Adjunct/Lecturer Mercy College

1990 to the Present

 A short war means lower costs in lives and national treasure. A short war reflects the enormous talent and power of our nation. To the average American, the threat to the U.S. is difficult to comprehend. War is alien to the peaceful nature and desires of our nation.

 The enemy is committed to his cause. He is prepared to fight to the death for what he believes is a defense of his religion. The enemy has a strategy with global aspirations. He estimates it will take him decades to accomplish his strategic objectives. It requires change within the Islamic world. Historically, such changes have taken centuries to occur. It requires increased partner nation capacity armed forces, police, economic development, and good governance to combat the violent extremist threat. Such growth takes decades to achieve.

The enemy has committed to a long war and publicly articulated his goals for decades.

Those who study jihad will understand why Islam wants to conquer the whole world. All the countries conquered by Islam or to be conquered in the future will be marked for everlasting salvation. Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all! Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, 1942 [The defense of the homeland] is not the ultimate objective of the Islamic movement of jihad, but it is a means of establishing the Divine authority within it so that it becomes the headquarters for the movement of Islam, which is then to be carries throughout the earth to the whole of mankind, as the object of this religion is all humanity and its sphere of action is the whole earth. Sayyid Qutb, 1955

If their economy is destroyed, they will be busy with their own affairs rather than enslaving the weak peoples. It is very important to concentrate on hitting the US economy through all possible means. Osama bin Laden The aftermath of the collapse of American power in Vietnam and how they ran and left their agents is noteworthy. Ayman al-Zawahiri

Al-Zarqawi came to this arena (Iraq) only to expel the Americans from the Muslims country and to establish an Islamic Government. -Abu Musab AlZarqawi

The enemy consists of various extremist Islamic groups that espouse the use of violence to achieve their ideological aims al Qaeda being the most dangerous. Characteristics are: No state, no uniform, lives among the population Believes religion is under attack and calls upon Muslims to defend Islam Even support by 1% of the Muslim population would equate to over 12 million enemies While we may view his beliefs as dangerously misguided. He is absolutely committed to his cause His religious ideology successfully attracts recruits He has a sufficient population base from which to protract the conflict

Increasing ambitions coupled with an ever increasing capabilities gives extremists an unprecedented ability to affect world events with global ramifications Increasing ambitions coupled with an ever increasing capabilities gives extremists an

1. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979

Prevent Afghanistan from falling into the U.S. Camp Forestall the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism

2. The Afghans resist with covert aid by the U.S. urged on by Pakistan which flowed directly to the extremist Mujahideen. 3. The Soviets respond brutally
Killing one million Afghans in 10 years Creating 5 million Afghan refugees

4. In the mid-1980s, Osama Bin Laden forms Al Qaeda in Pakistan

Al Qaeda is formed with Egyptian followers of Hassan al-Banna and Saudi followers of Wahhabism Bin Ladens first target is the Soviet Union the he plans to go after the United States

1957 Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden is born in Riyadh. He is 17th of 52 children sired by Muhammad Bin Laden--Saudi Arabia's wealthiest construction magnate. 1979 Bin Laden graduates from King Abdul Aziz University in Jiddah with a degree in civil engineering. December 26, 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Bin Laden leaves Saudi Arabia to join the Afghan resistance. 1980-86 From the Pakistani border, bin Laden raises funds and provides the resistance with logistical and humanitarian aid. 1986-89 According to Islamic sources, bin Laden participates in numerous battles during the Afghan war against the Soviets as a guerilla commander, including the fierce battle of Jalalabad which led the Soviets to finally withdraw from Afghanistan. 1988 Bin Laden establishes "al Qaeda," an organization of ex-mujahedeen and other supporters. Its mission is to channel fighters and funds to the Afghan resistance.

 Bin Ladens prime objective is to achieve the overthrow of secular and/or corrupt Arab regimes in Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia He believed that the U.S. propped up these regimes Ending U.S. support for these regimes would ease their downfall

 After a brutal 10 year war the Soviets withdraw from Afghanistan in February 1989 The U.S. continued to support the resistance movement of the communist regime of Najibullah Najibullah government falls in in 1992 The U.S. abandons Afghanistan leaving a power vacuum For four years tribal factions fight each other destroying what is left of Afghanistan

 During the Persian Gulf War Saudi Arabia rejects Osama bin Laden's offer to assist in fighting Iraq and then permits U.S. troops to use its military bases, fueling Bin Laden's hatred of the United States and Saudi Arabia. January 17, 1991, Operation Desert Storm air offensive begins after Saddam Hussein refuses to remove troops from Kuwait. February 24, 1991, Ground troops from the U.S., France, and U.K. drive Iraqi soldiers back out of Kuwait. February 28, 1991, Kuwait is declared liberated and a cease-fire is called, ending the Gulf War. President George H.W. Bush allows Saddam Hussein to stay in power. This infuriates Bin Laden even more.

