The Mackenzie Institute
Al Qaeda
Description/History:
Al Qaeda was established by Osama bin Laden around 1990 with the aim of establishing fundamentalist Sunni Islamic government worldwide. The group was formed of discontented Arab veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war and is vehemently anti-Western, seeking to destroy the US, Israel, and other non-Islamic influences using terrorism. Al Qaeda has participated in numerous large-scale terrorist attacks and remains one of the most significant threats to the United States.
Al Qaeda was forced from Afghanistan after the overthrow of the Taliban in the US-led war after September 11, 2001. The group now trains and operates primarily in the largely ungoverned northern provinces of Pakistan along the Afghan border. The US remains actively engaged in ousting the group from these tribal border areas and targeted attacks have resulted in the death and capture of numerous Al Qaeda leaders. Although weakened, the group remains a formidable threat as a predominant ideological movement, led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, and consists of a decentralized global network of members, technicians, affiliates, and sympathizers. Its on-line activities and training materials have motivated hundreds of "home-grown" terrorists around the world.
Al Qaeda is responsible for the majority of terrorist training in the region, recruiting, training, and financing jihadists from over 50 countries. Al Qaeda affiliates include Jemaah Islamiyya, Lashkar-e-Taaiba, Armed Islamic Group in Algeria, Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Al Qaeda in Iraq, Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and various other international extremist groups, many of which utilize the group's training.
Activities:
Al Qaeda is notorious for large-scale terror and suicide attacks, often involving years of planning. The group is responsible for the 9/11 attacks 2001, as well as an earlier attempt against the WTC in 1993. The group bombed the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996 and US Embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1998. Al Qaeda regularly targets US servicemen overseas. The group attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II in 1994 and President Clinton in 1996.
Al Qaeda seeks to terrorize the US and all other entities with opposing beliefs, and frequently engages in bombings, attacks on Embassies and hotels, abductions, naval attacks, and suicide attacks. The group actively trains, finances, and supports other terrorist groups with similar aims.
Location:
Al Qaeda is a global movement with global aims, having autonomous cells in over 100 countries, including the US, Canada, Western Europe, and Africa. Innumerable ideological allies further the group's worldwide influence.
The group's leadership and terrorist training camps are based in northern Pakistan, where an estimated few hundred hardcore members reside.
Financing:
Al Qaeda was likely initially funded by Osama bin Laden, who inherited ~$300 million in family wealth. The group also runs numerous businesses and receives donations from an international network of private donors and Muslim charities that evolved from the aid network set up during the Soviet-Afghan war. Allegations have been made that the group is supported by foreign governments, and that the group supports itself by illegal drugs and other criminal enterprises. The group requires an estimated $30 million annually for its activities, according to the 9/11 Commission Report. Sympathizing cells are often responsible for their own fundraising.