abdul Aziz university where he went to go and learn Business Administration, but he also ended up learning the ideology that would help him form the extremist Group Called “Al-Qaeda”. This is were he would meet his mentor Muhammad Qutb who is Sayyid Qutb younger Brother. (“A bit of history regarding Sayyid Qutb he was the one who created Radical Islam in the 1960’s”). While he was at the university Muhammad Qutb would be an influential role into the future of Al-Qaeda not only because of his Radical Views it would help Osama bin laden to be able to market Al-Qaeda.

“Osama bin Laden’s influences was Abdullah Azzam (“the godfather of Jihad”) while he was at the Abdul Aziz University as he teached Osama bin laden about the Pan Islamic

Although both Sayyid Qutb and Muhammad Qutb are Islamist thinkers, most researchers do not recognize the importance of Muhammad Qutb’s Islamism. However, through the analysis of Muhammad Qutb’s writing and his life, this paper posits that both Qutb brothers are important Islamist thinkers. In terms of Islamism, this paper assumes that after Muhammad Qutb was influenced by Sayyid Qutb, Muhammad Qutb influenced al-Qaeda; namely, Muhammad Qutb played a mediating role between Sayyid Qutb and al-Qaeda in the intellectual history of Islamism. Thus, this paper argues that while Sayyid Qutb played an important role in constructing al-Qaeda intellectually, his younger brother Muhammad Qutb also played a significant role in building al-Qaeda because, as a teacher, he educated both bin Laden and Safar al-Hawali. In addition, as an activist there is a possibility that he personally helped Abdullah Azzam, the other teacher of bin Laden. Furthermore, as an Islamist thinker, Muhammad Qutb’s perspective of the world in which the US confronts Islam, as well as his denunciation of modern Western ideologies such as democracy and secularism, influenced al-Qaeda, and his long-term reworking of Sayyid Qutb’s Islamism prevented it from becoming obsolete and thus preserved its appeal to an audience that includes al-Qaeda”. http://www.nids.mod.go.jp/english/publication/kiyo/pdf/2015/bulletin_e2015_6.pdf(Masami Nishino*) (1)

This is Where Muslim Brotherhood would come into contact with Osama Bin Laden for the first time, as they would Radicalise Osama Bin Laden through the Teachings of Sayyid Qutb. Sayyid Qutb was a Muslim brotherhood Militant that would help shape Al-Qaeda into what it is Today.

“In a recent video entitled ‘Days with the Imam’ in which he recalls Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri declares that the founder of al Qaeda had been a ‘member of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Arabian Peninsula’ before he was evicted in the 1980s. He was expelled because of his insistence on fighting alongside the mujahidin”) https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/10/03/osama-bin-laden-and-the-saudi-muslim-brotherhood/ (STÉPHANE LACROIX OCTOBER 3, 2012, 1:40 PM) (2)

Osama met Abdullah Azzam while they were in Afghanistan when they were seeing to the injured mujahideen that was fighting against the Soviet Occupation in Afghanistan.

Osama along with Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian Sunni Islamic Scholar and mentor of bin laden, they started to work together by growing a large financial network, then at the end of the afghan-Soviet conflict in 1989, Al-Qaeda were formed to take on the future of the holy wars, this was the fight that Osama Bin Laden wanted to take globally, while Abdullah Azzam wanted to keep the fight in Afghanistan to make the government an Islamist government that would be run by the sharia law. (When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, Osama Bin Laden saw the invasion as an act of aggression against Islam

He started to travel around Afghanistan with Abdullah Azzam to meet afghan resistance leaders, were he was trying to raise funds for the resistance. In 1984 he focused his attention to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Where he worked with Abdullah Azzam to gain Arab volunteers to organize and fight the Soviet occupation.

While he was recruiting, he enhanced his stature as a militant leader by gaining financial resources, with his reputation of religious activity also his stature of being brave in combat.

In 1988 he created a computer database listing all the names of the volunteers to fight in the afghan war that led to the formation in 1988 of the militant networks called Al Qaeda.

When the group formed in 1988, they had no clear objectives or an operational agenda for a few years. In 1989, the soviet withdraws from afghan. Were bin laden returned to Saudi Arabia as a hero but he soon got labelled as being a radical and a potential threat.

Were the government in 1990, denied the permission of Osama Bin Laden to use his fighters to defend Saudi Arabia against the threat of invasion by Iraq.

The rift between Osama bin laden and Saudi Arabia’s leaders kept growing where they used the US troops to help fight in the Persian Gulf war instead of using Osama’s network of fighters.

Where Osama finally left Saudi Arabia in 1991 to settle up in Sudan.

Al Qaeda founder Osama bin laden had several profit-making businesses in Sudan, including construction, manufacturing, currency trading, import – export, and agricultural enterprises that funded a campaign of violence against the United States and their allies,)

“This chapter is largely based on Al Qaeda documents, including training manuals, the full translations of which I have seen. One was recovered by police in Manchester (England) from the home of an alleged Al Qaeda member, and various versions of The Encyclopaedia of the Afghan Jihad from Al Qaeda members arrested in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Two other others were found in Afghanistan after the collapse of the Taliban regime.” GUNARATNA, R. (2002). AL QAEDA’S ORGANISATION, IDEOLOGY AND STRATEGY. In Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror (pp. 54-94). New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/guna12692.9 (3)

During 1989, Abdullah Azzam was in Peshawar, Pakistan on his way to a mosque when he got assassinated in a VBIED that left Osama Bin Laden as the group’s leader.

Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Zawahiri built the core al-Qaida infrastructure in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 1990s with the protection of the Afghan Taliban and Pakistan https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/09/10/al-qaida-today-18-years-after-9-11/ ( Bruce Riedel Tuesday, September 10, 2019)(4)

Al-Qaeda core leadership evolved from the veterans of the conflict with the soviet occupation in Afghanistan. Al-Qaeda was commanded by Osama Bin laden and Dr Ayman AL Zawahiri.

When Al-Qaeda was founded it was founded by Osama Bin Laden, Dr Ayman Al Zawahiri, Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, Sayyed Imam al-Sharif, Sayed al-Masri, Mamdouh Mahmud Salim,

Even though all these members founded the group, Osama Bin Laden was the one who was in command until he got assassinated in 2011 by the American Forces after the 9/11 attacks in New York.

This is When Dr Ayman AL Zawahiri took over as commander of this terrorist Group.

Recent developments suggest that al-Qaeda’s primacy of command is not exclusive to the group’s geographical base in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In August 2013, Zawahiri appointed Nasir al-Wuhayshi, former head of AQAP, as deputy leader of al-Qaeda’s global organization. Eli Lake, “Meet al Qaeda’s New General Manager: Nasser al-Wuhayshi,” Daily Beast, August 9, 2013, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/09/meet-al-qaeda-s-new-general-manager-nasser-al-wuhayshi.html.(5)

“Ayman al-Zawahiri co-founded al-Qaeda with Osama bin Laden in 1988. He has led the group since bin Laden’s death in 2011, and expanded the number of al-Qaeda affiliates around the world”. The FBI’s Rewards for Justice program offers a reward of $25 million for information leading to Zawahiri’s capture. * “Most Wanted Terrorists: Ayman Al-Zawahiri,” FBI, accessed August 7, 2017, https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/ayman-al-zawahiri.(6)

“Zawahiri has maintained that al-Qaeda’s primary target is the United States and “its ally Israel, and secondly its local allies that rule our countries.” Ayman al-Zawahiri, “General Guidelines for Jihad,” As-Sahab Media, September 2013”, https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/dr-ayman-al-e1ba93awc481hirc4ab-22general-guidelines-for-the-work-of-a-jihc481dc4ab22-en.pdf.(7)

While Osama Bin Laden they started grooming Hamza Bin Laden to take over control from Osama Bin Laden as he was four decades younger than Zawahiri so he would be able to recruit the younger jihadi’s to come and join AL-Qaeda

Dr Ayman AL Zawahiri path to extremism started when he was 15 have he joined Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, While he was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood he would also join Egypt Islamic jihad (EIJ), While he was there leader he would go to Afghanistan to go and treat the injured islamist fighters that were fighting the Soviet Occupation in Afghanistan. Then the two Following Islamists would Create AL Qaeda.

“In February 1998, the Zawahiri-led EIJ joined with al-Qaeda, the Egyptian Islamic Group, the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan, and the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh to form the World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and Christians. The groups released a joint fatwa calling on Muslims to “kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military” “Jihad Against Jews and Christians,” Federation of American Scientists, February 23, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm.(8)

One of the most horrific terrorist attacks for Al Qaeda was 9/11 They struck the World Trade Centre eight years earlier on the 26th February 1993,

AL-Qaeda would attack the World Trade Centre for the first time killing six and injuring over a thousand people with a VBIED underneath the building. 26th February 1993 Al Qaeda struck the World Trade Centre, During the Bombing, six people died and 1000 people were injured in the attack.

“At 12:18 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, 1993, 1,200 pounds of explosives were detonated inside a van parked in the B2 level garage of the World Trade Centre’s north tower. The explosion, located under the Vista Hotel, crumbled three concrete slab floors of the north tower, shook the upper floors of the two 110-story buildings and filled them with thick, black smoke. When the dust settled, six people were dead and more than 1,000 were injured.” (“Lauren Cook and Nicole Brown”) (“February 2019”) https://www.amny.com/news/world-trade-center-bombing-1993-1-16926341/ (9)

Then AL Qaeda struck again on the 11th September 2001 was their deadliest attack on the U.S, when they attacked the World Trade Centre for the second time and also struck the pentagon with four hijacked plane attacks that Killed 2986 people in the series of attacks on that day.

“The coordinated Al-Qaida hijackings on Sept. 11, 2001, killed nearly 3,000 people, when airliners slammed into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon and another crashed in rural Pennsylvania.

Al-Zawahiri’s speech was recorded in a 33-minute, 28-second video produced by the group’s as-Sahab Media Foundation”. https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2019/09/11/al-qaida-chief-in-911-speech-calls-for-attacks-on-west/

“Al-Qaeda’s central command, which includes current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and his top aides, has traditionally been headquartered in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Al-Qaeda has long pledged allegiance to the Afghan-based Taliban, which provided sanctuary to al-Qaeda after the United States turned its military focus on the group following the 9/11 attacks. In June 2016, Zawahiri reaffirmed al-Qaeda’s allegiance by publicly endorsing the Taliban’s new leader, Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada.” “Al Qaeda’s Zawahiri backs new Taliban chief Akhundzada,” Deutsche Welle, June 11, 2016, http://www.dw.com/en/al-qaedas-zawahiri-backs-new-taliban-chief-akhundzada/a-19323475 (11)

Many analysts describe Al-Qaeda as a brand, and its branches as franchises, while others describe it as a core group of professionals’, surrounded by new members known as “Grassroots affiliate’s”

Al-Qaeda strategy is to quietly strengthen its empire over the past five years by getting involved in highly symbolic conflicts in Kashmir.

