The Al Qaeda and Its Attempt to Use Chemical and Biological Warfare as a Means of Attack
For approximately the past three decades, a terrorist group has come to plague the world with its activities (Gunaratna, 2002). This group is known as Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda, when translated means “The Base”. It is a terrorist organization that seeks to remove western influence from the Middle East and spread its radical Islamic views. Al Qaeda’s most prominent leader was Osama bin Laden, until his death during a raid upon his compound in Pakistan. The Al Qaeda’s motivation stems primarily from extreme and deeply rooted religious beliefs. Their most used method of attack is through suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices. This organization has also used chemical warfare and at this time is believed to still actively seek to utilize chemical and biological agents as means to battle.
The most infamous leader of the Al Qaeda is Osama bin Laden of Saudi Arabia. Osama Bin Laden did not derive his theories, practices, or views because he was educated or raised through the teachings of Islamic seminaries, though his principal inspiration appears to be based upon far-reaching religious sentiment. His higher education was actually the study of engineering at a prominent university in Saudi Arabia (Schweitzer and Shay, 2003). Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian, was a highly regarded mentor and the primary source of persuasion for Bin Laden’s ideology and fundamental vision. Azzam was the main architect behind jihad views and is credited as the founder of Al Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden also shaped his outlook from the works and actions of zealous Islamic philosophers from all over the middle-eastern region of the world that opposed Soviet occupation (...
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...spread cells, and gaining support, and constantly evolving employment of technology, it continues to thrive. Friendly forces continue to gain knowledge about the Al Qaeda in efforts to bring the organization down and prevent further implementation of chemical or biological warfare.
Works Cited
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Karasik, T. W. (2002). Toxic warfare. Santa Monica: RAND.
Schweitzer, Y., & Shay, S. (2003). The globalization of terror: The challenge of al-qaida and the response of the international community. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
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Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Likewise, Goodwin illustrates how the use of categorical terrorism can be seem being used by Al-Qaida during the attacks of 9/11. Nonetheless, it is evident that Al-Qaida is unusual in terms of using terrorism to influence the rise of unity rather than trying to overthrow a standing state. For the purpose of instigating a pan-Islamic revolutionary movement, Al-Qaida tries to unite all Islamic people under one state to develop umma, or Muslim community. The logic of Al-Qaida remained that if their “revolutionaries” could illicit a reaction from the powerful US state, resulting in oppression of the middle-eastern region, that Al-Qaida could, as a result, unite all Muslims to counter this suggested oppression. Although the end goal of Al-Qaida clear failed, it does suggest the organization’s attempt at implementing categorical terrorism.
Chemical Warfare in WWI World War I was beginning to invent new ways to produce more casualties to the enemy’s force and reduce the probability of losing Soldiers from their own line of defense or offense. They did this by conducting extensive research in chemical warfare. At the same time, it will motivate the troops and win the hearts and minds of the people of their country if they had new ways of ending the war quickly. Chemical warfare affected tactics and techniques of warfare and almost changed the outcome of World War I. (LTG Carl E. Vuono) The French were the first to start experimenting on chemical agents in 1912.
Throughout the progression of mankind, there has always been a need to become superior in tactics and technology over an opponent. It did not take long for man to discover the effective and deadly tactic of Bioterrorism, which is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria or other germs used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. As time passes, everything about bioterrorism becomes more and more sophisticated, making it very difficult to combat with. By examining the history of bioterrorism, one can learn how military forces utilize this deadly weapon.
Terrorism is not a new concept and although the treat has been highlighted by the events of September 11th, there has been a history of terrorism in America leading as far back as the establishment of the country. Although the proverb of “one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter” can be true on certain accounts, there is a distinction. The CIA uses a definition outlined by Title 22 Section 2656f(d) of the US Code, which states, "terrorism means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents ” (2013). This definition has two important aspects, politically motivated violence and the targeting noncombatants. These two aspects address the motive and methods of a terrorist organization. Through the understanding of this definition it becomes clear that organizations like Al-Qaeda are ...
Broyles, Janell. Chemical and Biological Weapons in a Post-9/11 World. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2005. Print.
