Alqaedas 911 attacks was the deadliest ever on american soil, killing nearly 3,000 people. Al qaedas use of denial and deception peace palace library. Al qaedas organizational structure and its evolution. Various correlational dynamics enabled the aggregation of islamic groups and ideologies. Al qaeda s organizational structure and its evolution article pdf available in studies in conflict and terrorism 3312. This essay examines al qaedas post911 evolution, its strategy, and its steady fragmentation. A wellknown hardliner, zawahiri became the principal strategist of the jihad movement, transforming bin laden and alqaeda significantly.
An investigation into the modus operandi of terrorist. It then turns to an analysis of the broader global jihadist movement alqaeda and affiliated or associated terrorist groups or groups that may not be formally part of the alqaeda network but that have assimilated its worldview and concept of masscasualty terrorist attacks. Al qaeda core, its affiliated groups, associated groups, and adherents, and how they have changed over time. This means that the localized leadership does ultimately pledge allegiance to al qaeda and its leadership, although there are also very recent accounts of al shabaab also potentially pledging allegiance to isis. Even now, alqaeda is active, although perhaps more fragile since the death of osama bin laden in 2011. For example, see abu hamza almasris reference to the bosnian jihad arena at evan f. Al jemaah al islamiyyah the islamic group is a southeast asian group dedicated to bringing islamist rule to the area. Alqaedas leaders agreed with qutb and azzam that the islamic revolution could not be leaderless. The structure of a clandestine cell system can range from a strict hierarchy to an extremely distributed organization, depending on the groups ideology, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission. The united states suspects it of ties to al qaeda, but these seem tenuous on a large scale. Abdullah yusuf azzam, aka father of global jihad 1941 24 november 1989 was a palestinian sunni islamic scholar and founder of alqaeda. This study first examines how alqaeda has changed since september 11.
Al qaedas organizational style has long encouraged the adoption of innovative terrorist techniques, including those devised by individuals outside of the groups organizational boundaries, like al qaedas operational mastermind khalid sheikh mohammed. A translation has been provided by the american federal bureau of investigation. Jul 12, 2015 the group, upon its foundation, was therefore affiliated heavily with al qaeda. With this enhanced understanding, analysts might better project the future of this.
Many al shabaab leaders have trained at al qaeda camps, including al shabaab leader ibrahim haji jama, who trained with al qaeda in afghanistan, and tariq abdullah, who was al qaedas leader in east africa and is reportedly the financier for its african operations. Since the fall of the taliban, alqaeda has established operations worldwide, including in syria, the gulf, north africa, west africa, east africa, and the indian subcontinent. Alqaeda defector alfadl, who was a former member of qatar charity, testified in court that abdullah mohammed yusef, who served as qatar charitys director, was affiliated to alqaeda and simultaneously to the national islamic front, a political group that gave alqaeda leader osama bin laden harbor in sudan in the early 1990s. The al qaeda reader should be required reading for any student of political science who wants to understand terrorism. The jihadi threat united states institute of peace. A comparative analysis of alqaeda and the islamic state is 5 the group has been linked to several high profile attacks. Introduction cyber warfare is a natural arena for al qaeda. Berger international centre for counterterrorism the hague william braniff start consortium, university of maryland cole bunzel incepr ton univ ersity daniel byman brookings institution and georgetown university jennifer cafarella. The group, upon its foundation, was therefore affiliated heavily with alqaeda. Al qaeda s perception of itself as a vanguard has clear implications for the groups organizational structure. Pdf al qaedas organizational structure and its evolution. Unlike isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi, zawahiri does not claim to have direct hierarchical control over al qaeda s vast, networked structure.
The united states scored another huge victory in the war against terrorism, after a us drone attack in the mountains of pakistans waziristan area resulted in the death of atiyah abd alrahman, al qaedas secondincommand after ayman alzawahri, who succeeded osama bin laden following his death. Mar, 2017 al qaeda branches, such as aqap, have regularly used a similar banner. Al qaeda s organizational structure and its evolution. Al qaeda al qaeda training manual inside the terror. Al qaedas organizational structure and its evolution article pdf available in studies in conflict and terrorism 3312. Officials state that the document is a manual for how to wage war, and according to the american military, was written by osama bin ladens extremist group, alqaeda. Without the broader structure, al qaeda would have lacked the money and the ability to move and hide money, the recruiting capability, the public relations support, or the expertise to pull off a project as large as the airline attack on the world trade center. The document, which has since been described by the fbi as the. In their own words, al qaeda tells the western world why they are attacking western interests and what they want.