Al-Qaeda could prove itself to be the number one global jihadist group making it a priority to recruit new members by showing the Muslim community its commitment of defending the Muslim oppression

The Future of Al-Qaeda is still going to be strong because of their ideology and their strength and persistence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, even though their leaders keep getting killed or arrested or go into hiding,

The ideology of Sayyid Qutb will live in their members and new recruits.

As they use internet propaganda and terrorist attacks to recruit new members.

The impact of AL-Qaeda on Afghanistan if the American forces stood down from Afghanistan they could gain there strength through the control of Afghanistan making them as deadly as they were just before the 9/11 attacks on the world trade centre,

“The discovery shook two assumptions about al-Qa`ida—first, that al-Qa`ida was “decimated” in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a result of U.S. counterterrorism efforts and second, that al-Qa`ida operates only in southeastern and eastern provinces of the country.2 The discovery has led to renewed debate about the size and nature of future U.S. military engagements in Afghanistan. There are fears that if the United States continues the planned drawdown of military troops, al-Qa`ida might return to use the country as a sanctuary as it did before 2001”. (James Mackenzie and Paul Tait, “Al Qaeda Re-emerge As Challenge for U.S., NATO In Afghanistan,” Reuters, April 15, 2016.)

We deported half the number of people we do today. Our surveillance state was a fraction of its current size. And — perhaps hardest to believe — we didn’t have to take off our shoes to go through airport security. America’s involvement in the War on Terror — prompted by the 9/11 terrorist attacks — resulted in a dramatic change in our nation’s attitudes and concerns about safety, vigilance and privacy. It ushered in a new generation of policies like the USA Patriot Act, prioritizing national security and defense, often at the expense of civil liberties. https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/14066/13-years-later-four-major-lasting-impacts-of-911 (Matthew Green Sep 8, 2017)(13)

The impact of Al-Qaeda after 9/11 was that the US forces went to attack Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and took away a lot of their strong hold in Afghanistan were it ended up moving its branches to other countries to try and strengthen Al-Qaeda, as this was happening it started showing its strength in Syria by fighting the Assad regime. America came out with an act called the Patriot act 2001 that would help fight against Terrorism. “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism” (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001 US Congress – Public Law, 2001 (14)

Bibliography

1. http://www.nids.mod.go.jp/english/publication/kiyo/pdf/2015/bulletin_e2015_6.pdf (Masami Nishino*) (1)
2. https://foreignpolicy.com/2012/10/03/osama-bin-laden-and-the-saudi-muslim-brotherhood/ (STÉPHANE LACROIX OCTOBER 3, 2012, 1:40 PM) (2)
3. GUNARATNA, R. (2002). AL QAEDA’S ORGANISATION, IDEOLOGY AND STRATEGY. In Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror (pp. 54-94). New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/guna12692.9 (3)
4. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/09/10/al-qaida-today-18-years-after-9-11/ ( Bruce Riedel Tuesday, September 10, 2019)(4)
5. Eli Lake, “Meet al Qaeda’s New General Manager: Nasser al-Wuhayshi,” Daily Beast, August 9, 2013, http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/09/meet-al-qaeda-s-new-general-manager-nasser-al-wuhayshi.html.(5)
6. “Most Wanted Terrorists: Ayman Al-Zawahiri,” FBI, accessed August 7, 2017, https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/wanted_terrorists/ayman-al-zawahiri.(6)
7. Ayman al-Zawahiri, “General Guidelines for Jihad,” As-Sahab Media, September 2013”, https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/dr-ayman-al-e1ba93awc481hirc4ab-22general-guidelines-for-the-work-of-a-jihc481dc4ab22-en.pdf. (7)
8. “Jihad Against Jews and Christians,” Federation of American Scientists, February 23, 1998, https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm (8)
9. (“Lauren Cook and Nicole Brown”) (“February 2019”) https://www.amny.com/news/world-trade-center-bombing-1993-1-16926341/ (9)
10. https://www.militarytimes.com/flashpoints/2019/09/11/al-qaida-chief-in-911-speech-calls-for-attacks-on-west/ By: The Associated Press September 11 (10)
11. “Al Qaeda’s Zawahiri backs new Taliban chief Askhundzada,” Deutsche Welle, June 11, 2016, http://www.dw.com/en/al-qaedas-zawahiri-backs-new-taliban-chief-akhundzada/a-19323475 (11)
12. James Mackenzie and Paul Tait, “Al Qaeda Re-emerges As Challenge for U.S., NATO In Afghanistan,” Reuters, April 15, 2016.(12)
13. https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/14066/13-years-later-four-major-lasting-impacts-of-911 (Matthew Green Sep 8, 2017) (13)
14. US Congress – Public Law, 2001 (14)

Throughout the history of the Earth, there have been many different groups and organisations which have been labelled as ‘terrorists’, although arguably the most significant being Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda was a militant based Islamist organisation founded by the infamous Jihadist leader, Osama Bin Laden, in the late 1980s. The organisation began as a logistics based network and was created with the intention of supporting those fighting against the Soviet Union in the Afghan War, recruiting members from different Islamic states. However, Al Qaeda eventually ended up merging with numerous other Islamist organisations, such as the Egypt’s Islamic Jihadist, and declared holy war against the United States, starting to plan and execute several attacks around the country. From the perspective of those living in Islamic states, Osama Bin Laden, as well as all members of Al Qaeda, were freedom fighters, fighting for the freedom and rights of Muslim people. On the contrary, the Western world and the United States viewed them as terrorists, as they were only creating fear and disrupting the community, as well as harming civilians and innocent people to get what they want. Osama Bin Laden, along with Al Qaeda, provoked change in the modern world through the use of their violent protest methods, which the western world considered terrorism while the Muslims considered them to be acts of freedom fighters.

