...OSAMA BIN LADEN – American’s Most WANTED Osama Bin Laden: Early Life Osama bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1957 or 1958. He was the 17th of 52 children born to Mohammed bin Laden, a Yemeni immigrant who owned the largest construction company in the Saudi kingdom. Young Osama had a privileged, cosseted upbringing. His siblings were educated in the West and went to work for his father’s company, but Osama bin Laden stayed close to home. He went to school in Jiddah, married young and, like many Saudi men, joined the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood. Osama bin Laden is a terrorist extremist who claimed for the attacks on the World Trade Center in Sep 11th 2001 and is intent on driving Western influence from the Muslim world. Osama Bin Laden: The Pan-Islamist Idea For Bin Laden, Islam is more than just a region: it shaped his political beliefs and influenced every decision he made. While he was at college at the late 1970’s, he became a follower of the radical Pan-Islamist scholar Abdullah Azzam, who believed that all Muslims should rise up in jihad, or holy war, to create a single Islamic state. This idea appealed to the young bin Laden, who resented what he saw as a growing Western influence on Middle Eastern life. In 1979, Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan; soon afterward, Azzam and bin Laden traveled to Peshawar, a Pakistani city on the border with Afghanistan, to join the resistance. They did not become fighters themselves, but they used their extensive...
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...Terrorism Many people around the world have been traumatized by the effects of terrorism. Terrorism can cause many different emotions and cause people to do many things. Some people go to church and pray with friends and family. Others want to be alone because they have lost loved ones. Many people just sit in disbelief when they see a terrorist attack, whether it be on tv or right next to them. Explaining what he thinks about the reaction in the United States against terrorism, Anup Shah said, “It was with disbelief and shock that people around the world saw footage of the terrorist attack in the U.S...”(Shah). Terrorism is horrific and must be stopped for the safety of our loved ones. Terrorism is also a worldwide problem, everywhere people's safety is being taken and destroyed by these horrendous events. Terrorism has caused global fear around the world and has taken the peace from people’s lives. Three events that have taken the peace from people’s lives are the attack of 9-11, Osama Bin Laden, and Al Qaeda and in understanding these events, hopefully they can be prevented. First, the tragedy that happened on September 11th, 2001 was possibly one of the worst incidents of this time for the United States. Many people lost their lives and safety that day. Four separate planes were hijacked that day by terrorists and their intent was to hit the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the White House. Luckily...
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...Bin Laden Is Dead: America Still Unsafe Devry University English 135 June 28, 2011 Introduction So, in the end it was not a cold, dark Afghan cave that sheltered the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. It was a huge million dollar home in Abbottabad, Pakistan, with far too much security and 18-foot high walls, much taller than necessary to protect the two couriers who allegedly lived there alone. A U.S. bullet into his head, among other places, is what brought the sudden end to Bin Laden's life after a 10-year hunt for the spiritual leader of the global Al-Qaeda terrorist franchise and the master plotter of the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. The death of Osama bin Laden has raised many questions; what impact does his death have on U.S. counter-terrorism activities, Al-Qaeda and Islamic extremism, and U.S./NATO efforts in Afghanistan? More importantly, is the world any safer now than it was before? U.S. efforts to combat terrorism Without doubt, the death of the Al-Qaida leader is a great achievement in the global fight against terrorism. The spontaneous celebrations that broke out across the U.S. show how eagerly Americans were waiting to see this day. “History's most expansive, expensive and exasperating manhunt has finally ended, but the most expensive war against terrorism still has a long way to go.” (China Post, 2011) While we take comfort in his removal, we must not become complacent in our efforts to win the war on terror. Bin...
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...the Afghanistan government. The Taliban, who ran the majority of the country, thought the accused (Osama bin Laden) was innocent and would not hand him over to the American authorities without sufficient evidence. Bush decided it was necessary to bring this man to America so he may be punished for his crimes, so he placed orders for American troops to enter Afghanistan in pursuit of Osama bin Laden. The Taliban had little or no experience in running a government and it seemed as though they didn’t see this as a priority when they took power in 1996. They demonstrated extreme single-mindedness as they focused on the achievement of law and order under their interpretation of the Sharia law. Their only aim was to create the world’s purest Islamic state; we could see this through the way the Afghan people were treated, the strict laws imposed on women and the way “corrupting influences” (television, music and films) were banned. While the Taliban was governing Afghanistan, many laws were created that controlled all aspects of women’s public and private lives and severely restricted their freedom. Their access to education, healthcare and employment were among some of the many basic necessities that were made difficult to obtain. The Taliban edicts formally ordered the segregation of women from men who were unrelated to them, this meant women could only appear in public if they were almost completely concealed in a garment called a burqa and only while accompanied by a close male...