Ethnic civil war under Taliban leadership in Kabul, Afghanistan, where 50,000 are killed, mainly Persians. Osama bin Laden proposes that Hezbollah, the proIranian Shiite terrorist group, join in a common objective of killing U.S. troops stationed in Asia and Africa. Bin Laden establishes legal businesses, such as farms, a tannery, and a construction firm, in Sudan to increase his available funds for al-Qaeda. December 20, 1992 A hotel in Aden, Yemen, recently used by U.S. troops preparing to go to Somalia, is bombed; two tourists are killed. Almost simultaneously, another group of al-Qaida operatives are caught at Aden airport, Yemen, as they prepare to launch rockets at U.S. military planes. U.S. troops quickly leave Aden.

 The ties between Mullah Omar and Bin Laden went back to their time as resistance fighters against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan of 1979-89. He emerged from the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan as their undisputed leader or "commander of the faithful", a title with great resonance in Islamic history Under Mullah Omar's rule, a strict interpretation of Islamic law was imposed on Afghanistan under Taliban control.

 Islamic extremist inside the Pakistan Intelligence Service created the Taliban and push it into power in 1996 The Afghan people welcome the Taliban who promise to stop the chaos Under Mullah Omar the Taliban impose a cruel and fanatical rule over Afghanistan Bin Laden is allowed to set up Al Qaeda training camps inside Afghanistan Over 20,000 terrorists are trained then scattered to the four corners of the world to conduct murder and mayhem against the infidels

US officials believe Osama's group trained the Somali rebels that staged the attack that killed 18 US troopers in Aden, Yemen. February 26, 1993 A rented van packed with explosives is detonated in the World Trade Center's underground garage; six people and more than 1,040 are injured. The bomb plot includes a device designed to release cyanide gas that would kill emergency response crews and area residents, but the cyanide is destroyed in the fire. Four Islamic terrorists, including Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, carry out the attack. Osama bin Laden is suspected to be behind the plot. Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind Sheik of Egypt, is later given a life sentence for his role in the bombing. October 4, 1993 The Battle at Mogadishu begins when militants trained by al-Qaeda shoot down two U.S. helicopters on a humanitarian mission in Mogadishu, Somalia. Using weapons supplied by Osama bin Laden and Mohammed Atef, the militants kill 18 U.S. soldiers, dragging some of their bodies through the streets

Black Hawk Down

Osama bin Laden's citizenship is revoked by Saudi Arabia, and his family and friends publicly disown him because of his crimes. March 1994 A plot by Yousef to attack the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok fails when a truck carrying the bomb crashes. June 20, 1994 A bomb planted in the Masshad Reza Shiite mosque in Iran explodes; 26 are killed and 170 injured. Yousef is responsible. September 1994 Yousef twice attempts to assassinate the future Pakistani Prime Minister; both attempts fail. October 12, 1994 The Taliban militia conquers Kandahar, Afghanistan. December 11, 1994 PAL flight 434, en route to Japan, is bombed. Yousef constructed the bomb on the first leg of the flight. He then left the plane, avoiding the explosion. Yousef carried out the attack as a "practice run" for the Bojinka plot, which would have blown up 11 airliners with similar bombing devices over the Pacific. December 24, 1994 An Air France jumbo jet is hijacked in a failed attempt to fly the plane to Paris to take down the Eiffel Tower. Algerian Islamic terrorists with ties to Osama bin Laden carry out the hijacking.

June 26, 1995 An attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, fails. Osama bin Laden is suspected. October 1, 1995 Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman the Blind Sheik is convicted in plot to blow up U.N. Headquarters and other landmarks in New York. November 13, 1995 A Saudi National Guard training facility run by U.S. officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is attacked by car bomb; seven are killed, including one U.S. citizen. November 19, 1995 Islamic Jihad explodes a truck bomb at the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; 15 are killed. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is suspected to be involved.