Firstly, those living in the United States believed that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda were terrorists, as they used violent protest methods in hopes of achieving their political goals, to unite the Muslim people and create one true Islamic state, driving all Western culture away from the Muslim world. Al Qaeda, led by Osama Bin Laden, successfully planned and executed several attacks around the United States in the forms of suicide, roadside and public bombings. These attacks harmed countless innocent Americans, including men, women and children, and were mostly aimed towards public areas where large amounts of attention would be drawn. A biography on Osama Bin Laden, illustrated by the editors of Biography.com and published on April 2nd, 2014, shares the story of Osama Bin Laden’s life, stating how, “Osama bin Laden is a terrorist extremist who planned the attacks on the World Trade Center and is intent on driving Western influence from the Muslim world.” This expression demonstrates how the people living in the Western society and the United States believed that Osama Bin Laden, as well as Al Qaeda, had only one goal, to drive all Western influence from the Islamic states. They also believed that they were using their violent means of protest to harm American civilians in hopes of getting what they want through several major attacks, such as those on the World Trade Center. Furthermore, an article published by the editors of History.com, on the 4th of December, 2018, provides insight into the history of Al Qaeda, explaining how, “In 1988, bin Laden created a new group, called al-Qaida (“the base”) that would focus on symbolic acts of terrorism instead of military campaigns.” The article also explains how Al Qaeda, “The global terror network founded by Osama bin Laden has been responsible for thousands of deaths on 9/11 and several other deadly attacks across the globe.” This shows how the people living in the United States linked the creation of Al Qaeda to the creation of a new global terrorist organisation, one of which only focuses on planning and executing major attacks around the entire world, specifically the United States, and is responsible for the loss of countless human lives. This also shares the revealing perspective of those living among the Western culture as they do not give mention to the messages and or reasons to why Al Qaeda performed the attacks, failing to adhere to the perspective of their enemy. An article from the editors of the Britannica Encyclopaedia, published in 2019, explores the upbringing of Al Qaeda over the years, providing information regarding their many attacks, clarifying how, “Its agents engaged in numerous terrorist attacks, including the destruction of the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1998), and a suicide bomb attack against the U.S. warship Cole in Aden, Yemen (2000).” This represents the thoughts and feelings of those living in the United States as they describe the acts of Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, as ‘terrorist attacks’, stating how they are responsible for the destruction and instability that their society is facing. Overall, the residents of the United States believed that Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda were terrorists, using their violent protest methods to harm innocent people as well as provoke fear and panic among society.

On the contrary, those living in Islamic states believed that Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were freedom fighters, going out of their way and to extreme measures to fight for the freedom and rights of Muslim people. Osama Bin Laden was a Muslim man who founded and created a secret network known as Al Qaeda, composed of militant Muslims he had previously met while serving in Afghanistan. From the perspective of those living in the Middle East, he, along with the members of Al Qaeda, were freedom fighters who wanted to unite their nation and people in hopes of creating one true Islamic state. A statement from Osama Bin Laden in October of 2014, published on a videotape broadcast and directed to the president at the time, George W. Bush, shows Osama stating, “Free men do not forfeit their security, contrary to Bush’s claim that we hate freedom. If so, then let him explain to us why we don’t strike Sweden, for example.” This expression details how he thought of himself and his fellow piers in Al Qaeda, as freedom fighters, as they were going to extreme measures to achieve their goals of freedom, rights and obedience, giving up their security along the way and in return. Moreover, an editorial published by the Pabst Science Publishers in November of 2015, provides background information in relation to Osama Bin Laden and his views, stating, “Osama bin Laden falls into the second category. He views himself, not as a terrorist, but as a ‘freedom fighter’ and ‘champion of the underprivileged poor’.’ This further emphasizes how the Muslim race and people, including Osama Bin Laden himself, classifies his actions as those of a freedom fighter, making the analogy and comparing himself to a champion of those who are less privileged and fortunate, making reference to the Muslim community. Finally, a page from the Washington Post, published in 2007, details the timeline of Osama Bin Laden’s life and displays, “After graduating from King Abdul Aziz University with a civil engineering degree, Osama bin Laden went to Afghanistan to help finance, recruit and train Afghan freedom fighters, or mujahideen, battling against Soviet forces deployed to support Afghanistan’s communist government.” This further emphasizes how the Islamic society believed in Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda, as freedom fighters instead of terrorists. They viewed them as people who are intentionally going out of their way to produce the freedom and rights for all Muslim people. In summary, the people living in Islamic states believed that Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were extremely passionate freedom fighters, going out of their way and to extreme measures to fight for the freedom and rights of Muslim people.

