The article is “The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s Leader” by Peter L. Bergen
This article is unique as it gives an in depth picture of Osama’s life and his involvement in military activity. It then moves on to show the emergence of Osama’s hatred towards the U.S. and consequently the emergence of threats towards the Americans.
Research question of the article
Does the article establish the emergence of his threat to the United States and portray its counter measures?
Hypothesis of the article
H1: The article aims to ascertain the history of Osama Bin Laden
H2: The article aims to portray the role in Islamic fronts on his threat of the United States
The articles general content of the literature review
The literature review serves its purpose of elaborating the genesis of Osama and the conception of his hatred of the U.S. This assist the reader understand the genesis of his threats to the U.S.
The article’s literature review explains that Osama Bin Laden’s mother came from Syria, and his father came from Yemen. Born in 1957, Osama Bin Laden was the seventh child in a family of fifty siblings.
Bin Laden’s father had a poor background and later became a powerful businessman who owned one or the biggest construction companies in the kingdom. Bin Laden’s father was close to the royal family of King Saud and later the Faisal monarch. After the post Saud-Faisal conflict, Laden’s father assisted King Faisal by paying the civil servants’ wages six months.
The article’s literature review showed that Osama Bin Laden had immense Islamic commitment. His father’s religious affiliation with Hajj pilgrims brought in Islamic scholars and leaders to their residence during Hajj. The leaders and scholars influenced Osama Bin Laden in religious matters.
Some of the Islamic scholars were leaders in various Muslim movements around the Middle East. Osama Bin Laden made excellent contacts with the movement leaders in those gatherings. In his secondary school life, he joined the Muslim brotherhood as many other educated Muslims at the time. Later in university, he undertook compulsory Muslim studies. The lecturers in the article later became renowned leaders in Afghanistan.
The review further explained that Osama Bin Laden first went to Afghanistan during the first weeks of the soviet invasion. He had first had experience with refugees and met some leaders through his hosts. This was an exploratory trip, which lasted a month. Later, he took an action trip back to Pakistan after lobbying leaders to support the Mujahedeen. He raised a surmountable amount of money for the Jihad.
In this trip, he accompanied Pakistanis and Afghanis who worked in the Bin Laden. This trend of collecting money and travelling went on until 1982. In 1982, he went to Afghanistan loaded with plenty of machinery for construction to assist the mujahedeen. Osama Bin laden spent up to eight months in a year in Afghanistan. This was immense dedication from a person from a different country and a comfortable lifestyle.
The literature review traced the beginning of Osama’s military involvement as starting in 1984, when he established a guesthouse called Baitulansar in Peshawar to be the first Arab mujahedeen station in Afghanistan. In 1988, Osama built upward of six camps in Afghanistan. He had his own front and ran his own under his own command. He recruited senior Arab ex-military as his fighters and Syrian and Egyptian men with excellent military experience. He spent eight months or more a year in Afghanistan.
The article’s literature claimed that in 1988, Osama began documenting his visitor movement from the guesthouse to the camps generating a complex known as Al-Qaeda, which means “The Base.” Al-Qaeda became public knowledge. After the Afghan war, the al Qaeda fighters joined other international conflicts. This made al Qaeda a global entity and benefited cultivation of other generations of al Qaeda.
Contents of the literature review
The literature review of the article portrayed the presence of American force in the Saudi Arabia during the Gulf war shifted al Qaeda focus to combating the invasion. The al Qaeda protected Saudi Arabia, as it was home of Islam’s most sacred shrines. They began extreme terrorist acts against rulers in Saudi Arabia.
The ultimate goal of these actions aimed to forcefully force out the pro-American leadership in Saudi Arabia and replace it with the Islamic regime. The acts of terror forced the Saudi Arabia leadership to deport Bin Laden and later revoke his citizenship.
According to the literature review of the article, in 1991, Osama Bin Laden relocated to Sudan, which became his base for almost six years. At this time, Al Qaeda made many connections with terrorist organizations assisted by their Sudanese hosts and state of Iran. Al Qaeda organized terror attacks carried out by sister organizations. Although individuals claim that Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda outfit were responsible for the attacks’ on the world trade center in 1993, there is little evidence.
