Al Qaeda And What It Means To Be Modern

'The suicide warriors who attacked Washington and New York on September 11th, 2001, did more than kill thousands of civilians and demolish the World Trade Center. They destroyed the West's ruling myth.' So John Gray begins this short, powerful book on the belief that has dominated our minds for a century and a half - the idea that we are all, more or less, becoming modern and that as we become modern we will become more alike, and at the same time more familiar and more reasonable. Nothing could be further from the truth, Gray argues. Al Qaeda is a product of modernity and of globalisation, and it will not be the last group to use the products of the modern world in its own monstrous way. Gray pulls up by the roots the myth that the human condition can be remade by science and progress or political engineering. He describes with mordant irony the rise of Positivists, the strange sect that put science and technology at the centre of the cult and developed a religion of humanity. Through their influence on economists, politicians and biologists, they still powerfully affect the way we think. Gray looks at the various attempts to remake humanity, from the Bolshevik and Nazi disasters to the utopian experiments of modern radical Islam and the dreams of the prophets of globalisation. And he gives a scathing account of the real sources of conflict in the world, of American power and its illusions, and of the ways in which cultures will resist the reshaping we might wish on them.

The author re-evaluates the threat posed by Al-Qaeda following a decade of war.

During the past two decades, America and the world have witnessed the ignoble rise and now-pending destruction of the al-Qaeda terrorist entity, one of the modern world's most vicious and successful transnational organizations. Scholars and national security personnel have dedicated vast resources to dissecting and analyzing al-Qaeda's ideological, strategic, organizational, and tactical strengths and weaknesses. Notable in this entire debate, however, has been the repeated refrain among scholars and U.S. policymakers that we have yet to design and execute a successful messaging campaign that effectively attacks and delegitimizes al-Qaeda in the eyes of potential recruits. Dr. Paul Kamolnick's monograph is designed to address that present lacuna. It is not in the realm of so-called narrative, ideology, or a “war of ideas,” he states, but in the realms of Islamic law, jurisprudence, and U.S. foreign policy that this delegitimizing can and should be waged. First, it is al-Qaeda's violations of the jurisprudence regulating the lawful waging of the military jihad and also its reckless, catastrophic damage to the Islamic cause that most undercuts al-Qaeda's appeal. And second, our willingness to engage in an honest and forthright appraisal of U.S. policies in the Muslim world, coupled with a genuine willingness to address long-simmering grievances, can also significantly undercut al-Qaeda's appeal. It is incumbent, Kamolnick concludes, for national security decision makers to develop the motivation, capability, and sophistication to promulgate and execute a carefully calibrated messaging strategy on these bases. Kamolnick's suggestion that al-Qaeda's mass casualty terrorism violates the Islamic law of war and that the key to dealing with al-Qaeda is a tractable clash of interests and not an intractable clash of civilizations is, if true, a welcome message indeed.

Introduction / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Terrorism as a strategy of insurgency / Ariel Merari -- Zealots and assassins / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Manifestations of terror through the ages / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- The invention of modern terror / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Anarchist terrorists of the nineteenth century / Olivier Hubac-Occhipinti -- Russian terrorism, 1878-1908 / Yves Ternon -- The "golden age" of terrorism / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Lenin, Stalin, and state terrorism / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- Terrorism in time of war : from war II to the wars of national liberation / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- From 1968 to radical Islam / Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin -- The roots of Islamic radicalism / Philippe Migaux -- Al qaeda / Philippe Migaux -- The future of the Islamist movement / Philippe Migaux -- Suicide operations : between war and terrorism / François Géré -- The United States confronting terrorism / Arnaud Blin -- Terrorism in south Asia / Rohan Gunaratna

Contents: (1) Introduction: Al Qaeda: Statements 1994-2001: Founding Principles; ¿Declaration of Jihad¿; ¿Clash of Civilizations¿; (2) Al Qaeda Post-9/11; ¿The Goals of the New York Strike¿; Al Qaeda Statements in 2004-2007; Outreach and 'Truce¿ Proposals; Iraq and Al Qaeda¿s Ideology; Strategic Perspectives; Tactical Differences?; Iraq and Al Qaeda¿s Regional Ambitions; The ¿Islamic State of Iraq¿ and Discord; Political Goals and Perspectives on Reform; The Three Foundations; Al Qaeda on Democracy and Reform; Strategic Framework; Targeting Israel; The Importance of Oil; (3) Implications and Conclusion: Al Qaeda¿s Audiences; Pragmatic Messianism; Al Qaeda and the Jihadist International.

What threat does Al Qaeda pose to the United States as it continues to evolve in the wake of the Arab Spring, and what are the group's evolving strategies for growth and survival internationally? This book provides answers. Ideal for both students of terrorism and general readers wanting to better understand modern terrorism, this book provides an in-depth look at Al Qaeda, including its origins, evolution, doctrines, structure, and terrorist operations. The authors examine Al Qaeda's operational transitions over the last two decades, and consider these changes in terms of the impact of the Internet, the viciousness of the violence employed, the leverage of colonial past, and the subsequent international implications. Particular attention is paid to Al Qaeda's changing strategies for growth and survival across the Middle East and Africa as well as the threats that it poses to the United States as it continues to evolve in the wake of the Arab Spring. The work addresses why Al Qaeda—now both a professional force and a network of so-called "lone wolves"—must remain a primary focus of the United States and other Western states while also recognizing that the threat of terrorism goes beyond Al Qaeda.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1,7, LMU Munich (Geschwister Scholl Institut für politische Wissenschaft), course: Seminar: Introduction into Terrorism Research, language: English, abstract: Speaking about terrorism in a scientific way, it is inevitable to take into account the relationship between media and terrorism. As this essay wants to outline the main characteristics of how and why the transnational terror network Al Qaeda is designing its public appearance, a brief introduction into the general discussion on terrorism and the media is given in the following. The relationship between these two actors is often described as symbiotic or even one of "considerable mutual benefit." On the one hand the mass media can profit from the coverage of terrorist attacks because they can increase their circulation or viewing figures. On the other hand, terrorists achieve the wanted attention, convey the propaganda of the deed and inflict great fear on their target group(s). If successful, they can even mobilize wider support and influence political decisions of their enemies, in the way that they contribute to the desired escalation-spiral. This connection probably led former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to the famous words 'oxygen of publicity': A comparison, which illustrates the absolute need for terrorists to be covered in the media; for them it is as important as the air they breathe. Some theorists are sharing the opinion, that terrorism only becomes what it is through the media coverage: "Without the media aspect, terrorism remains one more cause of death, one of many, and not necessarily the most important or most dangerous one." But despite the recognition of the so-called amplification effect, censorship is neither desirable nor realizable in open western societies. So it is often said, that we are here caught in a dilemma and the only thing, media can do is to wei