Al-Qaeda

Template:TOC-right al-Qaeda is both terrorist organization and a "brand name" of affiliates, all of an extreme Salafist ideology centered around reestablishing the Caliphate through armed jihad. Its immediate predecessor was the Services Office created to support the Afghanistan War (1978-92) by Abdullah Azzam and Osama bin Laden. It was joined by Egyptian Islamic Jihad under Ayman al-Zawahiri. They, in turn, trace their origins to modern Salafism derived from the medieval concepts of Ibn Tamiyya.

The group has been conducting terrorist operations since the mid-1990s, including the 9-11 attack, when its leadership was in Afghanistan. It has become a distributed worldwide organization, but the leadership is believed to be in the border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Origins

Its core began with the Services Office in Pakistan, supporting the resistance in the Afghanistan War (1978-92), a Pakistan-based groups supporting the Afghans, but also helping foreign volunteers, especially Arabs, to come to Afghanistan. Abdullah Azzam was its leader, with Osama bin Laden as his deputy. Bin Laden had an informal relationship with Saudi General Intelligence Department (GID), international Islamic organizations and Saudi-backed Afghan leaders. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) said it had no contact with Bin Laden during this time, although they did interact with Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), which, in turn, worked with GID. The CIA, however, did fund a U.S. division of the Services Office, al-Khifa.

In the summer of 1989, Azzam became concerned with the approach of bin Laden and Zawahiri, who wanted to expand the fight. Azzam's concern was finishing Afghanistan, and then dealing slowly with other Muslim states. Zawahiri wanted to act against Hosni Mubarrak of Egypt. Bin Laden thought worldwide. Others were concerned with Pakistan. Zawahiri told his son-in-law, Abdullah Annas, that he was worried about Bin Laden if he stayed with the radicals: "This heaven-sent man, like an angel; I am worried about his future if he stays with these people."

Azzam was assassinated in November 1989; there are many conjectures but no consensus on who did it. Bin Laden took over the Services Office.

Al-Qaeda proper was created in 1989, organized by Abu Ayoub al-Iraqi and bin Laden. Volunteers gave an oath of bayat to bin Laden. Their motivation was to carry on after the Soviets left. Some reports put its creation in 1988; there are also reports of terrorist acts where the jihadists, outside Afghanistan, were in contact with the Services Office.

Its first combat operation was the siege of Jalalabad, in 1989, where bin Laden demonstrated himself to be brave but tactically unskilled. He and his followers, often Arabs motivated by martyrdom, participated in the Afghan civil war until 1992, when Kabul fell to the Taliban.

Bin Laden had come home to Saudi Arabia and witnessed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. He offered his fighters to the Saudi government, who infuriated him by accepting Western troops on Saudi land. Prince Turki al-Faisal, head of Saudi intelligence, saw bin Laden's personality change after that meeting, "...from a calm, peaceful gentle man interested in helping Muslims to a person who believed he would be able to amass and command an army to liberate Kuwait. It revealed his arrogance and his haughtiness."

Complaining overtly, they stripped him of his citizenship. Exiled to Sudan, his hate for the Saudi royal house continued to motivate him.

Sudan

At this point, from 1992 to 1996, al-Qaeda was principally a centralized organization, operating under the patronage of Hassan al-Turabi. Eventually, al-Turabi expelled them, but not before al-Qaeda had supported the Somalian resistance.

During this period, al-Qaeda both conducted operations, and began its pattern of cooperating with other militant groups, some of which would later merge. One of these, Jamaat al-Islamiyya or the Islamic Group, was an offshoot of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. Sheikh Omar Abdel Rahman, was the spiritual leader of the faction that carried out the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, of which the tactical leader was Ramzi Yousef. Yousef is the nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who had not yet bonded with any major group.

Al-Qaeda carried out a series of programs against the Western involvement in Somalia. It began with a December 1992 of a hotel in Aden, Yemen, used by American military personnel traveling to the U.N. Operation RESTORE HOPE. Bin Laden issued a fatwa in 1993, telling Somalis to attack and eject Americans.

Its first known attack against Americans was a December 1992 bombing of a Yemeni hotel in Aden used by American soldiers traveling to Somalia to participate in Operation RESTORE HOPE. By April 1993, bin Laden issued a fatwa calling upon all Somalis to attack American forces and eject them from their country; he sent trainers and planners, including Mohammed Atef, to Somalia. They played a role in the Battle of Mogdishu on June 5.

In August 1994, two Spaniards shot to death three French Muslims in a hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco. The investigation was reported to have established telephone contact between the killers and the Office of Services, and learned that the suspects had been in Afghanistan.

Four Algerians belonging to the Armed Islamic Group hijacked an Air France jet in December 1994, apparently planning a suicide attack on the Eiffel Tower, but French counterterrorists diverted them to Marseilles and successfully killed them in a raid there.

Al-Qaeda did direct the June 25, 1996 Khobar Towers bombing.

