Verified Document

Biggest Terror Group Threat Essay

Homeland Security Over the last two decades or so, the nastiest and most active terrorist groups really have to be ISIS/ISIL and Al Qaeda. Although the former is much "younger" than the latter, they have certainly made up for lost time given what they are currently doing in the Middle East. Even so, the top question becomes which of those two groups is the most active and deadliest right now. Indeed, a case could be made for both in their own rights. Al Qaeda has had more staying power but ISIS is running roughshod over the Middle East much more so as of late than Al Qaeda has been doing anywhere. While Al Qaeda is certainly still a threat, ISIS is clearly the more clear and present danger right now.

Analysis

If this question were posed a mere ten to fifteen years ago, the answer would be Al Qaeda and it would not even be close. People might think that ISIS is a brand new thing but this is not true. Even if it was only by two years, ISIS existed a full two to three years before the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Indeed, ISIS was formed in 1999, albeit under the name a different name. Another important detail is...

Only in 2014 did ISIS peel off of Al Qaeda and start going into business for themselves.
Al Qaeda, however, used to be quite formidable on its own. The 2001 terrorist attacks were the result of nearly twenty terrorists being able to take over four planes and they all ended up crashing, albeit only three of them hitting their intended targets. The United States and other Western nation responded with brute force, however, starting in Afghanistan given that the Taliban was in charge there and they were letting Al Qaeda operate with impunity given that the goals and mindsets of the two groups were very similar. Over the time period of the George W. Bush Presidency but only after the 9/11 attacks, a good amount of Al Qaeda's personnel and infrastructure was gutted and destroyed. A few years into Barack Obama's Presidency after Bush departed, Al Qaeda kingpin Osama bin Laden was found and killed in Pakistan (PBS, 2016).

The rather successful war against Al Qaeda is just one reason why ISIS is the bigger threat. ISIS took advantage of the fact…

Sources used in this document:
References

PBS. (2016). Bill Moyers Journal. Brief History of al Qaeda -- PBS. PBS.org. Retrieved 21 May

2016, from http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07272007/alqaeda.html

Yuhas, A. (2016). NATO Commander: ISIS 'Spreading like cancer' among refugees. The Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2016, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016

/mar/01/refugees-isis-nato-commander-terrorists
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Terrorist Groups Use of Cloud Technology
Words: 4606 Length: 15 Document Type: Dissertation or Thesis complete

Terrorist Group's Use Of Cloud Technology After the 1980s there have been changes on a global scale that included post cold war developments. The changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union coupled with the technological change on the nations of the East caused structural and perceptional changes that were needed to make them competitive in high technology; which included everything from military to the service sector. There was advance of

Abu Sayyaf Group Asg Has Re-Emerged Among
Words: 2057 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has re-emerged among the list of most critical terrorist organizations fighting the federal government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP), America, and it is allies within Southeast Asia. Established in 1991 by Abdurrajak Janjalani, a veteran in the Afghan Mujiheddin as well as associate of Osama bin Laden, the gang rapidly rose to popularity as being a deadly terrorist group dedicated to the institution of

Domestic Terrorism and Extremist Groups
Words: 3981 Length: 13 Document Type: Research Paper

Right and Left Wing Terror Groups in America 1 Extremism in the U.S. is on the rise, based on the rise in polarization throughout the country as the Left and the Right become more and more opposed to one another ideologically, politically, socially, and emotionally. There is a strong rift between the two and little sense of common ground. Much of this rise has come on the heels of the rise in

Persistent Threat Historical Background of
Words: 5786 Length: 20 Document Type: Research Paper

According to Toronto Star reporter Stephan Handelman in an article printed in 2005, the U.S. senior intelligence analysts consider China to be the greatest long-term threat to U.S. stability. China's military force and computer intelligence has reached its peak. Both the Europeans and the U.S. agree that the expansion of the Chinese military is more than "worrisome." Another article posted on November 16, 2007 by the Washington Post claims that spying

War on Terror in Afghanistan
Words: 2878 Length: 8 Document Type: Thesis

Others say Omar "was chosen by God," Rashid writes. When interviewed by a journalist from Pakistan (Rahimullah Yousufzai) after taking control of Kabul, according to Rashid's book, Omar stated, "We had complete faith in God Almighty. We never forgot that. He can bless us with victory or plunge us into defeat." Omar was born around 1959 (albeit much of his life is carefully guarded in secrecy), he has only one eye,

International Politics the Threat of
Words: 870 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

In all cases there is the perception of the U.S. interfering in issues that should be dealt with locally, interfering to protect their own interest and to enforce their own values; a situation which leads to resistance. Terrorism may be argued as an action undertaken when people feel that they cannot be heard in another way. This resistance has been seen in terrorist attacks which may be directly related to

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