Verified Document

Al-Qaeda: Terrorist Group Organization Research Paper

Terrorist Group Organization For decades now, terrorists have made use of terror as a tool to advance their agenda; be it religious, political, or economic. In recent times, particularly since the September 11 terror attacks, the war on global terror has gone a notch higher. This has mainly involved increased cooperation between countries (especially with regard to intelligence gathering and sharing), joint military efforts, and efforts to block the financing of terror. It is, however, important to note that all the efforts aimed at reining in on terror must start with proper understanding of how terror groups operate, i.e. terrorist group organization. This discussion will concern itself with chapter 7 of the recommended text. The said chapter is titled, Terrorist Group Organization.

Introduction

Like most organized crime formations, all terrorist groups have common characteristics. For instance, in addition to making use of violence to advance their agenda, terrorist groups largely thrive on media coverage or attention. In most cases, they are also extremely well organized and derive their support from key quarters which could include, but they are not limited to, state actors. In seeking to assess the information presented in chapter seven by the author of this particular text, it would be prudent to make use of a real life terror formation. The terrorist group of choice will, in this case be, al-Qaeda.

Discussion: Terrorist Group Organization

Some of the characteristics shared by all terrorist groups, according to Nance (2008, p. 67-68), include, but they are not limited to; "terrorists use violence, terrorists operate in all environments, terrorists operate covertly, terrorists are often well organized, terrorists act deliberately, terrorists employ high mobility, terrorists use short-duration firepower or effects, terrorists are media dependent." These are the characteristics...

In addition to attacking military targets in diverse settings, this particular terror group has also been involved in the violent attacks of innocent civilians. Its most successful and perhaps best known violent attack was the September 11 attack that led to the death of thousands of innocent civilians. It is also important to note that al-Qaeda operations are global -- it largely operates in all environments; from Somali villages (in East Africa) to the mountainous Afghanistan regions to U.S. cities. The operations of this particular terror formation are also largely secretive or covert. Secrecy is extremely important to al-Qaida as this is what enables it to launch attacks without early detection. For instance, nobody saw the September 11 attacks coming.
Al-Qaeda has for some time also been extremely well-organized. This is particularly the case given that the group has a definite organizational structure with clear leadership. Before he was killed in the infamous navy SEAL attack, Osama Bin Laden had been the leader of this terrorist formation for several decades. During this time, Bin Laden, who also had a deputy, was the face of the organization, often claiming responsibility for attacks conducted by the group. The nature and scale of attacks this particular terror formation has conducted in the past is also a pointer to a well-organized formation.

The actions of al-Qaeda have also been largely deliberate, particularly given that the group has often claimed responsibility for most of its attacks. The fact that the group has a cause for which it fights for is also an indicator of the deliberate nature of its attacks. With regard to mobility, it is important to…

Sources used in this document:
References

Hamm, M.S. (2007). Terrorism as Crime: From Oklahoma City to Al-Qaeda and Beyond. New York, NY: NYU Press.

Nance, M.W. (2008). Terrorist Group Organization (2nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: Taylor and Francis Group.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Al Qaeda's Next Major Domestic Attack on
Words: 2885 Length: 9 Document Type: Research Paper

Al Qaeda's Next Major Domestic Attack On The United States The fact that the United States has not experienced a major domestic attack since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 is firm testament to the relentless work by the Western intelligence community in identifying potential threats and preventing them from reaching fruition. In fact, a number of such attempts have been detected and eliminated in recent years, some of which

Al Qaeda Is an International Terrorist Organization,
Words: 3130 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Al Qaeda is an international terrorist organization, which was formed in August 1988. The word Al Qaeda means 'The Base'. This organization is considered as a top threat for the world super power United States of America. Al Qaeda is responsible for many attacks throughout the world with its extensive and effective networks. This group is responsible for attack like the September 7, 2001 attack on the world trade centre

Al Qaeda: Current and Future
Words: 4373 Length: 15 Document Type: Term Paper

It is an exaggeration, but not entirely so, that the United States could have done worse in dealing with Al Qaeda by simply attacking, for example, Belgium, Germany, and Italy -- attacking Al Qaeda's strongholds among those who live in the shadows of a world they do not share. (p. 592). As the nations of Europe continue to hammer out their respective differences in their inexorable march to becoming the

Al Qaeda: Ideology, Goals and Objectives Al
Words: 1421 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Al Qaeda: Ideology, Goals and Objectives Al Qaeda was literally built as a combination of the hard core of extreme principles, first-rate financial accommodation, and uncluttered deadly force action plan to subdue any obstruction and opposing parties to accomplish the victory of the ideology. Beyond the protection of Osama bin Laden's influential fellow persons of the world, the organization found its perfect environment to grow beyond international reach, and work on

Al Qaeda and Attacks
Words: 1949 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

9/11 Terrorism and EMS On 11th September, 2001, a total of nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists took control of four sky-borne airplanes, using them to carry out suicide attacks aimed at American targets. Two planes were guided directly towards the New York World Trade Center's twin towers, one struck the U.S. defense department's headquarters (the Pentagon), and one crashed into a Pennsylvanian field. Known worldwide as the 9/11 terror attacks, this day's events

Developing Coherent Strategy for a Long War With Al Qaeda
Words: 4596 Length: 15 Document Type: Article

Al-Qaeda Developing a Coherent Strategy for a Long War with Al-Qaeda The phrase 'War on Terror' would have been a very uncommon phenomena if it was discussed somewhere near the 1970s. Till then, wars had only been fought amongst nations for the race to become a super power and achieve global supremacy over other states. In present times, the term 'War on Terror' has brought a new dimension to the concept of

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now