Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Rise of Al Qaeda
Most people know of Al Qaeda because it was behind the planes flying into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. What many don't know is that Al Qaeda was a big threat to the US even before 9/11. Al Qaeda, run by Osama bin Laden, sets its main goal to destroying America for being the superpower that bin Laden wants to be. Long before 9/11, there were many tips given about Al Qaeda to the FBI and CIA that were not acted upon. The CIA was informed by a man that had told a US embassy in Sudan that he had stolen $100,000 from Al Qaeda. He also informed the embassy of Al Qaeda and bin Laden's plans for future attacks. As a result of this, the CIA was able to keep an eye on bin Laden but not allowed to take action. Even if the US were to take action, it would not be a sure success. Years before the tip, the US actually shot a missile at bin Laden's camp attempting to take him out. Later we found out that he had evacuated the area before the missile hit. While the 9/11 incident is by far the worst attack by Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda is still looking to get revenge on America.
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Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni Islamist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by Osama bin Laden, Abdullah Azzam, and several other Arab volunteers who fought against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. However, it is still active and a threat even to this day, although its previous leader has been killed. This goes to show the persistence of these people as they fight to further their faulty cause and religion.
ReplyDeleteAl Qaeda is a radical Sunni Muslim organization dedicated to the elimination of a Western presence in Arab countries and militantly opposed to Western foreign policy. Origins of the word itself translate to he Arabic word al-qa'ida, literally, the base. This infers that this organization is in fact the base of their community as a whole.
ReplyDeleteBefore learning about this in class I did not know that 9/11 was planned for so long. Al Qaeda is definitely a large organization that is very powerful and something that we should still worry about today. Although the US's security has risen, Americans still must be aware of this organization.
ReplyDeleteI think that the information you provided is very interesting, more so, the idea of Al Qaeda really spurred in mind from hatred. Bin Laden wasn't a man who just had a lot of money in his hands and wanted to waste, he was someone who was so full of determination fueled by hate that he genuinely believed attacking the United States would wage war and set an example to the rest of the Western powers to stay away from Afghanistan. The Holy War as he called it, is something that the members of Al Qaeda who had to sign documents and contracts before joining, sincerely believed that what they were contributing was an honorable and noble cause. With all this in mind, what had escalated in America is definitely not a spur of the moment idea from Bin Laden but a well strategized plan that was worked on for years and motivated by immense amounts of hatred.
ReplyDeleteAl Qaeda, as you put it, was known to the FBi for quite a while bfroe 9/11. The really interesting point to consider is how general American citizens reacted to threats of terrorist attack. They did absolutely nothing. In the actual interview with Bin Laden, barely anyone watched. Only after 9/11 did people realize the real threat of Bin laden adn his global network.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that people have become more accustomed to these terrorist attacks. I think for this reason, they are not all taken seriously. It is important that we stop thinking that everything will be okay no matter what, because these threats are a serious issue.
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