The Current State and Future of Al Qaeda

United States President Barack Obama announced on May 1, 2011 that “Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the most devastating attack on American soil in modern times and the most hunted man in the world, was killed in a firefight with the United States forces in Pakistan.” The death of Osama bin Laden is certainly a major blow to the Al Qaeda terrorist network causing many of its leaders to go underground. Yet, the threat of Al Qaeda still exists and many intelligence officials believe it has only grown. Since September 11, 2001 the terrorist network expanded into a global terrorist organization with thousands of followers. And when examined critically, the death of Osama bin Laden disrupted the …show more content…

Therefore, Al Qaeda has continued to grow and expand across the world in spite of the United States attempt to destroy the organization in the last ten years. The Al Qaeda terrorist organization will replace Osama bin Laden and move on. According to CNN terrorist analyst, Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two Al Qaeda leader is now the new leader of Al Qaeda following bin Laden’s death. A new Al Qaeda will emerge under Al-Zawahiri which opens a new chapter for the terrorist organization and new dangers to Western security. This new leader holds a deep hatred for the United States because his wife and two children were killed by a United States airstrike following the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. Ayman Zawahiri explicitly stated he vows for revenge of bin Laden’s death and urges followers to target the United States. CBS security analyst Juan Zarate says he is likely to launch new attacks against the the United States “to prove his leadership and to demonstrate a reprisal for the death of his boss.” With this in mind, Al Qaeda does not need another massive attack on United States soil to make its point. Simply, it could place a suicide bomber in a busy subway or in Times Square to demonstrate Al Qaeda’s is still a major threat. Both of these examples were attempted in the past two years. (site)This puts the United States and its allies in great danger in the near future. In summary, the Al Qaeda terrorist network still exists after the