In conclusion, Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda provoked immense change in modern society through the use of their violent protest methods, which people living in the United States considered terrorism while people living in Islamic states considered them acts of freedom fighters. Throughout the history of Al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden and the organisation planned and commenced many attacks on the United States in a variety of different forms, the most significant being bombings. On the other hand, Muslim people and those living in Islamic societies believed that they were freedom fighters, as they were putting their lives and reputation on the line for the sake of the freedom and rights of Muslim people. Al Qaeda, arguably the most significant terrorist group to ever go down in history, provoked change throughout the entire globe, and is the reason for the current state of security in western cultures, as well as the freedom that Muslim people currently have today.

What You Need To Know:

Robert O’Neill, a former Navy SEAL who was involved in assaulting Osama bin Laden in 2011, rebuked President Donald Trump over accusations that the terrorist leader did not die. Trump promoted the baseless claims whom he retweeted from an account linked to QAnon conspiracy theory. The president has criticized Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden following reports about his hesitation to raid bin Laden’s residence during his vice-presidential stint.

On Tuesday, a former Navy SEAL who became popular for his participation in killing renowned terrorist Osama bin Laden during an Afghanistan operation called out President Donald Trump for promoting conspiracy theories suggesting that bin Laden’s death was a hoax. In a series of tweets, former soldier Robert O’Neill, who proudly announced that he killed bin Laden, pushed back on Trump’s claim that it was the terrorist’s body double who died and not bin Laden.

“Very brave men said goodbye to their kids to go kill Osama bin Laden. We were given the order by President Obama. It was not a body double,” O’Neill wrote on Twitter. Early Tuesday, the president retweeted an account associated with QAnon conspiracy theory that the terrorist leader was still alive. The account was then suspended. Trump, however, retweeted another video on Wednesday which promoted the unsubstantive claim regarding bin Laden’s death. Despite being a Trump supporter, O’Neill rebuked the conspiracy theory touted by the president.

“Shit. I just found out that I killed Osama bin Johnson. Drinks are on me, I guess…” he wrote Tuesday, adding that “I know who I killed, homie. Every time.” O’Neill was a member of the SEAL Team Six, the team that was able to put bin Laden to death as they were able to broke inside the terrorist’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Trump has been attacking his presidential rival Democratic candidate Joe Biden over the mission as he cast doubts about the former vice president’s actions.

“No one has been more wrong, more often than Biden,” Trump tweeted last month. “He voted FOR the Iraq War, he supported the defense sequester that gutted our military, he opposed the mission to take out Osama bin Laden.” Trump’s tirades referred to previous reports that Biden was skeptical to proceed with the raid. The issue surfaced in 2015 when Biden was planning to run for the 2016 presidency.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign and her allies harped on the fact that it was Clinton who supported Obama in ordering the execution of bin Laden. Back then, they said that Biden was unsupportive of the move. The White House did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Source:

1. The Hill

Operation Geronimo aimed to capture or kill Osama bin Laden, who was the most wanted man in the world then. They executed the operation by utilizing two teams of 12 Navy SEALS who had received orders from the US president, then Barack Obama. The paper will discuss the legal ground president Obama had to order operation Geronimo and execute the Plan. The death of Osama bin Laden in the hands of the Navy SEALS raised a lot of questions concerning its legality. Others have argued the operation to be a law enforcement mission and judged under the law standard of human rights (Soherwordi & Khattak, 2011). International law has barred enforcement of the law in other countries’ territories without its express consent.

Body

We can evaluate the execution of Osama bin Laden under the rules in the law of armed conflict, which permits commanders and enemy fighters to be killed on sight except for voluntary surrender or physical incapacitation. If the killing is likely to take place away from the battleground or where the opponent is not resisting actively, then there are four core warfare principles to justify that the operation was legally relevant (Cox & Wood, 2017). First is the principle of necessity. It justifies this because it does not mean killing for revenge. The use of force should be intended to bring hostilities to a successful end, complying with other armed conflict laws. Second is the principle of distinction where the force used must be against a military objective and not directed against protected civilians or objects. Proportionality is the third principle where the attack conducted on a valid military target may harm a civilian, as long as the harm is proportional to the military advantage expected. Last is the principle of humanity where the attack should as to cause necessary suffering or use of prohibited weapons.

Published accounts concerning the killing of Osama bin Laden have suggested the operation met all these standards. The operation did not use aerial bombing to limit civilian casualties but executed a raid at the Abbottabad compound in Pakistan. Operation Geronimo used the raid to protect the children and women present at the time of the operation, which ensured that distinction and proportionality issues did not arise. Ensuring the principle of humanity in mind, the teams used conventional military firearms.

Reports that Osama bin Laden was to be taken dead would raise real legal issues, but President Obama stated surrender was to be accepted. The killing of Osama bin Laden was a prohibited assassination raised some serious, legitimate concerns. However, the President being Commander-In-Chief is an object of attack by law, while civilian leaders do not have any authority over the military’s operations. Although historical laws bar assassination, they focus on the means of attack. Using a military helicopter did not pose any legal concern; the operation did not use a CIA operative, which could have raised serious legal issues.

