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The Current State and Future of Al Qaeda Essay examples

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The Current State and Future of Al Qaeda

United States President Barack Obama announced on May 1, 2011 that “Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with the United States forces in Pakistan.” The death of Osama bin Laden is certainly a major blow to the Al Qaeda terrorist network causing many of its leaders to go underground. Yet, the threat of Al Qaeda still exists and many intelligence officials believe it has only grown. Since September 11, 2001 the terrorist network expanded into a global terrorist organization with thousands of followers. And when examined critically, the death of Osama bin Laden disrupted the …show more content…

Hence, why Osama bin Laden’s death does not lead to the end of Al Qaeda. This is a widely accepted concept believed by many Americans. Osama bin Laden was the leader of Al Qaeda and responsible for the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, but that is all. Al Qaeda itself and its beliefs live on and continue to grow throughout Arab nations and the world. EXPAND! Additionally, Al Qaeda has grown in the last ten years and currently runs global operations in: Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Algeria, Libya, Indonesia and the Philippines. (site) Before September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda was a several hundred member organization in Sudan and the caves of Afghanistan. They have since grown to a global terrorist network that is on the rise. This displays the global expansion of Al Qaeda and how it has continued to grow despite United States and international efforts to eliminate the terrorist organization. Also, there are hundreds of Al Qaeda sponsored terrorist cells in nearly one hundred countries including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. (Site)This poses a significant threat to the security of Western nations as these cells could be activated at any moment to create havoc in a targeted country. Equally important, Al Qaeda works in congruence with many other terrorist organizations such as the: Armed Islamic Group, Hezbollah, Salafist Group, Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Islamic Army

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