On January 6, 1995, a Manila police station received a late-night call regarding a suspected minor explosion in an apartment building. The apartment building was close to an intended site of a papal tour The police found an abandoned apartment with hot plates, wiring, and stores of chemicals Fingerprints found were those of Ramzi Yousef. Materials found confirmed that an assassination attempt on the pope was also in the making. Yousef's computer disks described "Bojinka" the plan to detonate timedelayed bombs on eleven US long-haul flights over the Pacific. In February of 1995, close to two years after the bombing of the World Trade Center, Yousef was captured in Pakistan. Yousef received a life sentence for the Bojinka plot and 240 years for the 1993 WTC bombing.

January 17, 1996 The Blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman is sentenced to life for his role in 1993 World Trade Center bombing. June 25, 1996 A truck bomb is detonated outside the U.S. Air Force complex Khobar Towers in Dharan, Saudi Arabia; 19 U.S. servicemen are killed and 515 people are injured, including 240 U.S. citizens. July 17, 1996 TWA flight 800, en route from JFK airport to Paris, crashes near Long Island; all 230 aboard are killed. The explosion is believed to be a terrorist attack, but eventually an electrical short is blamed and the investigation is shut down. August 23, 1996 Osama bin Laden releases a written declaration of war against the United States, including a demand to withdraw U.S. troops and to overthrow the Saudi Arabian government. September 27, 1996 The Taliban conquers the capital city of Kabul, Afghanistan and hangs Mohammed Najibullah on a public street.

Objective 1: Expel American influence from Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula Objective 2: Remove secular governments within the region Objective 3: Eliminate Israel and purge Jewish and Christian influence Objective 4: Expand the Muslim empire to historical significance

The United States cannot be defeated militarily. The enemy knows this. But consider:
-The worlds most dangerous people possess the worlds most dangerous weapons -nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons -Terror attacks weaken the world economy -Continued casualties weaken national resolve -Traditional allies prefer accommodation

Would it expand the conflict into a clash of civilizations? Or

Force our economy into a recession? Depression? Create political pressure for isolationism? Deter us from necessary action? Force us to reach accommodation Peace in our Time?

The enemys violent acts, vision of the future, and ideology do not reflect the beliefs of the Muslim majority:
Murder of ordinary people widely unsupported within the Muslim population. Repressive Taliban-like regimes do not appeal to the average Muslim.

The enemy has inherent weaknesses as well:

Monolithic view of Islam under-estimates cultural and religious differences No military capacity to expand their fight beyond terrorist tactics Underestimates the will of America and our allies

The three key elements in win this war are:

Protect and defend the Homeland Attack terrorists and their capacity to operate effectively at home and abroad Support mainstream Muslim efforts to reject violent extremism

In addition to the strategic elements, there are three critical cross-cutting enablers:
Expanding foreign partnerships and partnership capacity Strengthening our capacity to prevent terrorist acquisition and use of WMD Institutionalizing domestically and internationally the strategy against violent extremists

Instruments of National Power

Enable partner nations to counter Deny WMD/E proliferation, recover and eliminate terrorism.
uncontrolled materials, and maintain capacity for consequence mgmt.

Defeat terrorists and their organizations Counter state and non-state support for terrorism in
coordination with other U.S. Government agencies and partner nations

Contribute to the establishment of conditions that counter ideological support for terrorism

Combatant Commands, Services, and Combat Support Agencies

Communism
Communist ideology gained prominence in 1919 US opposition began in 1946 43 years of Cold and Hot War to defeat the ideology Communism ultimately collapsed from within

Violent Islamic-Based Extremism

Threads of history thousands of years long Potentially more legitimacy with a religious based ideology, especially when conditions support group based vs. state based more difficult to apply cold war strategies

