The Mind Of Terrorists: Osama Bin Laden And Al-Qaeda

?Psychology of Terrorism.? Center for International Research on Terrorism. 2007. http://www.terrorismresearchcenter.org/psychology-of-terrorism.html, accessed 16 Aug 2010.

Fawaz Gerges, who has done extensive research on Al-Qaeda, has described the themes of development on Al-Qaeda. During the early 1990’s the ideology of Sayyid Qutb [3] had a large influence on the objectives of Al-Qaeda. Qutb stood for the concept of hideous schizophrenia [4], and believed that it has been forever implemented into western societies. Gerges states that it was not until 1996 that Al-Qaeda shifted its focus on the “near enemy” to the “far enemy”. This change in ideology was expressed in the 1996 declaration written by Bin Laden. It was a way to inform Al-Qaeda’s vast network the slight change in ideology, and served to express the newly support in the principles of hideous

Al-Qaeda has shaped the U.S. and its Anti-Western ideology that has corrupted the world. This terrorist organization was constructed by Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden’s main goal was to drive the United States armed forces out of Saudi Arabia and Somalia through the technique of violence. Members of Al-Qaeda issued fatwas indicating that the attacks were both proper and necessary. Al-Qaeda had a command and control structure which included a consultation council, allowing many heartbreaking attacks to form. The al-Qaeda organization used horrendously violent acts to induce terror during catastrophes, causing social climate of distrust and fear to emerge the American citizens.

I mean seriously, who do these Al Qaeda guys think they are? First they go blowing up the twin towers, which I stayed in during a high school concert choir trip, and now this…Wanting Americans to convert to Islam, THE NERVE! How rude can these guys get? Instilling fear in every man, child and animal is one thing, but asking me to switch faiths? Shit, you 've crossed a line you really shouldn 't have crossed; you need to step off Al Qaeda. What? You don 't believe me? Well believe this, infidel: "Al-Qaeda has urged non-Muslims - especially in the US - to convert to Islam, according to a new videotape. The call is made by a man identified on the film as "Azzam the American", a convert also known as Adam Gadahn who is wanted for questioning by the FBI. He says ignorance of Islam leads Westerners to accept wars waged by their governments and Israel against Muslim countries. The video opens with an introduction by al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri." -BBC.com Al-Zawahiri has got to be the biggest affront on Middle America 's way of life since Al Bundy, perhaps even more so. And who is this "Azzam the American" character? Isn 't that the name of the genie Shaq played in that stupid movie? It 's all pretty sickening and I, as an American, am pissed off. This is what I am doing right now to "deal" with it, you know, blow off steam. I 've got Lee Greenwood 's "God Bless the USA" (you know the tune… "And I 'm proud to be an American") blasting on the hi-fi, and I 'm sitting at

Al-Qaeda and its leaders, Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri are frequently popular world news subjects. (Piszkiewicz, 2003, p. iii) The world seems to want to be constantly aware of the goings on of these people and their organization. There is no secret to the desired need for this information. As most people know Al-Qaeda is a significant and ongoing threat to the world, with regard to terrorist activities and continued fundamentalist extremism with regard to jihad, or what these extremists see as a holy war against the rest of the world, but mostly the Western world. This work will begin with a short introduction to the threat that Al-Qaeda poses to the world as a way to develop a full profile of the organization,

Although there is no one single fingerprint that defines the psychological makeup of a terrorist, there are several broad characteristics that indicate a person’s vulnerability toward radicalization. Terrorists willing to carrying out a suicide operation, as a subset of the larger radicalized group, are certainly no exception. Indeed, dedication to the point of self-extermination requires a deeper degree of radicalization than to merely fight for one’s chosen cause.

Since the darkest day, September 11, 2001, the citizens of The United States of America are on alert and are weary of acts of terrorism. One can turn on the television and can easily find an act of terrorism. Most recent acts are the Boston bombings or the bombings in Volgograd, and most recently the two bombings in Sochi. What drives someone to complete the devastating acts of terrorism? How can on predict, based off of antisocial behaviors, who is more likely to become a terrorist? Regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or racial background, experts agree terrorists share one common link: their childhood. One tends to be more susceptible to becoming a terrorist because of a traumatic event in their childhood to cause antisocial behavior.