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...United Sates senator from Iowa stated, “The planes were hijacked, the buildings fell, and thousands of lives were lost nearly a thousand miles from here. But the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were an attack on the heart of America.” The immediate effects from 9/11 like death and destruction are very disturbing, and that leaves Americans wondering why someone would kill thousands of innocent civilians. The causes of 9/11 have been a topic of debate for many years, and many of the effects are quite evident in our society. The September 11th attacks performed by the Al-Qaeda were caused by certain motives that root from conflicts with the United States and the effects run deeper death and destruction and are displayed through changes in American law and culture. First, a leading cause towards the 9/11 attacks is the United States’ foreign policy which favors Israel over Palestine in the Israel-Palestine Conflict. Israel and Palestine have been been conflicting since the mid 20th century due to issues that involve the control of the Gaza Strip and Jerusalem. Primarily, the issue involves the Israeli Jews and the Palestinian Muslims Osama Bin Laden, the leader of the Al Qaeda was anti-Semitic (a hatred of Jews), took favor of the Palestinians. United States military supporting Israel, which led to deaths of many Palestinians, obviously upset bin Laden and fueled his hate towards Americans even more. Bin Laden stated in his Letter to America: “Why are we fighting...
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...Why al Qaeda attacked us Steve Elsey March 9, 2011 POLS 3100 The attacks on September 11, 2001 were one of the most shocking things to happen on U.S. soil. The attacks are regarded as the most deadly terrorist attack to ever happen on American soil. It is one of the events that will happen in your life where you remember exactly where you were when you heard about it. I remember being in a high school photography class, where we didn’t even do anything to with photography that day, we just watched the news to see what was happening. Most of the American people wondered why we would be attacked in such a way, and what would possibly cause someone to hate us so badly. Osama bin Laden issued a letter to Americans explaining his reasoning behind the attacks, and their desire to continue attacking afterwards. The reasons he gives are that we attack them and continue to attack them; we have oppression and aggression towards them; and finally, they attack civilians because civilians chose our government, and are thereby responsible for the government actions. He also tells us what is required for them to stop attacking, which include: being called to Islam; stop our “oppression, lies, immortality and debauchery; to take an honest stance with ourselves to find that we are “a nation without principles or manners, and that the values and principles to you are something which you merely demand from others, not that which you yourself must adhere to”; stop supporting Israel; leave th...
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...Osama Bin Laden’s Death: a Hit or a Miss for the US? A Reaction Paper on the Death of Osama Bin Laden Raquel G. De Leon Philippine Christian University May 28, 2011 Bin Laden’s Death: A Hit or a Miss for the US? The United States caught the world by surprise with its announcement that it finally killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan on May 1, 2011. Following a decade of manhunt and costly war against Iraq and the Taliban, the mastermind of the 11 September 2001 attacks to the US’ economic and military symbols has finally repaid his actions. He was killed in his safe house in Pakistan and was buried to the sea following Islamic burial traditions. The raid, however, was unknown to Pakistani authorities, which could compromise whatever relations the two countries still have. Nonetheless, Osama is dead, and the US can now relax with the thought that its shores are now safe from the claws and pangs of terrorism, or is it so? Bin Laden’s death caused a flurry of reactions from all over the world. Some say that justice to the bombing victims had been served. Others, however, insist that although the US Military annihilated him, he already drained American coffers with trillion in dollars considering the costly wars it waged with the Iraq and the Taliban, as well as the expensive manhunt that lasted for a decade, thus raising the question of the significance of such death. Reactions do vary, with one saying that there is not any single human being, either directly or indirectly;...