He attacked American humanitarian convoys heading to Somalia in Yemen and Aden. He also assisted the Somali militias fight off United States forces in 1994. In 1995, he implemented a serious terrorist attack against American military in Riyadh, and the following year in Khobar. Following U.S. pressure, the Sudanese government asked Bin Laden to relocate which he did. He moved to Afghanistan and befriended ruling Taliban.
The literature review of the article further shows that in Afghanistan, Osama’s anti-united States rhetoric escalated to new heights. In 1996, he praised the attacks in Riyadh on U.S. soldiers. In the same year, he issued Al Qaeda’s first jihad, declaration of war, to America.
In 1998, several Muslim leaders joined the force with Bin Laden to form a coalition against Jews and crusaders. This entity issued a Jihad against the U.S. The international Islamic front chose Osama Bin Laden to become their leader. The front published its goals and ideologies in a British based Arabic paper. It stated its main goal as a call to all Muslims to murder any Americans or their allies wherever they may be (Bergen, 2006).
The literature review concludes by showing the peak of Osama attacks. The Al-Qaeda attacks against the United States escalated in August 1998. This is when they attacked two United States embassies in the capitals’ of Kenya and Tanzania killing 12 Americans and 200 locals.
The U.S. retaliated by attacking targets in Afghanistan and Sudan. The Al Qaeda attacks continued and in October 2000, they bombed an American missile destroyer called the U.S.S. Cole at Aden in Yemen. The most devastating Al Qaeda attacks occurred on September 11, 2001.
Main points of the article
The main points of the article are identifying the threats posed by Osama Bin Laden on the United States. The priority is the threat posed by Osama Bin Laden with his al Qaeda outfit. The Al Qaeda continues to move on after Osama’s death. This article attempts to understand the significance and magnitude of the threat poised. The article also examines factors that enhance and sustain the threat.
The methods used in collecting and analyzing Data
The author explains the methods of collecting data in depth. The production of the article required an elaborate evidence base. The material acquired from numerous sources. It ensured proper and correct supporting information to the research carried out. The collection of information interlinks for efficiency. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods assist in the generation of information.
Qualitative methods: These include literature reviews of documents with information that affects variety qualitative angles.
Quantitative methods: These includes desk sorting of necessary reports and data acquired for a variety of aspects analyzed.
These methods limit unnecessary material to be used on the production of the main points in the article. It brings out a comprehensive and in-depth appeal to the document. The table below highlights the main points for each objective. The process requires careful consideration of data available.
These methods could assist me replicate the study of the production of the article. I believe I could successfully replicate the study if I follow the methods to the later.
Findings
The findings support the author’s thesis. The findings show that the threat posed by Osama Bin Laden on the United States began from the earlier years of the Gulf war. The American occupation of Saudi Arabia drove Osama to propagate hate against Americans. This led him to get exiled and while, on exile, he began his plots and attacks against Americans.
He rallied Muslims to attack Americans in his role as a leader of an international Muslim front. He proclaimed numerous jihads against the American nation and their allies. This prompted numerous attacks on the U.S. and counter attacks by the U.S. on the Al Qaeda.
Conclusion and evidence provided in the article
The conclusion follows the evidence provided and I am satisfied by it. It portrays Osama Bin Laden’s legacy still lives on in the hearts of his Al Qaeda network. His militants continue the spread of anti-American rhetoric in the post Osama era. The violence controlled in the public arena only, but the diehard followers continue to plot against Americans.
In the post Osama era, the United States have strengthened their intelligence and homeland security proving that the threat by the Al Qaeda has risen. Osama’s death has not reduced the need of his followers’ threat to the United States, but rather it has prompted his followers to conceal their activities and plot surprise attacks.
The articles limitations
The article has numerous limitations due to the material available on the subject. The article is not random. The data collected base its facts on literature produced by the affected government and not self-reporting by the assumed mastermind. Self-reporting produces verifiable data of the accusation poised. The research limits to previously undertaken research material. This limits the angles the researcher might want to take. The results cannot be accurate as the sample size came from resources.
References
Bergen, P. L. (2006). The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda’s, Council on foreign relations, 34-238.