This excerpt from Silke’s Becoming a Terrorist aims to determine what causes someone to become a terrorist. Silke argues that simply labeling terrorists as mentally unbalanced or psychotic prevents us from achieving a fuller understanding of the phenomenon. As it turns out, there is no one factor that determines whether a person will become a terrorist. Instead, it is a combination of any number of factors from economic circumstance to vengeance and these factors vary widely depending on the culture, social context, terror group, and individual involved.

It’s impossible to know how relatively ordinary, rational individuals are able to justify their involvement in terrorist organizations. The radicalization process is extremely personal and as a result varies from one individual to the next. This makes it difficult to know who is susceptible to radicalization and who is not. In an attempt to understand this, I’ve tried to reduce the process down to three key elements. Dubbed the three C’s of radicalization; The Catalyst, The Course and The Cause, these describe the environmental, facilitators and triggers that inform an individual’s decision to resort to terrorism.

What do Osama bin Laden, Muhammad Atef, terrorism, and Islamic militants all have in common? They are all associated with Al-Qaida (the Base). What is Al-Qaida (the Base)? Al-Qaida is a multi-national support group which funds and orchestrates the activities of Islamic militants worldwide. It grew out of the Afghan war against the Soviets, and its core members consist of afghan war veterans from all over the Muslim world. Al-Qaida was established around 1988 by the Saudi militant Osama bin Laden. Based in Afghanistan, bin Laden uses an extensive international network to maintain a loose connection between Muslim extremists in diverse countries. Working through high-tech means, such as faxes, satellite

The fifth chapter of the book by Dyson (2015) is titled “An Overview of Investigative Techniques as They Apply to Terrorism.” The chapter focuses on the psychological and behavioral features of terrorists and offers several recommendations on the use of investigative techniques in their case. The chapter is insightful, and its recommendations, however scarce, are rooted in the specifics of the work of terrorists’ minds, which, in turn, can be supported by relevant literature and appear to be valid. Overall, the chapter does not suggest using specific investigative techniques with the terrorists, but it calls for greater caution in the process.

One of the most complex aspects of counterterrorism (CT) for the intelligence community (IC), law enforcement (LE), and CT communities is the psychology of terrorism. In the broad study of the psychology of terrorism, a highly misunderstood and challenging subject area is the recruitment of terrorists. A “normal,” rational person would wonder why an individual would pledge to commit acts of terror that would inflict lethal or grave danger upon innocent civilians for a politically educed cause. When in matter of fact, that rational person could also be susceptible to recruitment by a terrorist organization based upon any anti-political ideologies they may hold against their respected government. There are many reasons an

All this, he says, has given him an insight into what fuels terrorism, and a specialist’s appreciation for the propaganda strategies of the Islamic State, and how they have improved upon those pioneered by Al Qaeda. Where Osama bin Laden once lectured in didactic videos, the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has young jihadists speaking to potential recruits in their native tongues, whether English, French

Terrorism has been significantly on the rise over the past several years, making it one of the major concerns for governments and security organizations. The identity of terrorists and the activities perpetrated by them have been associated with certain races, religious affiliations and other geographical parameters, with little concern to understand the development of these characteristics among humanity. Most individuals have classified terrorists as being members of specific races and hence developed fallacious theories that associate terrorism with genetic makeup and other mental problems.

The biographical sketches of Osama bin Laden and Sheikh Khalid Muhammad, the key planner of the 9/11 attacks, is by far the strongest section of the book. A detailed description of al Qaeda 's networks across the Middle East, Europe, South America and North America is another aspect that sets this book apart from other literature on the subject. The book throws up new data about al Qaeda’s global networks quoting first-hand interviews. For instance,  Gunaratna gave a detailed account of how the arrest of the twentieth hijacker Zaccarias Moussaoui affected the 9/11 attacks [3] and how Hizballah operative Imad Mughniyeh