Al-Qaeda

Origins:
Al-Qaeda, Arabic for "the Base," is an international terrorist network founded by Osama bin Laden in the late 1980s. The United States supported Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war by supplying weapons and training. Toward the end of the Soviet military mission in Afghanistan, some mujahedeen wanted to expand their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world, such as Israel and Kashmir. A number of overlapping and interrelated organizations were formed, to further those aspirations. One of these was the organization that would eventually be called al-Qaeda, formed by bin Laden with an initial meeting held on August 11, 1988. Following the Soviet Union's withdrawal from Afghanistan in February 1989, bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia. In the face of a seemingly massive Iraqi military presence, Saudi Arabia's own forces were well armed so Bin Laden offered the services of his mujahedeen to King Fahd to protect Saudi Arabia from the Iraqi army. The Saudi monarch refused bin Laden's offer, opting instead to allow U.S. and allied forces to deploy troops into Saudi territory.

Aims, objectives and ideals:

The principal stated aims of al-Qaeda are to drive Americans and American influence out of all Muslim nations, especially Saudi Arabia; destroy Israel; and topple pro-Western dictatorships around the Middle East. Bin Laden also said that he wished to unite all Muslims and establish, by force if necessary, an Islamic nation. The original Al-Qaeda group splintered, popping up in new places with new leaders who, in addition to attempting complex high-profile attacks, encouraged their radicalized followers to strike on their own if the opportunity presented itself. The leaders of these groups consider Mr. Bin Laden a religious and philosophical guide.

Major attacks by al-Qaeda:

The group has targeted American and other Western interests as well as Jewish targets and Muslim governments it sees as corrupt or impious-above all, the Saudi monarchy. The attempted December 2009 bombing of a Detroit-bound Northwest Airlines flight. The February 2006 attacks on the Abqaiq petroleum processing facility, the largest such facility in the world, in Saudi Arabia. The July 2005 bombings of the London public transportation system.

The March 2004 bomb attacks on Madrid commuter trains, which killed nearly 200 people and left more than 1,800 injured. The October 2002 attack on a French tanker off the coast of Yemen. The April 2002 explosion of a fuel tanker outside a synagogue in Tunisia. The September 11, 2001, hijacking attacks on four U.S. airplanes, two of which crashed into the World Trade Center, and a third of which crashed into the Pentagon.

Localization:
Their active regions are Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, Libya and Pakistan.

Osama bin Laden:

The leader of this group, Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957 in Saudi Arabia, and died in Pakistan on May 2, 2011. He confessed to be responsible of various attacks against U.S. (August 7, 1998 U.S. s embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, September 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentagon) On April 29, 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized the CIA to conduct a raid, the "Operation Neptune Spear. In the late evening of May 1, 2011, the president announced that bin Laden had been killed in the operation.

Other leaders are:

Aymn al-Zawahir: He took over for Osama bin Laden as the leader of Al Qaeda. He was already considered as the groups central ideologue and one of the brains behind de 9/11 attacks. Saif al-Adel. Adel was indicted by the US for an alleged role in the African embassy bombings in 1998. The BBC reports that he may now be the military commander of Al Qaeda. Ilyas Kashmiri. A recent Newsweek profile with the headline Is Ilyas Kashmiri the New Bin Laden? said he has the experience, the connections, and a determination to attack the West including the United Statesthat make him the most dangerous Qaeda operative to emerge in years.

Bibliography Zirulnick, Ariel. The Christian Science Monitor. 2011. The Christian Science Monitor. 23 de 08 de 2011 By: Lorena Monroy, Mara Jos Gonzlez, Ana Sofa Morales, Rodrigo Morales y Luis Javier Fernndez