IndexTransnational terrorism and Al-QaedaJihadistsMotivation and significant frameworkForce multipliers and Al-QaedaFemale terrorists of Al-QaedaSpecial tacticsMedia and supporters of Al-QaedaFundingFight against terrorism and Al-Qaeda attacks by Al-QaedaU.S. Domestic and Foreign Policy on TerrorismSummaryAl-Qaeda arose in the latter stages of the Soviet-Afghan war and grew until the US offensive in Afghanistan in October 2001, when US forces struck Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. Al-Qaeda is made up of men, women and children of different ages. Osama Bin Laden, Muhammad Atef and Ayman al-Zawahiri are the founders of Al-Qaeda. Their goal was to continue the spread of jihad internationally. “The Base” is based in Afghanistan, Peshawar and Pakistan. Osama Bin Laden is the most influential leader of Al-Qaeda. Osama's goal was to eliminate the Western presence in the Arab-Islamic Middle East, which means fighting the American ally, Israel, overthrowing the Americans' local allies and establishing Islamic regimes. Furthermore, Al-Qaeda aimed to drive Americans and American influence out of all Muslim nations, especially Saudi Arabia. According to Bin Laden, it is the duty of Muslims around the world to wage a holy war against American citizens and the Jews of the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay Al-Qaeda is said to be the largest terrorist organization today. Al-Qaeda seeks to recruit members who have the same beliefs and values ​​as them. The size of the Al-Qaeda group is difficult to measure. The exact number of Al-Qaeda members is not known. Many believe it is an ongoing terrorist group that will continue to grow because they have expanded their network. Bruce Hoffman said in the Wall Street Journal that “terrorism is not a numbers game.” He pointed out that a small number of dedicated, well-trained, highly motivated individuals can have a disproportionate impact on any society's sense of security and profoundly influence government policies. Transnational Terrorism and Al-Qaeda Terrorism is difficult to define. It is not a physical entity that has dimensions to measure, weigh, and analyze. Terrorism involves violent acts dangerous to human life. When the term terrorism was first introduced in Western history, governments adapted their policies based on how they defined the threat. Terrorism developed out of the French Revolution between 1789 and 1799, and the word was originally used to describe the actions of the government, not a band of revolutionaries. Acts of terrorism have increased since 1799. For some terrorist groups, terrorism is their way of life. They seek to destroy in an attempt to gain power and control over a certain region. Al-Qaeda is a highly motivated terrorist group and has become the most recognized and evocative symbol of the new terrorist threat. It provided the fanatical ideology, working example and management model that other groups and individuals followed. It is the main example of the broader phenomenon of transnational extremist-Muslim terrorism. Transnational terrorism has sparked interest across the nation over the past decade. Al-Qaeda is one of the largest transnational terrorist groups of all time. Al-Qaeda is different from other transnational terrorists because it has gained support from other actions. Since 9/11, Al-Qaeda was thought to have links to groups, cells and individuals around the world in approximately 70 countries. Their terrorist influence has spread to manycountries such as Africa, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and a host of other countries, including areas of Asia. Jihadist Jihadi or jihadist refers to a person who believes that an Islamic state should be created to govern the entire community of Muslims. , and that this necessity justifies violent conflict with those who stand in his way. Jihadists are a small subset of this group who interpret Islam, and the concept of jihad, to mean that war must be waged against states and groups that in their eyes have corrupted the ideals of Islamic governance. Saudi Arabia tops this list because it claims to govern according to the precepts of Islam and is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest sites in Islam. Al-Qaeda's ideology, often referred to as "jihadism", is characterized by the desire to kill. The jihadist organization has undergone changes since it was founded in Afghanistan in 1988 by Bin Laden and Palestinian Sheikh Abdullah Yusuf Azzan. Al-Qaeda Central has developed several branches and inspired many other radical Islamic organizations, each with its own independent resources. Motivation and Framework of Meaning Al-Qaeda operates within a framework of meaning. Theories of terrorism in the meanings framework focus on the interpretation that individuals and groups give to the actions of others as well as their own actions. Individuals and groups create boundaries around their experiences and perceptions and define problems within them. Religious terrorists look at the modern world and reject it. This is evil in the sense of religious terrorism, and they refuse to accept the confines of the modern secular world. Al-Qaeda's acts of terrorism are committed in the name of their religion and their personal views on non-Muslim believers. Osama Bin Laden designed the framework structure of Al-Qaeda. The year of Osama Bin Laden's death is the year that Al-Qaeda's overall network strengthens. His death gave Al-Qaeda more significant reasons to fight and raise further acts of terrorism. Al-Qaeda terrorists believe in sacrificing their lives through suicide bombings in the name of Allah. One of the current weaknesses in terrorism research is the lack of quantitative and qualitative behavioral studies. Randy Borum in White (2014) stated that researchers have concluded that there is no standard logic to justify behavior. According to him, it