The raid location was also an issue of legal concern, where wars should be executed lawfully in the warring state’s territory. Operation Geronimo justified this condition. First was the fact that Pakistan was to be neutral in the conflict between the United States and al-Qaeda, and therefore it was obligated not to allow its territory to be used by one side of the conflict. If it was unwilling or unable to do this, international law permitted the aggrieved party, the United States, to have limited self-defense. Another possibility could have been Pakistan privately allowing the United States to act on its territory after realizing its inability to deny al-Qaeda sanctuary. Last, Pakistan is an American ally in combating Al-Qaeda, lawfully permitting the United States to do the operation within its territory.

Days before the operation, United States lawyers had drafted secret memorandums to use if they were pressed later to explain their legal grounds. This group of lawyers helped justify President Obama’s decision. This analysis helped the United States to send forces to Pakistan’s territory without its consent. (Hersh, 2016). The lawyers resolved to use lethal force under international law. Although this encountered objection from legal scholars later, they became silent because Operation Geronimo was a success. Hard legal questions required smart legal answers, and this kept the lawyers working. On one proposal, President Obama prepared to deem the damage lawful, due to the circumstances surrounding the raid.

There was a plan that if the SEALS were to locate Osama bin Laden at the targeted point, then the presidential administration was to lift the secrecy and praise the execution. If the SEALS were unsuccessful, they would slip out of the compound and act as if the raid did not happen. The lawyers also faced the challenge of whether the SEALS’ focus on killing Osama bin Laden was the only option. The lawyers agreed it would be legal, and later on, President Obama ordered the mission. The raid team was ready for any resistance and executed the matter (Wachtel, 2005). After the execution, the SEALS concurred on one key point; Bin Laden resisted and would not surrender. The lawyers had also drafted the other prisoners’ fate within Osama bin Laden’s residence, but they did not take it down on paper because the plan was for the SEALS not to leave with any prisoners.

The last legal question was about creating an Islamic shrine by burying the body of Osama bin Laden at sea. The Geneva Conventions require the bodies of slain enemies to be buried within the requirements of their religion. For Muslims, the burial should be in the soil and their graves marked. However, some Islamic laws also permit that burial is at sea. The team had a burial memorandum that focused on the exception.

Conclusion

In summary, the incident surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden by the United States Navy SEALS has raised a lot of questions regarding its legality. The well-calculated move by the parties involved in the mission proves the operation was legal. The drafting team of Operation Geronimo was composed of four administrative lawyers who did a lot of research and used highly secure laptops in writing the memorandums. These lawyers worked with a lot of secrecy by ensuring no leakage of any sensitive information related to the raid mission. For the fear of leaks, the White House did not allow the lawyers to consult the Attorney General or the aides. They were supposed to make the complete process a secret. It aimed all these rationales at overcoming any potential legal obstacle. The process was successfully executed and remained to be legal from all standpoints.

References

1. Cox, L., & Wood, S. (2017). ‘Got him’: Revenge, emotions, and the killing of Osama bin Laden. Review of International Studies, 43(1), 112.
2. Hersh, S. M. (2016). The Killing of Osama bin Laden. Verso Books. Wachtel, H. A. (2005). Targeting Osama bin Laden: Examining the legality of assassination as a tool of US foreign policy. Duke Law Journal, 55(3), 677-710.
3. Sherwood, S. H. S., & Khattak, S. A. (2011). Operation Geronimo: Assassination of Osama Bin Laden and its Implications on the US–Pakistan Relations, War on Terror, Pakistan, and Al-Qaeda. South Asian Studies, 26(2), 349-65.
4. Wachtel, H. A. (2005). Targeting Osama bin Laden: Examining the legality of assassination as a tool of US foreign policy. Duke Law Journal, 55(3), 677-710.

This essay will be discussing terrorism, using the event of 9/11 as its main case study. To be able to approach this analysis effectively it will discuss the nature and nurture of the crime as well as focusing on the four main concepts that which include: boundaries between national and international, crime and war, the powerful and powerless and public vs. private.

Nature of the Crime

Nineteen men commandeered four fuel-loaded US business planes that headed for west coast destinations. A sum of 2,977 individuals were killed in New York City, Washington, DC and outside of Shanksville, Pennsylvania (History.com, 2019). The attack was organized by al Qaeda pioneer Osama bin Laden. At the World Trade Centre (WTC) site in Lower Manhattan, 2,753 individuals were killed when seized American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 were purposefully collided with the north and south towers (CNN, 2019).

Of the individuals who died during the underlying attacks and the ensuing collapses of the towers, “343 were New York City firemen, 23 were New York City cops and 37 were officials at the Port Authority” (CNN, 2019). The victims ranged in age from two to 85 years. Approximately 75-80% of the victims were men (History.com, 2019).

At the Pentagon in Washington, 184 individuals were killed when captured American Airlines Flight 77 collided with the building (CNN, 2019). Near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, 40 passengers and crew members on board United Airlines Flight 93 died as the plane crashed into a field (History.com, 2019). It is believed that the hijackers crashed the plane in that area, as opposed to their obscure objective, after the passengers and crew members attempted to retake control of the flight deck. “As of October 2019, 1,645 (60%) of 2,753 WTC victims’ remains have been positively identified, according to the medical examiner’s office” (History.com, 2019).

The hijackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and a few other Arab countries. Allegedly financed by the al Qaeda terrorist organisation that is in association with Saudi criminal Osama Bin Laden, they were supposedly acting in counter for America’s help of Israel, its contribution in the Persian Gulf War and its proceeded with military nearness in the Middle East (History.com, 2019).