The jihadi threat isis, alqaeda, and beyond robin wright united states institute of peace woodrow wilson center j. Alqaeda core, its affiliated groups, associated groups, and adherents, and how they have changed over time. A revolution that lacked both ideological and strategic guidance would exhaust itself. The attached manual was located by the manchester england. The role of islamist regional affiliates anthony n. The manual was found in a computer file described as the military series related to the declaration of jihad. Overview of the enemy by the national commission on terrorist attacks upon the united states this. Alqaeda changes, adjusts and adapts its tactics and modus operandi so that it can exploit gaps in defences and counterterrorism measures. A clandestine cell system is a method for organizing a group of people such as resistance fighters, sleeper agents, or terrorists so that such people can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization such as law enforcement in a cell structure, each of the small group of people in the cell only know the identities of the people in their cell.
Moving forward, one way al qaeda will likely seek to advance its organization is through. They also provided processes to evaluate the role of alqaedas decentralized network structure on its agility and how they have adapted over time. Alqaedas financial pressures council on foreign relations. Al qaeda in yemen aqy was a militant islamist group based in yemen and the yemeni branch of the al qaeda aq franchise from 2000 until 2009 when it merged with its saudi counterpart to create al qaeda in the arabian peninsula aqap. Al qaeda is an international terrorist organization, which was formed in august 1988. It began as a logistical network to support muslims fighting against the soviet union during the afghan war and transformed into the active terrorist organization known for. Al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has positioned itself at the vanguard of a media revolution in which terrorist groups both create and frame news events to an unprecedented extent. Isis the ruling to kill the americans and their allies civilians and military is an individual duty for every muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the alaqsa mosque and the holy mosque mecca from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of islam, defeated and unable to threaten any muslim.
We believe the structure of al qaeda at this time was fully organized. The structure of osama bin laden, al qaeda, hamas and other jihadist organizations in the united states executive summary on september 11, 2001, nearly 7,000 americans were executed, most of them incinerated in the worst terrorist attack on american soil in the history of the united states. Al qaeda is responsible for many attacks throughout the world with its extensive and effective networks. During a search of an al qaeda members home, police in manchester, england, found a document described by the fbi as the al qaeda training manual. Egyptian islamic jihad, which was led by ayman al zawahiri, and. Alqaeda, broadbased militant islamist organization founded by osama bin laden in the late 1980s. Inside al qaeda inside the terror network frontline pbs. Alqaedas perception of itself as a vanguard has clear implications for the groups organizational structure. This means that the localized leadership does ultimately pledge allegiance to alqaeda and its leadership, although there are also very recent accounts of alshabaab also potentially pledging allegiance to isis. Information provided by detainees and in an al qaeda training manual shows.
Al qaedas desire to release those members became a key issue in the conflict between al qaedas senior leadership from the afghanistanpakistan border and the former al qaeda leader of iraq, abu musab al zarqawi regarding the latters targeting policy, which included the shiite population of iraq and hence raised antagonism toward al qaeda. Al qaedas post911 organizational structure and strategy. Al qaeda branches, such as aqap, have regularly used a similar banner. Just in the last six months december 2015 to june 2016, it has inspired or carried out the killing of more than 500 civilians in eleven countries beyond the. Al qaeda functioned both on its own and through some of the terrorist organizations that operated under its umbrella, including. And as ghaly made clear, he and his men remain in ayman al zawahiris camp. An assessment of the operational and organizational structure of qaeda alcore, its affiliated groups, associated groups, and adherents, and how it has changed over time.
In october 2002, a cfr task force report on terrorist funding noted. It is commanded, to a degree, by osama bin laden and his deputy, dr. Since the attacks of september 11th, the western world has labeled alqaeda and its leadership as suicidal and irrational terrorists hating the western way of life 2. An alqaeda affiliate case study zack gold with contributions from pamela g. An assessment of the operational and organizational structure of qaeda alcore, its affiliated groups, associated groups, and adherents, and how it has.
Al qaeda background al qaeda inside the terror network. Unlike isis leader abu bakr al baghdadi, zawahiri does not claim to have direct hierarchical control over al qaedas vast, networked structure. Before 2001, its history was checkered with mostly failed attempts to fulfill its most enduring goal. Al qaedas core leadership and operatives are made up of veterans of the war against the soviet unions occupation of afghanistan during the 1980s. Pdf the inner organizational structure of al qaeda within the expanded framework of the global jihad movement has been a subject of much debate. Apr 29, 2015 yet even in its early days the group bickered with the al qaeda leadership. It allows a small number of covert and dispersed individuals to inflict disproportionate damage on a much stronger adversary. Al qaeda, overviews al qaedas changing network structure and seeks to. Brachman we must get our message across to the masses of the nation and break the media siege imposed on the jihad movement. Al qaeda s leaders agreed with qutb and azzam that the islamic revolution could not be leaderless. Despite nearly a decade of war, al qaeda is stronger today than when it carried out the 911 attacks.
