The Al-Qaeda Terrorist Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Al-Qaeda Terrorist Organization - Essay Example The 9/11 created such a deep global impact that almost overnight, it virtually created a new breed of foreign, immigration and security policies not only of the United States but its allies as well. Al Qaeda, which means â€Å"the base’, is an international terrorist organization that was born at the heel of the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan in 1989. It was created out of the remnants of Arab participation in the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan since 1978. As the defeated Soviets left Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden created al Qaeda to maintain the roster who participated in the resistance for future jihads. When bin Laden returned to Afghanistan in 1996 after he was driven out of Sudan through American pressure, he set up training camps for the training of Islamic militants under the noses of the hospitable Taliban. The group came under public glare in 1998 when it was linked to the bombing of the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. It virtually became a household name, however, after the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, an incident now known as 9/11 (Robinson 17). Al Qaeda’s advantage over other terrorist groups is its global reach. It is most noted for its use of suicide terrorism directed at multiple targets simultaneously. It is believed that the purpose of al Qaeda is religious – that is, the establishment of a caliphate in the Middle East. Some quarters believed however that its motivations are political and religion is a mere front concealing a goal geared at establishing global dominion.