Terrorism is a real threat to the lives of the citizens of the United States and of her allies. Osama bin Laden’s organization sponsored the October 2000 attack on the USS Cole which resulted in seventeen dead U.S. sailors, dozens of injuries,...
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...
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Bush administration chose to pursue a broad, offensive, and preemptive campaign against terrorists and their purported state sponsors, versus executing a focused response against Osama bin...
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...
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...
As the United States (US) continues operations to neutralize terrorist activity and prepare its military for future hybrid threats, operations to target enemy leadership, in a counterinsurgency environment, have grown in complexity and importance....
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...
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...
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...
On September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda and affiliated jihadist organizations declared war on the United States. Since that day, the U.S. government has initiated a series of policies, legislation and actions to confront the new threat. Seven years into...
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the militant Islamist threat within the United States, to determine whether the current United States National Counter-Terrorism Structure can prevent the next significant terror attack in the homeland,...
Since September 11, 2001, the United States government has concentrated many of its resources on combating international terrorism. Military operations have taken place in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq in an effort to destroy terrorist...
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...
The question this monograph attempts to answer is whether "coercive strategies and their associated defeat mechanisms provide valid courses of action (COAs) for the US against global terrorists networks and nations that harbor terrorists?" The...
Can the United States wage a Global War on Terror with the current strategies in place? The U.S. waged a similar “long war” over four decades against communism. Although the threat to today’s U.S. national interests is a form of terrorism...
With USSOCOM assuming the role as supported command in the Global War on Terror, Army Special Forces will no doubt to play a primary role in that effort. The unspoken assumption seems to be that America's new, unconventional foe will best be...
To succeed in the Long War, the United States and its allies will need to develop new strategic approaches, adaptive operational concepts, and more cost-effective methods of coalition and Interagency coordination. As was the Cold War, the Long War...
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...
Victorio and Osama bin Laden are two examples of charismatic leadership. During both of their campaigns against US forces, both avoided and presently avoid capture due to their extensive support of their followers. Both received and receive refuge...
With United States involvement in Afghanistan, knowledge of the country is imperative. This "handbook explains a number of basic issues that should be in the knowledge" toolbox of a Marine working with Afghanis or deployed to the country.