 January 2-13, 1997 At least 14 letter bombs postmarked from Alexandria, Egypt, were sent to AlHayat newspaper headquarters in London and bureaus in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as well as Leavenworth prison in Kansas. All devices but one were defused. The London bomb exploded, injuring two security guards. May 23, 1997 A Taliban militia executes 11 Iranian diplomats in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, after conquering the city, forcing Pakistan to formally recognize the Taliban as the Afghanistan government. May 29, 1997 Mohammed Abouhalima is found guilty of helping his brother with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, in Ashland, Oregon and Springfield, Missouri, raise over $30 million a year; part of these funds are directed to Osama bin Laden. January 8, 1998 January 8, 1998 Ramzi Ahmed Yousef sentenced to life plus 240 years for 1993 World Trade Center bombings. February 23, 1998 Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda issue a Fatwa urging the murder of Americans wherever they are found. June 21, 1998 The U.S. embassy in Lebanon, Beirut, is attacked by rocket-propelled grenades. August 7,1998 A group of 22 al-Qaeda members detonate truck bombs almost simultaneously outside two U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224. August 20, 1998 The United States retaliates for the attack against U.S. embassies by bombing key targets in Afghanistan and Sudan with cruise missiles. Osama bin Laden is targeted in the attack, but escapes from a training camp in Khost, Afghanistan, before it is hit. November 1998 The U.S. Justice Department indicts Osama bin Laden for the bombing of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

 This courtroom drawing shows Tanzanian Ahmed Ghailani in court with his defense team in New York. Ghailani faces a minimum sentence of 20 years after his November 17, 2010 conspiracy conviction in the first civilian trial of a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, prosecutors said. Ghailani was found not guilty on conspiracy charges to plot with Al-Qaeda to kill US citizens in the attacks against the Tanzania and Kenya embassies, in which 224 people died.

 January 16, 1999 The U.S. Justice Department indicts Osama bin Laden and 11 other al-Qaeda members. Osama bin Laden is added to the FBI's Most Wanted list. March 27, 1999 Mohammed Jehanzeb, Secretary of the Anti-Taliban organizer Haji Qadir, is assassinated in Peshawar, Pakistan. April 23, 1999 The United Nations Human Rights Commission condemns the Taliban government for Afghanistan's human rights abuses. Afghanistan is designated a "terrorist-sponsored state. October 15, 1999 The United Nations Security Council resolves that the Taliban must turn over Osama bin Laden. December 9, 1999 U.N. General Assembly adopts International Convention for the Suppression of

 January 3, 2000 Several al-Qaeda plots are foiled, a planned bomb attack on a hotel in Amman, Jordan; an attack on Mount Nebo; an attack at a site on the Jordan River; a bomb attack at Los Angeles International Airport; and a bomb attack on the U.S.S. Sullivans. February 2000 al-Qaeda defector Jamal Ahmed alFadl testifies that bin Laden had tried to buy uranium on the black market for $1.5 million in a presumed attempt to develop nuclear weapons. July 2, 2000 The Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and other national monuments in Washington D.C., are identified as possible terrorist targets. October 12, 2000 A small boat loaded with explosives is rammed into the U.S. Navy destroyer, U.S.S Cole, in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 sailors and

Khalid bin Attash

 2001 An estimated $30 million per year is spent to sustain al-Qaeda. May 9, 2001 In Afghanistan, the Taliban closes four U.N. offices in retaliation for the imposition of U.N. sanctions. May 26, 2001 United Nations Security Council states that the Taliban is selling opium and heroin to finance terrorist training. June 21, 2001 A U.S. court indicts 13 members of Saudi Hezbollah and one Lebanese Hezbollah member for 1998 bombing of Khobar Towers that killed 19 U.S. airmen. July 26, 2001 U.S. President George W. Bush signs five-year sanctions extension against Iran and Libya. August 3, 2001 The Taliban arrests 24 humanitarian Aid Workers in Kabul, Afghanistan. August 29, 2001 In Canada, Mahmud Haballah arrested for involvement in al-Qaeda bombing of

September 11, 2001 Now known as 9/11, four planes are hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center North and South towers in New York, a field in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, respectively. Nearly 3,000 people were killed. Osama bin Laden takes responsibility.

Second Plane Hits WTC!

 September 13, 2001 An al-Qaeda plot to attack U.S. embassies and the Eagle Base airfield in Paris, France, and Brussels, Belgium, is thwarted by NATO officials. September 20, 2001 U.S. and the Europe Union pledge partnership against terrorism. October 7, 2001 - March 2002 U.S. and British forces launch the military campaign Operation Enduring Freedom, bombing Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan in response to 9/11 attacks. October 11, 2001 Two nuclear suitcases reportedly reach al-Qaeda operatives in the United States. November 2001 According to Osama bin Laden, nuclear weapons are available for $10 million and $20 million in Russia. November 25, 2001 Mullah Mohammed Omar reports that the nuclear destruction of the United States is under way.

