Last updated on 8/14/06
Background Information About Al Qaeda or Al-Qa'ida:
Background information about al Qaeda, also known as al-Qa'ida. The links below come from many sources. As with all our information, we try to be balanced.
If you know of an article which should be listed here, please email us so we can consider it.
Because there is a close link between al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, there may be some overlap between this page and our bin Laden page. We invite you to check that page as well.
Please be aware that we are still working on the background pages to this site. However, because of demand, we wanted to put some of what we have up now.
Please check back often,.
General Background:
Jane's Richard Engel charts the careers of some of Bin Laden's converts and co-conspirators, offering an insight into Al-Qaeda's inner workings.
Intellinet:
Al-Qa'ida (the Base)
History, ideology and strategy, terrorist activity, and resource links
pertaining to Al-Qa'ida.
PBS:
Background: Al Qaeda
The US government issued an indictment in November 1998 alleging that
Osama bin Laden heads an international terrorist network called "Al
Qaeda," an Arabic word meaning "the base." These are the
government's allegations from this and subsequent indictments concerning
Al Qaeda.
Jane's:
'Blowback'
The CIA originally coined the term "blowback," which is a situation
where U.S. actions yield consequences the U.S. did not intend or want
or that cause, or have the potential to cause, serious problems.
CIA
biographies and investigations of bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and terrorist attacks
National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 55
1996:
OBL
Interview: The New Powder Keg in The Middle East
Mujahid Usamah Bin Ladin Talks Exclusively to "Nida'ul Islam"
1998:
WEB
OF TERROR: Bin Laden's International Terror Network
Written in the wake of the Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam embassy bombings.
1999:
FBI
Website: Document Evidence Against Bin Laden
US State Department's Washington File from November, 1999.
2001:
Terrorism
Files: Al-Qaeda
Background information including a detailed profile on al-Qaeda and information
on known members and Osama bin Laden.
Al
Qaeda and the Global Reach of Terrorism
The October 3, 2001, testimony of Oliver Revell, former FBI Associate
Deputy Director for Investigations before the U.S. House Committee on
International Relations.
FAS.org:
al-Qa'ida (The Base)
Federation of American Scientists' Intelligence Resource Program.
US
State Department: Al-Qaida
Terrorist
Group Profiles from Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School. From
Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2000. United States Department of State,
April 2001.
Christian
Science Monitor: The 'cave man' and Al Qaeda: Is bin Laden just a front
man?
Hamid Mir, a Pakistani journalist who repeatedly interviewed bin Laden
says he's not the terror group's main force.
After 2001:
Al
Qaeda Training Manual
This training manual was found in Manchester, England, by the Metro police
when they searched an al Qaeda member's home. Only selected text from
the manual is presented by the U.S. Department of Justice because it does
not want to aid in educating terrorists or encourage further acts of terrorism.
US
Court Document Links Bombing Suspect to Bin Ladin Organization
Official press release issued by the U.S. Attorney's office.
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