Beyond the Al Qaeda Core

What Are the Key Al Qaeda Affiliates? In his May 23, 2013, speech on counterterrorism—perhaps his most important public statement on this issue so far—President Obama contended, “Today, the core of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan is on a path to defeat.” However,...

Ideas and Influences

What Are the Key Schools of Thought That Influence Salafi-Jihadism? Al Qaeda and the broader Salafi-jihadist movement it seeks to lead are influenced by several overlapping schools of thought within Islam that have millions of adherents. However, few of these adherents embrace terrorism.

Strategy and Tactics

What Are Al Qaeda’s Goals Today? Beginning in the mid-1990s, and becoming firm in February 1998 with the release of a fatwa from the Al Qaeda-backed umbrella group, the World Islamic Front for Combat Against Jews and Crusaders, Al Qaeda coalesced around...

Suggestions for Further Reading

Al Qaeda is over 25 years old, and the broader jihadist movement is older still. Especially after 9/11, the appetite for books that could explain this group and the overall jihadist phenomenon was voracious, and many notable works appeared. Work is scant on the...

The Islamic State

The Islamic State is Al Qaeda’s most important progeny and its greatest nemesis. The Islamic State grew out of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and both groups’ objectives, enemies, and tactics are all part of the broader jihadist movement that Al Qaeda so long sought...

Friends and Enemies

How Did the 2003 Iraq War Shape Al Qaeda? In the years leading up to 9/11, Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda shared a hatred of the United States, Saudi Arabia, and other common foes, but their visions—that of a secular tyrant with dreams of...

Organization and Recruitment

Why Was Bin Laden Such an Effective Leader? Perhaps no terrorist in history has created, nurtured, and managed a terrorist group as effectively as Osama Bin Laden. His success lies both in his personal story and in the unusual mix of traits he embodied,...

Key Attacks and Plots

Why Were the 1998 Embassy Attacks So Important? The bombings of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on August 7, 1998, killed 224 people—12 Americans and 212 Africans—and wounded thousands more. These bombings were a turning point in Al...

Introduction

Al Qaeda became a household name on the morning of September 11, 2001. But the terrorist organization that shocked the world and unleashed a whirlwind of controversial counterterrorism measures and two major wars had been on the scene long before that bloody day. I...

Counterterrorism

The United States uses a wide range of national security instruments to fight terrorism in general and Al Qaeda in particular. Each instrument has its strengths and weaknesses, and they cannot all be used in every circumstance. Together, however, they offer a powerful counterterrorism...