A portion of the terrorists had lived in the United States for over a year and had taken flying exercises at American business flight schools. The 19 terrorists effectively snuck box-cutters and blades through security at three East Coast air terminals and loaded up four early-morning flights destined for California, picked in light of the fact that the planes were stacked with fuel for the long cross-country venture (CNN, 2019). Not long after remove, the terrorists secured the four planes and took the controls, altering ordinary passenger jets into guided missiles (History.com, 2019).

Nurture of Response

A significant effect to consider in the causes for the terrorist attacks, 9/11 is globalisation. The 9/11 terror attacks calls attention to the intricate and impulsive nature of a globally connected networked society and the unpremeditated costs that flow from the multidimensional processes of globalisation. Globalisation takes into account the partition of the world, proceeding clashes and oppositions and powering scorn and ailments. Accordingly, within globalisation conflict was reinforced by including the contrasts among East and West (History.com, 2018).

The 9/11 attacks incited the United States president, George Walker Bush to announce a worldwide ‘War on Terror”. President George Bush approached world pioneers to join the United States, saying, “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists” (History.com, 2019). George Bush warned that those countries refusing to join their fight or those continuing to allow terrorist to reside in their country would be treated as hostile regimes. The aftermath of the attacks and George Bush’s mandate reignited legislative reform around the world. The most notable of these legislative attempts at preventing and punishing terrorist activity are those of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the United Nations (History.com, 201). All of these legislative responses realise that the most effective way of preventing terrorism is cutting it off at the stem, in other words stopping its funding.

Joint airstrikes with Great Britain aiming for Taliban and al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan started in 2001, with the ground war starting in the following month (History.com, 2019). Al Qaeda pioneer Osama bin Laden was executed by U.S. powers in his fort in Abbottabad, Pakistan in 2011. The War in Afghanistan authoritatively finished in December 2014 (History.com, 2019).

Even pioneers of countries that did not coexist well with the American government imparted their distress. The international reaction to 9/11 was essentially affected by the United States but initially must be led by the United Nations to be able to attain a corresponding and effective level of international cooperation. Before 9/11 the United Nations delivered the Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism which joined actions planned for slowing the development of assets having a place with suspected terrorists and filled in as a point of reference to United Nation Security Council Resolution 1373 (History.com, 2019). The goals forces four commitments on Member States, necessitating that they avert and control the financing of terrorism, condemn assortment of terrorist assets in state an area or freeze resources of individuals who threaten or plan to threaten.

But public reaction was mixed. The leader of the Islamic militant group Hamas announced, “no doubt this is a result of the injustice the U.S. practices against the weak in the world” (History.com, 2019). Similarly, people in a wide range of nations accepted that the attacks were a result of America’s social authority, political interfering in the Middle East and interventionism in world undertakings. Some, particularly in Arab nations, transparently praised the attacks. In any case, the vast majority, even the individuals who accepted that the United States was incompletely or altogether answerable for its own adversity, still communicated distress and outrage at the passing of innocent individuals.

On October 7, 2001, airstrikes by the United States and Great Britain are hurled in Afghanistan at Taliban and al Qaeda training camps and targets. “What America is tasting now is only a copy of what we have tasted,” al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden says in a video statement released the same day” (History.com, 2019).

At the same time, the war in Afghanistan was decimating al Qaeda’s core operations.

The group has played up religious divisions in the civil war. Using its Arabic magazine, martyrdom videos, poetry and popular songs, al-Qaeda has endeared itself to the local Sunni people and Yemen’s powerful Sunni tribal leaders (Taylor, 2019).

Osama Bin Laden was a remarkably difficult target for the US forces. In any case, the measure of time and exertion required to search for a leader puts a limit on the aptitude of U.S. forces to lead operations swiftly Given the quantity of high value targets out there and the struggle of arresting each one, a plan to disrupt, demolish and defeat terrorist networks that relies, exclusively on such targeted raids is bound to fail. Terrorist networks like Al Qaeda, can recharge their initiative quicker than we can target them. It was difficult to find Bin Laden in Pakistan; it is even more difficult to find terrorist leaders in lawless countries such as Somalia and parts of Yemen where they progressively prosper (Bergen, 2019).

The 9/11 attacks obscure the limits between the national and international. The terrorist attack was committed by an international terrorist organisation in the USA. Some of these men were American citizens. The demonstration of terrorism defines a transnational crime. This is due to the fact that, the attack was arranged and committed in America by ‘Americans’, yet al-Qaeda association is found in Afghanistan. This has indicated the obscuring of limits between the countries, and how society works.

The perception of terrorism is controversial at an international level as there is no exceptional definition of this crime under customary international law (Halawi, 2017). Therefore, many believe that terrorism is better examined and prosecuted at the national level. The criminalisation of terrorism instigated at the national level where several nations constituted against terrorist acts and those responsible for such acts before their courts.

It is essential to take note of that in the domestic context, criminal law is viewed as a noteworthy component in verifying estimations of harmony and security. There is a justifiable hesitance by certain judges and law specialists to permit outer contemplations, for example, outside statute, to have any influence in local arbitration (Lovecy, 1987). In any case, progressive Security Council goals exhibit a consistently expanding worldwide worry in connection to terrorism as comprising a risk to global harmony and security and in this way captivating its outstanding purview under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (Lovecy, 1987).

