A History of Al-Qaeda

When the Afghan Mujahideen fought against the Soviet Union, they were supported not only by the United States, but also by fighters from Saudi Arabia. Osama Bin Laden, the son of a wealthy businessman, set up a base camp called Al-Qaeda for these Saudi Arabian fighters and they viewed the withdrawal of the Russians as their victory. Then their goal became liberating more countries in the name of true Islam. Said describes how this terrorist organization was formed in 1988, drew attention to itself through spectacular attacks and sparked an international “War on Terror” after the devastating events of 9/11. Since then Al-Qaeda has generated many offshoots, from ISIS, the Al-Nusra Front and the Al-Shabaab militia to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. This unsettling study shows just how dangerous it would be to underestimate the on-going presence of this terrorist network.