The Life of Osama bin Laden: Illegal Activities Essay

Introduction

Osama bin Laden:

• Was born in a wealthy family
• The founder of Al Qaeda – a militant Islamic network
• Organized multiple terrorist attacks
• Took responsibility for the tragedy of September 11, 2001

Early Years

1. Was born on March 10, 1957 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2. Was a son of Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden, a multi-millionaire construction magnate
3. Attended the most prestigious school in Jedda – Al Thagher Model School
4. Al Thager influenced his radical views and shaped his personality
5. He obtained a degree from King Abdul Aziz University

Creation of Al Qaeda

1. Was founded in 1988
2. Al Qaeda – “The Base”
3. Mission – “to correct wrongdoings according to Islamic law” (Richardson, 2019, p. 38).
4. Based on the principles of extremist Jihad
5. Al Qaeda is responsible for terrorist acts in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, the United States, East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, etc.

Goals and Activity of Al Qaeda

1. The goal of bin Laden: to launch a holy war against American citizens and Jews
2. Al-Zawahiri – bin Laden’s successor
3. Major terrorist acts:

• 1997 – massacre of tourists in Egypt
• 1993 – World Trade Center bombings in New York
• 2004 – bombing in Madrid
• 2005 – bombing in London

9/11 Attacks

A series of four terrorist acts:

Aims:

1. The World Trade Center
2. The Pentagon
3. The White House/ the Capitol (the airplane did not reach the target)
4. Osama bin Laden was the prime suspect
5. In 2004, he claimed responsibility for the attacks (Wallace, 2019)

9/11 Consequences

Victims: Around 3000 people killed.

Economic consequences: The destruction of the 110-story, 417-meter towers in the heart of New York; $75 billion damage (Wallace, 2019, p. 24)

Bin Laden’s Later Life and Death

1. Special operations aimed at capturing bin Laden were organized by Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations.
2. Bin Laden spent his last years of life
3. He was killed on May 2, 2011, in Pakistan
4. Bin Laden’s death was announced by President Obama
5. Al Qaeda remains the threat to international peace and security (Richardson, 2019)

Impact

• “The age of terror”
• Killing of civilians
• Economic damage
• Negative influence on the political and social spheres of life
• Reinforcement of national security
• Importance of addressing the problem of terrorism

References

Richardson, C. (2019). Bin Laden, Osama (1957/8-2011). In P.L. Reichel (Ed.), Global crime: An encyclopedia of cyber theft, weapons sales, and other illegal activities (pp. 37-39). ABC-CLIO.

Wallace, J. (2019). Tragedy since 9/11: Reading a world out of joint. Bloomsbury Publishing.