Al-Qaeda's History
Al-Qaeda is a militant group that was founded by Osama bin Laden to fight against the Soviet Union at the Afghanistan war. Although the group dispersed in 1989 when the war ceased, the organization continued their resistance against regimes they considered to inferiorate Islamic ideologies. In the early 1990s, the group operated from Sudan. Shortly after that, in 1996, it established its headquarters in Afghanistan ( Rollins, 2010) . In the following years, the group claimed responsibility for major attacks such as that of the World Trade Center in 1993 and an attack on the US embassy in Kenya in the year 1998. In 1996, the then Al-Qaeda’s leader, Osama bin Laden, fled to Afghanistan where he trained Muslim rebels different military tactics. On 11th September 2001, the group undertook one of the deadliest attacks in New York, killing 2,977 victims and destroying property worth millions of dollars (Atwan, 2008) . Although Al-Qaeda’s leader was shot dead by the US military in 2011, to date, the group is operational.
Comparison between Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab
Al-Qaeda and Al-Shabaab are two militant groups with similar ideologies. One similarity in their beliefs is that of Jihad. This has been the root cause of many attacks by Al-Qaeda as well as Al-Shabaab. This is the reason why both of them have previously targeted other religious groups such as Christian and Jews. The primary motive held by these militants is ensuring their ideologies are well accepted by as many individuals with their line of thought as possible. Both Al-Qaeda and Al Shabaab allies other militant groups such as the Taliban. There are no major differences between the two groups since they are both terror perpetrators with an aim of pushing forward the same ideologies.
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Past actions and terroristic endeavors.
Al-Qaeda is known for major attacks such as that of the world trade Centre, the US embassy in Kenya, several religious settings such as Ghriba synagogue and Buratha Mosque, a series of bombings in countries such as Yemen, Baghdad, Afghanistan and the US. All of the above undertakings were fatal. To date, this group endeavours never to relent in its holy war fight as well as the protection of their interests.
Present areas of operation, believed actions, and status of Al-Qaeda
Although Al-Qaeda’s terrorist activities have been on the low since their leader Osama bin Laden was killed, Ayman al-Zawahiri has been reviving terrorist-related activities by the group (Gohel, 2017) . Even though this leader is considered to have been influential in the 9-11 attack eras, his current potential in strengthening the groups' networks all over the world and hence planning attacks against its targets cannot be underestimated. Just a few days ago, on 15th February, British intelligence leader warned of a revival of Al-Qaeda in Idlib, Northern Syria. Besides, they also have agents in the form of other extremist groups in countries such as Pakistan, Iran, and Yemen among other countries majorly affected by terrorism in the world. Their status is active and they have recently claimed responsibility of a few attacks. An example includes a recent attack of a bus with Revolutionary Guards troops on board where 27 people were killed.
The impact of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism in terrorism deterrence.
The UN counter-terrorism office has enacted different policies as well as strategies to counter terrorism. Examples include counter-terrorism capacity building among member states, strengthening terrorism-fighting efforts, dispensing resources as well as expertise among members as well as ensuring implementation of its 4 pillars against terrorism which include terrorism prevention, checking conditions that make terrorism thrive, capacity building as well as ensuring human rights are respected and the rule of law is upheld.
Suitability of the global efforts to contain terrorism.
The global efforts to fight terrorism are suitable because they not only deal with an outcome but also try to prevent the occurrence of terrorist-related undertakings. Besides, the efforts on capacity building help the regions affected not only to fight an attack but also to continue with their lives after an attack.
References
Atwan, A. B. (2008). The secret history of al Qaeda . Univ of California Press.
Gohel, S. M. (2017). Deciphering Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Al-Qaeda’s strategic and ideological imperatives. Perspectives on terrorism , 11 (1), 54-67.
Rollins, J. (2010). Al Qaeda and affiliates: historical perspective, global presence, and implications for US policy . DIANE Publishing.