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...of heroism and terrorism on US soil. These events were horrific; however, they were not the first time that terrorism has touched our precious land. The bombing of the US Embassy, in Kenya, is just one incident that occurred prior to 911. When we think of terrorism towards the US, everyone naturally thinks of 911; although, this would be a natural reflect, it shouldn’t be. Our country has been under attack several years prior to that memorable day. Does anyone remember the “powerful terrorist car bomb exploded outside US embassy in Kenya, killing at least 81 people – including eight Americans – and injuring more than 1600.” (William Claiborne. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Aug 8, 1998. pg. A.01) American lives were lost on this day, also. Not only were there Americans among this death toll, but it was “confirmed that Osama bin Laden planned, financed and executed the attack.” (Jack Kelley. USA TODAY. McLean, Va.: Aug 21, 1998. pg. 04.A) As we live in the comfort of our homes, and go about our lives; our country has been under assault from this mastermind dating back to 1995. This event has familiar aspects to the mayhem that occurred on September 11th. There was a simultaneous bombing at the US Embassy in Tanzania on August 8th. These events mirror very closely, and at the hands of the same man. It was as if he was practicing for the cou de gras, the bombing of our Twin Towers and the Pentagon. “Osama left his family business at the age of 21 to support...
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...it is a well-known term, every person has all heard of it, but yet do we really know what it is. Terrorism is in the eyes of most, a meaningless hate crime, which has no true reason behind it. The terrorism mindset is people who want to create terror among civilization. They are trained to disturb peace, and to break social harmony. Terrorism is also a horrible threat to the modern world and modern society. It has become a problem around the world, not just in the United States. Many innocent people are killed by terrorist and their acts of terrorism. An individual can see terrorism in multiple forms, but not limited to: Bombing, hijacking, cross border terrorist activities and massacres on a massive scale, in addition to many others not listed. Its consequences are very frightening. Though much effort is put into eliminating terrorism, it is impossible to get rid of it until some strict laws are devised. Whenever and wherever society is victim to brutality, injustice, wrongs and intolerance, terrorism cannot be eradicated. There are many terrorist groups out there, of many different origins and sects. The group that will be discussed is Al Qaeda, which is the most well-known out of the groups listed. The questions and statements that will be answered and debated are: 1.) A brief explanation of Al Qaeda and the summarization of its origins, 2.) Al Qaeda's major motivations, (beliefs or causes), and/or the justifications for engaging in terrorism, 3.) Al Qaeda's major source of...
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...often now, the idea of closing the borders may not be the worst idea this government has ever had. Of course an extreme idea like that can lead to further issues but can also provide the country with the time to sit down and reflect on what can be done better in the future to avoid these circumstances. The people of this country might not have the best course of action to solve this issue but the government needs to work hard to fix this issue we are having on a daily basis. Nearly 3,000 people were killed instantly for the attacks of 9/11. On the day of these attacks, 19 al Qaeda members hijacked planes and performed the most lethal act of terrorism in American history. This attack raised the awareness of Islam and its teachings tremendously. There have been reports of increased sales of the Qur’an and literature on Islam, for example, and some mosques prominent Muslim community leaders have reported a surge in converts to Islam since 9/11 (Coskun 2012). The general public has had an upsurge of interest in the Arab-Muslim world. This awareness is proven through the study done by ProQuest and LAC search engines showing that there was a total of 105 dissertations done by graduate students directly related to the attacks of 9/11. This is what needs to be done. The more people are aware the better it can be to solve issues. During the Presidential election...
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...In an article penned for Maclarens, authors Nicholas Koehler and Stephanie Findlay write a proactive essay about the radicalization of Osama Bin Laden titled “Bin Ladens Ruinous Legacy”. The article begins with an account of early Al Qaeda attacks and the spectacular failures that ensued. The story begins in Yemen with an account of a series of attacks that occurred in the early 1990s. Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda operatives attempt to bomb two hotels in Aden where just two days prior up to 100 U.S. service members were being housed. While the attack failed and it left only two dead, the lessons learned were invaluable to the terrorist organization. Yemeni authorities found an arsenal of weaponry associated with the plot, including 25 other explosive devices, two anti-tank mines, two machine guns and a pistol. That stash and the large quantity of cash recovered from a suspect's apartment pointed to an operation of means and sophistication. As inept as the attacks were Osama Bin Laden was able to achieve his goal of pushing American troops out of Yemen. Nonetheless he remained focused on his primary goal of displacing the American military presence he felt had arrived as an occupying force in Saudi Arabia in 1990 to establish a base of operations for the first Gulf War....