Al qaeda gradually transformed its structure from being a strictly hierarchical model to a variety of network structuresleading up to its current highly dispersed. Al qaeda took credit for the attack on two black hawk helicopters during the battle of mogadishu in somalia in 1993, as well as the world trade center bombing in new york in. This justified the american war on terror and led margaret thatcher to declare islam the new communism. Al qaedas core leadership seeks to centralize the organizations messaging and strategy rather than to manage the daily. Though alqaedas organizational structure has undergone several significant changes since its inception, the current structure continues to. The structure of osama bin laden, alqaeda, hamas and other jihadist organizations in the united states executive summary on september 11, 2001, nearly 7,000 americans were executed, most of them incinerated in the worst terrorist attack on american soil in the history of the united states. Pdf the political transformations under way in the arab world and the killing of osama bin laden raise serious questions about al. Al qaeda electronic announced its formation as a new branch of al qaeda focused on cyberwarfare in a brief video on january 20, 2015. Thomas joscelyn is a senior fellow at the foundation for defense of democracies and the senior editor for fdds long war journal. An assessment of the operational and organizational structure of qaeda al core, its affiliated groups, associated groups, and adherents, and how it has changed over time. The jihadi threat isis, al qaeda, and beyond robin wright united states institute of peace woodrow wilson center j. The role of islamist regional affiliates article pdf available in mediterranean quarterly 232. Simply put, alqaeda is the epitome of a terrorist organisational model of darwins evolutionary concept, survival of the fittest.
The following excerpts are from a document found by the police in manchester, england, during a search of an al qaeda members home. Conversely, isis led a geopolitical reconfiguration of the middle east from 2014 to 2017, taking advantage of the instabilities originating from the u. Al qaeda, for instance, recently announced to be acting in kashmir, increasing the possibilities of tension in that region even more2. In 1988 azzam encouraged jihad holy war by muslims to help the afghan mujahideen against the 1979 soviet invasion of afghanistan. Are you a dedicated reader of fdds long war journal. After the 911 attacks, terrorism analysts sought a clearer picture of alqaedas financial structure and transfer systems. This organization is considered as a top threat for the world super power united states of america.
Burke,7 and sageman8 as well as sources produced by alqaeda, such as their manifesto. Through the publication of its emagazine sada almalahim the echo of epic battles, the organization has sought to mobilize both yemeni and nonyemeni muslim, arabicspeaking audiences to carry out. An assessment of the operational and organizational structure of alqaeda. This kashmirbased sunni pakistani group has historically directed its attacks at india. The al qaeda handbook 1677t 1d is a computer file found by police during a search of the manchester home of anas al liby in 2000. Following azzams assassination, the ideological vacuum in alqaeda was filled by dr. A few al qaeda regional affiliates and jihadist networks have exhibited an intent or capability to attack inside the homeland. Al qaeda core, its affiliated groups, associated groups,and adherents, and how they have changed over time.
This is an independent battle that we must launch side by side with the military battle. Al qaeda will continue its efforts to encourage key regional affiliates and jihadist networks to pursue a global agenda. On february 23, 1998 osama bin laden published a fatwah against american civilians, with the support of other extremist groups under the banner of the world islamic front for jihad against jews and crusaders, this fatwah advocated the killing of americans, including civilians, anywhere in the world. Al qaeda s core leadership seeks to centralize the organizations messaging and strategy rather than to manage the daily. Pdf al qaedas post911 organizational structure and strategy. Al qaeda defector al fadl, who was a former member of qatar charity, testified in court that abdullah mohammed yusef, who served as qatar charitys director, was affiliated to al qaeda and simultaneously to the national islamic front, a political group that gave al qaeda leader osama bin laden harbor in sudan in the early 1990s. This document is a standalone version of the alqaeda core case study. Al qaeda s organizational style has long encouraged the adoption of innovative terrorist techniques, including those devised by individuals outside of the groups organizational boundaries, like al qaeda s operational mastermind khalid sheikh mohammed.
Without the broader structure, alqaeda would have lacked the money and the ability to move and hide money, the recruiting capability, the public relations support, or the expertise to pull off a project as large as the airline attack on the world trade center. The al qaeda manual the attached manual was located by the manchester england metropolitan police during a search of an al qaeda members home. Al qaeda and affiliates congressional research service summary al qaeda aq has evolved into a significantly different terrorist organization than the one that perpetrated the september 11, 2001, attacks. Al qaeda s desire to release those members became a key issue in the conflict between al qaeda s senior leadership from the afghanistanpakistan border and the former al qaeda leader of iraq, abu musab al zarqawi regarding the latters targeting policy, which included the shiite population of iraq and hence raised antagonism toward al qaeda.
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