Criticism and condemnation of al-Qaeda that originate from the worldwide Muslim community present the most formidable challenge to its existence and legitimacy as an organization and movement. There is ample literature that questions whether or not...
Osama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri enticed tens of thousands of Muslims from around the world to travel to Afghanistan, swear allegiance to bin Laden and the cause of Al Qaeda, fight and even die for that cause. Bin Laden united faithful...
After the events of the 11 September 2001 and the advent of the War on Terrorism focused mainly against Al-Qaeda, interest in studying the Islamic groups has increased. Such enquiries can have a huge impact on both the Muslim World as well as the...
The purpose of this monograph is to investigate the nature of militant Islam in the context of a global ideological threat; to further examine the strategic concepts associated with the theory of containment developed to win the Cold War; and...
With the attacks of September 11th, by a transnational, global, terrorist network, the full danger of this new security threat was revealed. The initial response of the United States Government to this threat resulted in the birth of the Global War...
This paper argues that the development and implementation of a counter-insurgency strategy that fully integrates all elements of national power is critical to success in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). The paper discusses the flaws in declaring...
The United States is now in the eighth year of the Global War on Terror (GWOT). For America, the war began with the surprise attacks against targets in Washington D.C. and New York City on September 11, 2001. For al Qaeda, the war began centuries...
The influence effort is one of the key parts of success in the Global War on Terrorism. The US government must do everything possible to be effective in winning the war of ideas. This monograph will explore the efficacy of assigning a US military...
Since the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States (US) has waged a Global War
on Terror (GWOT) based upon the flawed strategy of countering a tactic, terrorism, as opposed to a strategy built on understanding and identifying its enemy. By...
The U.S. (U.S.) Government’s ability to influence friends and foes around the world has immense strategic implications that can either enhance U.S. strategic objectives or contribute to a loss of U.S. power. Nine years after the beginning of the...
Usama Bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, declared war on the United States in a statement issued in August 1996. With the words, "It is a duty now on every tribe in the Arab Peninsula to fight in the cause of Allah and to cleanse the land from...
Al Qaeda is a significant threat to the national security of the United States and its allies. This makes it important for individuals in these countries, both military and civilian, to understand the evolution of this threat. This thesis analyzes...
Suicide terrorism is re-emerging as the dominant tactic in asymmetric warfare. Al Qaeda in association with affiliates in the greater Salafi-jihadi movement conduct suicide terror or martyrdom campaigns against strategic and operational targets....
The United States is a nation at war. It will be a long war. The terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 were the catalyst that brought the US to this war: the Global War on Terrorism. However, US and coalition responses to Islamic extremism since...
With the rise of Al Qaeda and like-minded militant groups, there have been many discussions and misrepresentations of the term Islamic way of warfare. It is important to understand that anything, to be qualified as Islamic, has to have a reference...
The Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines (JSOTF-P) indirect approach to irregular warfare (IW) offers senior U.S. policy makers and military commanders a suitable model worthy of consideration for conducting long-term military operations...
The US Global War on Terror is actually a Global Counterinsurgency as defined by FM 3-24 and Al Qaida is the global insurgent currently opposing the US. Al Qaida is held up as the global insurgent through the use of their own declarations in...
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is becoming an important topic for military leaders as the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue. The diagnosis of PTSD in Soldiers returning from the battlefields is increasing at an alarming rate. Despite...
Could the leadership changes resulting from Egypt's January 2011 Revolution uproot thirty years of security cooperation between the United States and Egypt? This monograph examines how the security cooperation, rooted in the Camp David Accords,...
After ten years of global conflict with al Qaeda, the time has come to reassess the threat and determine the parameters within which it operates. Questions regarding its continued validity as a threat, its capability to employ synchronized tactical...