Strategic Studies Essay

Blaga Ioana-Iulia

Al Qaeda and new terrorism

The title and the subject itself of this essay belongs to Colin S. Gray, which theorizes
in his War, Peace and International Relations book the idea that Al Qaeda has started a new
form of terrorism. The aim of this paper is to analyze the organization and to see how they
managed to change terrorism. In order to prove the inchoative hypothesis, I will combine the
theory about terrorism using as a starting point the book mentioned above and the facts that
are public information about the group, it is after all a degree of secrecy in their operations
and everything that is unclassified and available is the result of years of intelligence analysis
and profiling.
Al Qaeda is one of the most powerful and rich terrorist organizations in the world,
with a long history of involvement in conflicts, many of them still active today. Some
International Relations` specialists avoid naming it an organization, and tend to prefer the
association term because it has intimate connections with international, even global,
criminal syndicates1, but everyone assorts that it`s a terrorist group Terrorism is the
deliberate creation and exploitation of fear through the use, or the threat, of violence for
political ends2. It is, on an extensive scale, known as an expansive militant Islamist
organization, founded by world`s most famous terrorist Osama bin Laden along with
Abdullah Azzam, with help from several other militants in Peshawar, Pakistan in the late
1980s (presumably somewhere between August 1988 and the end of 1989), which makes it
the most resilient terrorist organization of all times. Even if it had notable terrorist activities
and worldwide operations before, Al-Qaeda only grabbed world attention on September 11,
2001 when it committed a terrorist attack that was 10 times as lethal as any terrorist onset in
history. Although we expected a decrease of power in the organization after the death of its
leader, Al Qaeda`s present importance on a global scale is not debatable; the entire world just
assisted powerless in the most recent operation in France, the Charlie Hebdo attack.

1 Collin S. Gray, War, Peace and International Relations: An introduction to Strategic History,
Routledge, 2007, pp. 259
2 idem, pp. 260

Strategic Studies Essay

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As every other definition in the IR domain, defining the postmodern terrorism and
what differs it from the old terrorism, is hard to point out. Several scholars formed some
theories in order to reach a conclusion, but they couldn`t agree on only one. In his papers,
Laquer argues that the main difference between the two forms of terrorism is based on the
willingness and the possibility to build or to have access to weapons of mass destruction
(CBRN). Other authors have stated that the old form of predominantly state sponsored
terrorism is joined by a new, religiously motivated form of terrorism that neither relies on the
support of sovereign states nor is constrained by the limits of violence that state sponsors
have undergone themselves or placed on their proxies3. Therefore, the common points imply
some variables that can be the most important delimitation when it comes to old versus new
terrorism.
Firstly, the potential use of CBRNs is a characteristic of the new terrorism. Even if there
wasn`t any terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction, the idea that they have access to
it and that might be used someday, it`s enough to distinguish the new terrorists from the old
ones. There are several terrorist groups that have access to CBRNs and the only difference
between them and the others comes from their pockets. Al Qaeda and the other rich
organizations, have the power and money to obtain and maybe use weapons of mass
destruction of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear nature.
Secondly, the lethality and the nature of the attacks from new terrorists has raised in
numbers. The violence is a rational choice for them to send a message that will reach
everywhere in the world, therefore increasing their popularity through fear. The aim is to
have less attacks, because they are costly, but with many victims. Al Qaeda uses often this
strategy in their aggression, the most notorious example being 9/11: The nature of the 9/11
attacks proved the argument made by the proponents of the new terrorism because these
attacks harbored the characteristics they attributed to the new terrorism 4. The address that Al
Qaeda is submitting comes from its pretty unique ideology, built on three principles:
Muslims are under attack everyone; Only al-Qaeda and its followers are fighting the
oppressors of Islam; If you are not sustaining al-Qaeda, then you are sustaining the tyrants
3 Steven Simon, Daniel Benjamin, America and the New Terrorism, article from Survival, vol. 42, no. 1,
2000, pp. 59

4 Defining Terrorism, article from Transnational Terrorism, Security, and the Rule of Law
(TTSRL), 2008, pp. 82

Strategic Studies Essay

Blaga Ioana-Iulia

(not very unmistakably characterized, subsequently, the others). Its goal is to be the
vanguard of the uprising of the oppressed. Al-Qaeda sees itself as the ultimate savior, a small
group of people who can lead the Muslim world and affect change Al-Qaeda knows it can't
accomplish these objectives without anyone else's input, so it needs to rouse the masses with
an elevating message substance proposed to make a gyration .Al-Qaeda is described often
as the quartermaster of jihad5.
The proponents of the new terrorism believe that this novel phase is built on
religious aims and not politically as the old form. As I stated above, from Al Qaeda-s
ideology is clearly that their struggle is preponderant a divine one, a quest for justice and a
way of doing Allah`s will. This key characteristic allows the terrorists to justify their violence
and their atrocities by simply saying that everything that do is only to respect what their deity
is asking them to. This is, unfortunately a very good excuse and it sets a dangerous precedent.
The network structure of the group is the fourth element that scholars agree that
differentiate the new from the old terrorism. The structure, from leadership, to funds and
recruiting is maybe what settles Al Qaeda apart from the other groups. Only by looking into
the way of organizing the group, it is obvious that it`s like no other. Beginning with the
leadership and hierarchy and finishing with the structure, Al-Qaeda is reared as a very
carefully organized chaos. His top advisor, al-Zawahiri, and bin Laden's successor after his
death until now, did as much damage to the world as his predecessor, but lacking the strategy
and charisma of bin Laden. Al-Qaeda`s leadership administers an inexactly sorted out system
of cells.. With a small, mobile, and decentralized infrastructure (each cell operates
independently with its members not knowing the identity, actions or sometimes the existence
of other cells; local operatives rarely know anyone higher up in the organization`s scale), AlQaeda might have built a perfect strategy. The organization bears no resemblance with
traditional terrorist organizations which belong to the traditional terrorism [..] targeted kings,
military leaders, ministers, and other leading public figures, but if there was a danger that the
wife or the children of the target would be killed in an attack, terrorists would refrain from
striking, even if doing so endangered their own lives 6. It doesn't ground on upon the
5 Daniel Byman, Breaking the bonds between Al Qaeda and its affiliate organizations, The
Brookings Institution, Analysis Paper No. 27, 2007, pp. 113
6 Walter Laqueur, Terrorism: a brief history, article from La Vanguardia, Barcelona, 2007