is useful to distinguish three different phases of self-justification: reasons to join the group, reasons to stay and reasons to leave (White, 2014, page 39). Al-Qaeda members joined together for social, political, economic and personal reasons. What motivates members to remain in the promised reward of Allah. Joining Al-Qaeda is a sincere sacrifice that usually goes uninterrupted. The advantage of remaining part of Al-Qaeda is knowing that every member is supported. Al-Qaeda members have a close bond and will sacrifice their lives for each other. Analysis of the psyche of the 9/11 hijackers before the suicide attack revealed that they were willing to sacrifice their lives without hesitation. None of them gave it a second thought. They regarded their acts as a necessary sacrifice to achieve the goal of establishing the religion of the majestic Allah on earth. What actually motivates Al-Qaeda is not power, wealth or structure, but ideological fractions committed to the purification of Islam through violent struggle. Al-Qaeda's primary motivation is the United States. Al-Qaeda's main goal is to destroy the United States government. Al-Qaeda has posed many threats against the United States. The main purpose of Al-Qaeda today is to inspire and incite Islamic movements and Muslim masses intoaround the world to attack those perceived as enemies of Islam. Force Multipliers and Al-Qaeda The key point of terrorism is to use force multipliers to advance a terrorist attack to be more damaging than a simple attack. A force multiplier is a method of increasing attack power without increasing the number of combat troops in a military unit. The terrorist has four force multipliers; technology, transnational support, media coverage and religious fanaticism. The technology is used to increase the power of the equipment used during the attack. They can be huge devices millions of kilometers awaycontrolled by a background touch. Second, the media can be a great force in providing transnational support by providing perpetrators with a self-made track record; a message addressed not only to the world but also to other terrorist organizations. Finally, the religious fanaticism used in the September 11 attacks by Al-Qaeda instilled fear in the nation. Al-Qaeda terrorists sacrificed their lives only to take more. Their actions were done in the name of Allah. They are taught that an afterlife reward would follow their violent actions. Most terrorist attacks with Al-Qaeda involve some type of bomb. Bombs are extremely destructive and will likely increase the number of human lives at the same time. Terrorist groups seek media attention and to gain attention, bombs are used to gain media coverage. Bombs can cause the most damage in the shortest amount of time compared to other weapons. Bombs are often used with other force multipliers such as hijacking, kidnapping, and hostage-taking. Al-Qaeda's key ingredient for effective terrorism is the use of force multipliers. Without this, Al-Qaeda would not have succeeded with the terrorist attack. Al-Qaeda Female Terrorists It is common to assume that terrorism primarily involves men. When the media talks about terrorism the common suspects presented are men. However, Al-Qaeda is a terrorist group known for including women in their criminal acts of terrorism. Islamic terrorists have long used women as suicide bombers. Their fighting vole has expanded with Al-Qaeda's formation of an all-female jihadist fighting unit whose primary mission is supposedly to attack coalition targets in Afghanistan. The increasing participation in violence by women jihadists represents a generational shift in their attitudes towards violence. Women are highly prized by jihadists as human projectiles, including children and the mentally disabled used in the same capacity are equally prized by Islamic terrorists. Al-Qaeda is known to use women with mental handicaps and Down syndrome to carry out suicide attacks against American and coalition forces during the Iraq War. There is no age requirement to join the Al-Qaeda Taliban. It was reported that an eight-year-old girl was involved in a suicide bombing in 2011. Unfortunately, the explosives detonated killing the girl before she could reach her intended target (Crimi, 2012). Some people may consider this incident harsh, but for Al-Qaeda, children are expected to sacrifice their lives for their religion just like adults. Parents willing to allow their children to take part in terrorist behavior knowing that their child will not return home alive. Special Tactics Suicide bombings are the most common form of attack for Al-Qaeda. The attackssuicide bombers are used in most Al-Qaeda attacks. Taliban men and women are willing to sacrifice their lives in the name of their religion. Suicide bombers are used to blend in with the population they intend to attack. For this reason it increases the chances of success of the attack. Al-Qaeda has had a record of success with suicide bombings. The United States has been the victim of its own suicide bombings. Although Al-Qaeda prefers suicide bombings, it has shown an interest in weapons of mass destruction over the past decade. The nuclear weapons used by Al-Qaeda have left many countries "in suspense". Nuclear terrorism is suspected to be used in the near future by Al-Qaeda forces. Nuclear terrorism is a real and present danger to all states. Preventing it is an achievable goal. Terrorists exploit security gaps. The current regime of targeting for the protection of nuclear materials that terrorists desire as an ultimate weapon is far from uninterrupted. The interest of nuclear war must be taken seriously. Nuclear war has the advantage of destroying large numbers of people in a matter of seconds. President Obama, the leaders of 46 other nations, the heads of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the United Nations, as