Bin Laden, who was not a cleric, issued a fatwa in August 1996, as the “Declaration of War against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places” (i.e., Saudi Arabia).

Organization

Many analysts now call al-Qaeda a "franchise" or "brand" rather than a monolithic organization. The core ran a number of operations, but, even early on, used decentralized execution in the field.

Core

The spiritual head of al-Qaeda is called the Emir (Commander), presumably Osama bin Laden. He interprets religious guidance but is not himself a theologian; there is controversy if he does have the authority to issue fatwas. He has an inspirational goal, and exercises authority through the shura council.

Al-Qaeda's Majlis al-shura Council sets policy, based on the Quran and religious documents (for example, the writings of Qutb), ensure guidance from the Emir is followed, approves fatwas, and authorize major terrorist operations. Its decisions are binding, if and only when a quorum for shura consultation is reached, through regularly-scheduled or emergency sessions and by preserving the principle of secrecy—often decided by secret ballots. Members are picked by the Emir.

It consists of bin Laden, his deputy Alman al-Zawahiri, a general secretary, and averages between 7 and 10 total members.It supervises the work of the six major committees: Military, Political, Information, Administration-Financial, Security, and Surveillance.

Military Committee

Responsible for preparing young Islamic freedom fighters, training and organizing them for combat, and teaching them tactical and technical skills. Also develops and implements procedures for the greater fighting forces in accordance with Islamic law. The committee is subdivided into five separate divisions:

• President
• training-combat
• training-operations,
• nuclear weapons section
• library and research section.74

The general goals of the committee are organization and supervision of combat participation on the battlefield, recruitment and enlistment, upward development and mobility of jihadi fighters, and ensuring al-Qa’ida fighters are experts in resistance warfare.75 The mere fact that there exists a nuclear operations section is more evidence that al Qaida is actively interested in weapons of mass destruction. and between al-Qa’ida and Islamic republics. This committee also conducts research and political studies and is principally responsible for interaction between al-Qa’ida and other jihadi organizations. It is organized into:

• president of the committee
• representative to the president
• political section
• operational political officers.

The common themes promulgated by the committee are achievement of the political goals of the al-Qa’ida movement and that the movement of jihad is the reinforcement of God’s solution and rightful path of Islam. The foundations of religious interpretation married within the political context is the major work of this committee, with the ultimate goals of spreading awareness and inspiring collective efforts within the greater jihadi movement. ====Information Committee===- Al-Qaeda understands the role of information operations; the committee has a wider range than psychological warfare alone. The committee does produce political intelligence. recognized significant strength for al-Qa’ida, this committee is concerned with all matters involving the means of communicating information to all categories of Islamic people. The goals of the committee are to:

• That God calls upon all Muslims to embark on a personal jihad in the name of Islam.
• Spread and enforce the general rules and concepts of al-Qa’ida ideology (includes salafism,

Qutbism, and when necessary, takfir).

• Conduct information operations to spread the ideology and ignite global jihad. Attack the

West wherever and whenever possible and do so in accordance with the shari’a.

• Uncover, reveal, and exploit the weaknesses of secular governments and nationalist

parties. Reinforce the importance of Islamic jihad as each Muslim’s individual mission.77

The committee is responsible for the overall strategic communications of al-Qa’ida and its leadership targeted at both Islamic and non-Islamic audiences. The United States needs to address this al-Qa’ida strength and our weaknesses in this area in order to make headway and counter this al-Qa’ida strength. At present, al-Qa’ida has purposely hijacked the true peaceful messages of Islam and has waged a an effective worldwide information campaign in order to press its messages and further its strategic interests at the expense of the majority of moderate or nonviolent Muslims.

Administration and Financial Committee

This committee functions to undertake the different administrative services for al-Qa’ida members and their families to include salaries, vacations and leave, disability and medical benefits, as well as severance benefits. In addition, they are responsible for all accounting, to include safeguarding funding as well as tracking payments and costs and providing loans if needed, while overseeing financial policies and services for the organization.78

Security Committee

Responsible for counterintelligence, is responsible for providing the necessary operational security for the leadership, operations, installations, and personnel. It routinely collects information, conducts counter-intelligence operations required for the protection of senior leaders and the organizations overarching operations. It also facilitates security procedures related to any host country in accordance with bylaws, legal laws, and regulations. Within this committee, security bylaws are crafted and implemented to preserve the integrity and capability of the greater organization. With respect to dangerous matters, the committee looks at possible infiltration and corruption as well as vulnerabilities.

Led by a committee chairman, the committee is comprised of a lesser council and an executive branch composed of:

• investigations section,
• imprisonments and torture section
• documents section
• coordination and relations section.
• guard detail
• security education. Arguably, this vital committee has excelled at its duties

due to the mere fact that the senior leadership of the shura council remains protected and safe, even after 7 years of waging a war with the United States.