George W. Bush commenced the US’s ruthless and thoroughly counter-productive “war on terror” in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which involved authorising the CIA to set up a secret detention and torture program, establishing a prison outside the law at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, establishing deportation and surveillance programs within the US, invading one country (Afghanistan) in response to the attacks (Common Dreams, 2018).

This was the justification for holding detainees neither as criminal suspects or as prisoners of war, yet as a third classification of person, with no rights, which was disturbing enough, however it additionally prepared for the utilisation of torment, as individuals without any rights at all had no insurance against torment and misuse, and to this end the most disturbing section in the reminder is the President’s case that ‘regular Article 3 of Geneva doesn’t have any significant bearing to either al-Qaeda or Taliban prisoners in light of the fact that, among different reasons, the important clashes are worldwide in extension and normal Article 3 applies just to ‘equipped clash not of a universal character” (Worthington, 2018).

President George Bush claimed that the prisoners would be “treated humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva” (Worthington, 2018), but it was a pointless accumulation. By refusing to accept that everyone seized in wartime must be protected from torture and abuse, and by removing the protections of common Article 3 from the prisoners, which prohibit “cruel treatment and torture”, and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment” (Worthington, 2018).

This became public to society as well as worldwide by the news media and in declassified documents, however the constitution venture report includes numerous new subtleties. Human Rights Watch, report that Libyan aggressors were likewise associated with the C.I.A, at the Guantanamo Bay Prison, and how deceptive abuse of detainees. The Human rights Watch found that not exclusively did they waterboarded detainees, yet beat them into walls, anchored them in painful positions for a considerable length of time, stripped them of garments and kept them conscious for a long time.

Overall, 9/11 was a staggering crossroads in history which was cautiously co-ordinated by radicals for the sake of al-Qaeda with an end goal to threaten the United States of America. The demonstration of fear cannot be characterized by one reason however rather a huge number of components which propelled Osama Bin Laden to wage a war on America. Bin Laden features US support for Israel, the improper conduct of US society, Iraq sanctions and the immediacy of the US military in Saudi Arabia as the main components which caused the assaults which happened on 9/11 (History.com, 2019). In any case, looking back, others point to a strict inspiration just as globalisation as contributors. Within this essay it has likewise been established that Bin Laden had a long-haul plan for the fear assaults which was to incite a war with the US. The results of 9/11 were similarly as decimating as the real occasion, with social, monetary and political impacts.

Worked sources

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10. Taylor, C. (2019). Al-Qaeda is stronger today than it was on 9/11. [online] Public Radio International. Available at: https://www.pri.org/stories/2019-07-02/al-qaeda-stronger-today-it-was-911 [Accessed 13 Dec. 2019].
11. Worthington, A. (2018). Exactly 16 Years Ago, George W. Bush Opened the Floodgates to Torture at Guantánamo. [online] Common Dreams. Available at: https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/02/07/exactly-16-years-ago-george-w-bush-opened-floodgates-torture-guantanamo [Accessed 15 Dec. 2019].

The cause of 9/11 has always been thought of us as a “series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group, Al-Qaeda against the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001” (The Daily Telegraph, 2011). However, over the years there have been many speculations and theories regarding the underlying cause of 9/11 as some state that their might have been insider trading or a growing case of air defense stand down led by the president at that time, George W. Bush. Whether that may be the case or not, it is important to notice that loyal patriots have strived to create an environment where the people doing duty to the nation with their civic job are respected and brought upon shine. Although we can sit up here in our modern world and state that the result of 9/11 was by a variety of inside jobs led by George W. Bush, it should be counterfeited that Americans have represented and dedicated their time to display the lives of those lovely citizens during that time period.

To start off, it should be known that George W. Bush knew about the attack beforehand and refrained from mentioning anything to the government within the last 12 hours of the instantiation of the gruesome attack of 9/11. For example, Cofer Black, a well-acquainted individual in the congress stated: “ It was very evident that we were going to be struck, we were gonna be struck hard and lots of Americans were going to die.” (Herzenhorn, 2015). Furthermore, the CIA’s famous Presidential Daily Brief stated: “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S” (Brown, 2015). These go to show the pathways of information that were in the hands of George W. Bush before 9/11; however, in an attempt to be quiet and even inflict the country, Bush decided not to address the arguments being made by people around the domestic nation.

Even on September 11, 2001, George W. Bush stayed away from the political hierarchy of America and attended different buildings to participate in non-political activities on that very morning. Specifically, on that morning, George W. Bush “was famously reading to children at Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla., when an aide whispered in his ear about the first plane hitting the World Trade Center’s North Tower” (National Archives, 2018). The source depicted here ensures that Bush had knowledge about this event but didn’t really have anything to do about it.

On the other hand, what makes this event even more crazy is that George W. Bush left the location of governing just to avoid these conflicts. This led to many setbacks for Bush as he was heavily criticized based on the actions that he committed and was already convicted by many just hours after the tragic event had occurred. John Kerry, a famous politician stated in the book Lexile (2004) that George W. Bush was trying look like “Mr. Nice” guy in his speech after the catastrophic event which caused him defamed for not taking into consideration the consequences that had resulted as a cause of the 9/11 terrorist attack.

These few events out of many underlie the conspiracy that George W. Bush was responsible for allowing the 9/11 terrorist attacks to come to fruition because if Bush knew about this, then he should have created actions to allow for the downfall of the attack.