well as numerous experts, have called for global security and stability. However, it is preventable with more aggressive actions (Brill & Luongo, 2012). Al-Qaeda has shown the greatest interest in using nuclear weapons. Al-Qaeda has been engaged in “nuclear war” since 1992. Al-Qaeda sees nuclear terrorism as a justification for its religion. Al-Qaeda does not mind using nuclear terrorism against the United States, their primary jihad target. If the Americans could be brought to war, they could be defeated like the Soviets and permanently expelled from Muslim lands. Cyberterrorism serves those who want to expand control over cyberspace. While only a small amount of cybercrime could actually be called terrorism, the term “cyberterrorism” creates a subliminal link in the minds of listeners to groups like Al-Qaeda and other global jihadists. Cyber ​​terror is the new language of war. Al-Qaeda may turn its destructive attention to cyber warfare against the United States. According to ABC News, the national security community says the threat of a cyberattack is real and the gap between terrorists' aspirations and capabilities is narrowing. Cyber ​​Command's top intelligence official said Al-Qaeda operatives are seeking the ability to mount cyberattacks against U.S. networks and that terrorists could purchase the capabilities to do so from experienced criminal hackers. Media and supporters of Al-QaedaAl-Qaeda is not only involved in terrorism. Al-Qaeda is a global jihadist umbrella organization. Al-Qaeda has many loyal supporters around the world and is also linked to other terrorist groups. Al-Qaeda is linked to the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Armed Islamic Group (Algeria), Abu Sayyaf Group (Malaysia, Philippines), and Jemaah Islamiyah (Southeast Asia), to name a few. All the above groups believe in the use of violent actions and follow under the same umbrella organization Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda continues to gain new supporters through the use of the media. Al-Qaeda is known to use social media to find new recruits. The media can influence the world's perception of terrorism and can be prejudicial. Al-Qaeda's desire for the media is to spread jihadist philosophy, shape its message, and hope to inspire others totheir cause. Al-Qaeda gradually transforms from a terrorist organization that carries out its own attacks into an ideological umbrella that encourages local movements to take action. Its growing reliance on various forms of media has made Web-Savvy sympathizers increasingly prominent. The fact that the media shows Al-Qaeda terrorist attacks gives them a sense of pride. Al-Qaeda members take pride in their work knowing that they will be rewarded by Allah. Funding Funding is necessary for Al-Qaeda to be effective. It costs thousands of dollars to finance their acts of terrorism. Their funding comes from many sources around the world. According to experts, most of Al-Qaeda's funding comes from sources such as smuggling, extortion, drug trafficking, ransoms and other crimes. In recent years, Al-Qaeda has relied on funding and manpower from internal recruits (Laub, Masters, 2014). Unfortunately, the United States has had limited success cutting off funding to Al-Qaeda. This is due to a lack of cooperation from Middle Eastern allies, intelligence and national security. The United States has even addressed the movements of funds of various wealthy individuals in the Persian Gulf. Counterterrorism and Al-Qaeda activities are organized through special intelligence agents, special operations, prevention plans and internal leadership such as President Barack Obama. President Obama's counterterrorism strategy is narrowly focused on Al-Qaeda and its ability to strike US territory. Counterterrorism is the set of practices, tactics, techniques and strategies governments, militaries and police departments and companies adopt in response to terrorist threats and acts. The main goal of counterterrorism is to make citizens safer from terrorist threats and neutralize terrorist arrests, prosecutions, killings, etc. Defeating Al-Qaeda requires unconventional methods. The use of military force coupled with a concerted effort to offer an ideological alternative is the only way to reduce wages among terrorists and supporters. It is essential that the counterterrorism community understands that without confusing hard power with soft power, the jihadist movement led by Al-Qaeda will not be defeated. Counterterrorism methods were successful after 9/11. Although Al-Qaeda attempted to launch another attack, no major events occurred. The United States is fully aware of the strength and power of Al-Qaeda and how it has implemented strategies and new ideas to prevent further terrorist attacks. Al-Qaeda Attacks The first attack carried out by Al-Qaeda dates back to 7 December 1992. Al-Qaeda's first attack killed two people at the Gold Mihor Hotel in Aden. The history of Al-Qaeda attacks, up until April 2013, involved countries such as Indonesia, Kenya, England, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, the United States and many other countries across the nation. Al-Qaeda's first attack on the United States occurred on February 26, 1993, when the World Trade Center in New York was attacked killing six people and wounding 1,000 (Wander, 2008). The deadliest attack carried out by Al-Qaeda known to the United States was on September 11, 2001. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked the United States. They hijacked four planes in flight. Terrorists crashed two planes into two World Trade Center skyscrapers in New York City. The impact caused fire and the collapse of buildings. Another plane destroyed part of the Pentagon (the American military headquarters) in Arlington, Virginia. The fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Officials believe terrorists.