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...and to the world at large. Focusing upon Osama bin Laden, how would you compare and contrast his ability to communicate and exert influence upon these various audiences from the years preceding 9/11 until his death? Summary Al Qaeda leaders and affiliates have conducted sophisticated public relations and media campaigns since the mid-1990s. Terrorism analysts believe that these campaigns have been designed to elicit psychological reactions and communicate complex political messages to a global audience as well as to specific subpopulations in the Islamic world, the United States, Europe, and Asia. Some officials and analysts believe that Al Qaeda’s messages contain signals that inform and instruct operatives to prepare for and carry out new attacks. Bin Laden and other leading Al Qaeda figures have referred to their public statements as important primary sources for parties seeking to understand Al Qaeda’s ideology and political demands. Global counterterrorism operations since 2001 appear to have limited Bin Laden’s ability to provide command and control leadership to Al Qaeda operatives and affiliated groups. Other Al Qaeda leaders and affiliates continue to release statements that encourage and provide guidance for terrorist operations. Iraq has become a focal point for jihadist rhetoric, underscoring Al Qaeda leaders’ interest in Iraq and support for the ongoing insurgency. Statements released by Osama Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri since late...
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...What is terrorism? Encyclopedia Britannica defines it as the “systematic use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective”(Jenkins), but if you ask any American that question and the most common answer you’ll receive is Al-Qaeda, which is an Islamic terrorist group, located primarily in the Middle East. Many join these extremists due to political, economical, cultural, or military Issues coupled with the groups’ ideology of the “global Salafi jihad”(freeman 41). There is no clear solution to Al-Qaeda, but many of the responses to the terrorist group are primarily military actions including the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a plan made for the modern age; cyber planning. Up until 2002 not much was know about the origins of Al-Qaeda when in March of that year the Bosnian authorities seized many documents of Osama Bin Laden’s first initial meeting taking place in his own home located in Peshawar (Bergen and Cruickshank 3). These documents studied by Peter Bergen of the National Security Studies Program and Paul Cruickshank from the Center on Law and...
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...September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda, hijacked four American planes and executed pre-engineered terrorist attacks against various targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown directly into the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane then hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, DC, and the fourth and final plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Now referred to as 9/11, the attacks resulted in extensive destruction, over 3000 merciless deaths in New York City and Washington, and triggered the driving force behind major US initiatives to combat terrorism. Also, may view this horrific event as a defining moment in the presidency of George W. Bush. The first strike was on the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Flight 11, a Boeing 747 carrying 76,000 pounds of jet fuel and 92 passengers, was overtaken by five Arabic passengers, that was later discovered to have worked directly with al-Qaida leader, Osama bin Laden to both plan and give life to this attack. At 7:40 am the flight departed from Boston as normal, the flight maintained its course for the first thirteen minutes. Following this, the crew was not acknowledging communications with the FAA. Several attempts were made to communicate with the crew but no reply was received, with the exception of the sound of static and was thought to be a scream. Connection was finally made at 8:18am to Cary, North Carolina to the American Airlines...
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...Troops Brief Background It all begin on September 11, 2001 (now known as 9/11) when 19 Islamist terrorist hijacked four American commercial passenger jet airliners. New our City Twin Towers were the first to be hit. One plane hit one tower and half hour later; a second plane hit the other tower. Everyone on board was killed along with thousands on the towers and surrounding the area. The impact of both airplanes caused both towers to collapse. The third plane hit the Pentagon in Washington D.C. also killing everyone on board. The fourth plane crashed into a field with no survivors. There were a total of 2,974 people who were killed in this attack on the United States. Ninety countries lost citizens to the attack at the world trade center in New York. The United States of America was under attack by terrorist. The United States was not prepared, did not see it coming and had to gain control. President George W. Bush announced to hic country we were now going to war. President Bush sent our military troops over to Iraq to fight for three main reasons. First, Bush sent the troops over to Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction. Second, Iraq had sponsored the terrorism that happened on 9/11. And third, to capture Osama Bin Laden. The United States military troops were to be a war for how long it took to accomplished these tasks placed upon them. The United States military troops have been over Iraq fighting for our country since 2001 and its now time we bring...
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