Strategic Studies Essay

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sponsorship of a political state, and, unlike the PLO or the IRA, it is not characterized by a
specific action or conflict. Rather, Al-Qaeda works as a franchise. It gives monetary and
logistical backing, and as well as name acknowledgment to terrorist groups working in such
different places as the Philippines, Algeria, Eritrea, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Tajikistan,
Somalia, Yemen, and Kashmir (source: Global Alliance For Terminating Al-Qaeda/ISIS).
Moreover, local groups may act for the sake of Al-Qaeda, in order to support their own
particular notoriety regardless of the fact that they are not getting appreciation from the
association.
The recruiting process that Al- Qaeda uses, also belongs to the postmodern terrorism
and is based on full use of what the new era has brought, technologically speaking. They
recruit though an interesting combination of methods. They blend secrecy with open sources
very naturally, in such manner that they can`t be traced or accused of anything illegal. For
example, they recruit online through special and secret forums (you need a password to enter
and you can achieve it only by being invited by another person, whom is already a member
and who trusts you and your interests and motives to be there), but also through Twitter and
Facebook (they have official accounts where they mostly post news from the Middle East and
where they deny or take credit for their involvement in particular attacks). Withal, they can
recruit huge members of mujahideen (volunteers in the name of Allah and for the jihadist
purposes) and thousands of extremists and radicals around the world join them periodically.
Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have become virtually synonymous, his name being
instantly associated with the organization`s success and activities. Speaking of success, it is
indeed hard to paint what this means in terms of terrorism. Arguably, the success recipe
encompasses a joinder of power, a right oriented history, good use and possession of
instruments and righteousness.
The unusual power of the organization comes from its ability to reborn, to stay
focused and regroup, to regrow and to build new safe havens when the world expected it to
fail and crumble. It didn`t, on the contrary, they relocated, received more soldiers, more
military power and they managed to gain more control of the areas where they were involved.
Their success also comes from the smart strategy to attract already formed groups with the
same ideology as Al Qaeda, and by doing so, their investment is close to nothing and the
gains are enormous; they gain territory, men power, logistics, money and local support.

Strategic Studies Essay

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It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and an

Islamist, extremist, wahhabi, jihadist group7. It has been designated as a terrorist
organization by the most important organizations in the world and many states, and it has an
interesting opponents and allies (and affiliates) list:
Opponents
United Nations Security Council;
NATO ;
United States; United Kingdom;
Australia; Canada; France; Israel;
Netherlands; Turkey;
Ireland; Sweden;Afghanistan;
Pakistan; India; Algeria; Mali;
Syria; Saudi Arabia; Yemen;
Somalia; Russia; Brazil; Japan;
Yemen; Mali; Somalia; Russia;
Brazil;Japan; South Korea;
Philippines;
Hezbollah; Houthis; Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant

Allies
Taliban
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan
Islamic Movement of

Direct Affiliates

Abdullah Azzam Brigades

Al-Mulathameen Brigade

Al-Mourabitoun

Peninsula

Ansar Dine

Al-Qaeda in Syria

Ansar Al-Islam

Al-Qaeda in the Indian

Islamic Jihad Union

Lashkar-E-Taiba

Movement for Oneness and

Maghreb

Uzbekistan
East Turkestan Islamic
Movement
Jundallah
Lashkar-e-Taiba
Jaish-e-Mohammed
Jemaah Islamiyah
Boko Haram
Abu Sayyaf
Caucasus Emirate

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic

Indirect Affiliates

o
o

Al-Qaeda in Somalia
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian

Subcontinent

Jihad in West Africa

o

Moroccan Islamic
Combatant Group

Rajah Sulaiman Movement

Al-Qaeda Kurdish
Battalions

In conclusion, all these elements make Al Qaeda not only a new terrorist organization,
but also a great threat to the world`s security. If we look at their work from a strategic point
of view, we can only applaud their methods and innovative thinking. Of course, from an
ethical and moral point of view, they are terrorists that train and kill in the name of a god.

7 Rohan Gunaratna, Inside Al Qaeda : Global network of terror , New York ,Columbia University
Press, 2002, pp. 95 -96

Strategic Studies Essay

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This global struggle to promote the Dar ul Islam makes Al Qaeda a powerful actor, with the
means of maybe winning in an irregular war.
Bibliography
Collin S. Gray, War, Peace and International Relations: An introduction to Strategic
History, Routledge, 2007;
Rohan Gunaratna, Inside Al Qaeda : Global network of terror , New York
,Columbia University Press, 2002

Steven Simon, Daniel Benjamin, America and the New Terrorism, article from
Survival, vol. 42, no. 1, 2000;
Defining Terrorism, article from Transnational Terrorism, Security, and the Rule of
Law (TTSRL), 2008;
Daniel Byman, Breaking the bonds between Al Qaeda and its affiliate
organizations, The Brookings Institution, Analysis Paper No. 27, 2007;
Walter Laqueur, Terrorism: a brief history, article from La Vanguardia, Barcelona,
2007