Isis is very strong, we are trying to stop them, but they are just expanding in power and it showed this is the article when it said, “ The group's reputation for brutality was reinforced when it released photos and videos over the weekend showing some prisoners it had captured being killed apparently in the desert near Tikrit.” this shows how they have expanded because they are moving
Herman, E. & Sullivan, G. O.1989. The Terrorism Industry: The Experts and Institutions That Shape Our View of Terror. New York: Pantheon.
Chemical weapons (CW) are one of the major threats of WMD. Past CW attacks, including the 1995 Aum Shinrikyo sarin attacks, have taken place, illustrating just how catastrophic a CW attack can be. The CBRN threat posed by the group in the video “Japanese Sarin Cult” is that of a chemical attack. The chemical agent utilized in the attack was sarin nerve gas. Sarin, not only has been used in the past, but is currently being used in attacks in the Middle East; sarin nerve gas also has the potential to threaten the United States today.
Al Qaeda is a terrorist organization established in Peshawar, Pakistan, between 1988 or 1989 by Osama bin laden and his teacher Abullah Yusuf Azzam. Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network that considered the top terrorist threat to the United States. Al Qaeda is seeking to get rid of all westerns from Muslims territory and replace their own Islamic regime. They are a group of people who work to gather to plan act of terrorism against Muslim and non Muslim especially United State. Al Qaeda believes that they are fighting a holy war against enemy of their religion. People from many countries have joined this group including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Britain. This paper is going to present a brief historical background of Al Qaeda that how it emerged with their ideology, view, believe, and goals they have and also it presents the Activities which this group has been done before and after the very massive attack they had in US in September 11, 2001 and the international responses to this act of violence. Finally this paper will end up with comparing this Organization (Al Qaeda) with Reverend Mike Bray the Christian terrorist.
The threat of global terrorism continues to rise with the total number of deaths reaching 32,685 in 2015, which is an 80 percent increase from 2014 (Global Index). With this said, terrorism remains a growing, and violent phenomenon that has dominated global debates. However, ‘terrorism’ remains a highly contested term; there is no global agreement on exactly what constitutes a terror act. An even more contested concept is whether to broaden the scope of terrorism to include non-state and state actors.
After the 9/11 attack, Al Qaeda has surpassed as the world’s most infamous terrorist organization. Al Qaeda is the network organized by Osama bin Laden. Al Qaeda main goal was to drive all Americans and all American influences out of the Muslim nations. Al Qaeda has waged many attacks on the United States, and many other countries all around the world.
Through researching ISIS, we can come to the conclusion that they are a dangerous terrorist group that is growing quickly, they aim to conquer through fear, and they are doing this because of their radical Muslim beliefs. This is important because they are now not only affecting the Middle East, but threatening America. They are a growing group whose numbers keep increasing. “ISIS can count on about 10,000 fighters. However, the basin of sympathizers and supporters from where it can draw resources is much broader”(Grassi 1). 10,000 people is more than double the amount of students that attend Southeastern, however this number of 10,000 only accounts for the number of fighters. The amount of supporters is much bigger! Thirty-five organizations
(U) In order to discuss the actions and behaviors of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), one must first recognize its origins and its association or disassociation with other terrorist groups. The building of terrorist organizations does not occur overnight, and they take years of careful socialization to occur. To conceptualize the creation of a terrorist organization like ISIS, we have to look at the structural, systemic and motivational factors that comprise the group and its ideologies. If a society loses its cohesion, then some of the socio-political factors such as religion, ethnicity, tribe or clan, and race would come into play to fill that void. We could use a socio-political cleavage matrix to look for the individual friction points to see where the gestation of the terrorist organization starts and why. In this case, we will focus on one who some call the father of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This was Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian of the Sunni denomination, who took his name from his birthplace Zarqa, Jordan .
Just like any other criminal organization, terrorist groups are going to adjust to law enforcements tactics to stop them. Specifically, it is expected that the styles of attacks actually will actually decrease in size, although possible increase in quantity (Walter & Xuejuan, 2007). United States combined efforts of infiltrating, and interrupting the flow of money has had a dramatic effect on the organizational structure of terrorist hierarchies. Specifically, terror organizations have adapted to function efficiently has separate cell factions to prevent the loss of one individual being detrimental to their cause. While this method has resulted in the some groups to operate off the grid, it has also resulted in their inability to launch