Courtesy of the Red White and Blue

Following the Sept 11 attacks, President Bush delivers list of demands to Taliban, including the demand that they turn over al-Qaeda leadership or face destruction. October 2001: The U.S., with British support, commences the bombing of Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom begins. November 2001: The Northern Alliance breaks through Taliban positions at Mazar-e Sharif. The Afghan capital, Kabul, is taken by Coalition forces.

 December 2001: The battle of Tora Bora leaves an estimated 200 al-Qaeda fighters dead, but Osama bin Laden is nowhere to be found. The Taliban give up their stronghold of Kandahar. Hamid Karzai is sworn in as head of an interim powersharing government.

The BLU-82B or Daisy Cutter is the largest conventional bomb in existence and is 17 feet long and 5 feet in diameter, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle but much heavier. The Daisy Cutter bomb weighs in at 15,000 pounds and destroys anything in a 600-yard radius It is launched on a delivery trolley and forced out the back of a C-130 cargo plane. The plane itself must be at least 6,000 feet off the ground to avoid the bombs massive shock wave.

 On December 22, 2001 Richard Reid attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his sneakers on an American Airlines flight from Paris, France, to Miami, Florida. Passengers thwarted his plan, and the plane landed safely in Boston, Massachusetts. Reid pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in October 2002 and is serving a life sentence at the nation's super-maximum security prison in Florence, Colorado

January 23, 2002 In Karachi, Pakistan, extremists kidnap U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl. Authorities receive a videotape on February 20 of Pearl's beheading. June 14, 2002 Karachi, Pakistan. A car bomb exploded near the U.S. Consulate and Marriot Hotel. 11 people were killed, and 51 wounded, including one U.S. al-Qaeda was suspected. September 14, 2002 The FBI announces the arrest of the Buffalo Six, American citizens of Yemini descent, for conspiring with al-Qaeda after attending an al-Qaeda training camp the previous year. They all plead guilty in 2003. October 8, 2002 A U.S. Marine is murdered and another wounded at a training center in Kuwait. al-Qaeda claims responsibility. November 14, 2002 The U.S. executes Mir Amal Kansi for the 1993 murders of two CIA employees.

On Oct. 2, 2002 President George W. Bush announced the introduction of the Joint Resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. Congress came to an agreement on U.S. involvement in Iraq later that month and Bush signed the bill Oct. 16. March 19, 2003 President Bush announces the United States will invade Iraq. Military strikes began against targeted members of Saddam Hussein's regime. April 3, 2003 President Bush announces the United States will invade Iraq. Military strikes began against targeted members of Saddam Hussein's regime. With the symbolic toppling of a statue of Hussein came the toppling of an era in Iraq. Saddam Hussein's regime officially collapsed in April 2003 as the U.S. military and its allies gained control of certain areas in Iraq's capital after days of fighting.

Hussein Statue Toppled

JANUARY 2002: U.S. transfers the first 20 prisoners from secret bases to its base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. SEPTEMBER 2006: 14 terrorist leaders have been transferred from secret CIA prisons overseas to the U.S. base in Cuba. The prisoners include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. JANUARY 2009: President Obama orders the detention center to close within a year. Prisoners who cannot be released or transferred to other countries would be tried in the United States, but there is fierce opposition to trying the men accused in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York. JUNE 2009: Congress adopts the first in a series of legislative measures aimed at making it difficult for the administration to either transfer prisoners to other countries or send them to the U.S. for trial. JANUARY 2010: Obama refuses the release of any Yemeni detainees after a Yemeni-trained Nigerian attempts to set off a bomb hidden in his underwear on a Detroit-bound jet on Christmas Day 2009. MAY 2012: After the Obama administration gives up on moving the case to civilian court, Mohammed and four Guantanamo prisoners are arraigned before a military commission on charges that include nearly 3,000 counts of murder for their roles in the Sept. 11 attacks. APRIL 2013: Obama says he will re-engage with Congress and resume efforts to close the prison.

January 1995 - Mohammed first comes to the attention of the FB. and CIA because of his involvement in a failed plot to blow up as many as a dozen American commercial airliners over the Pacific. Mohammed is linked to many plots including to assassinate Pope John Paul II, Bojinka, the bombings of U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the bombing of the USS Cole, the first and second terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, the beheading of Daniel Pearl, to Richard Reid's foiled attempt to blow up an airliner with a shoe bomb. October 2001 - Put on the FBI list of 22 Most Wanted Terrorists. March1, 2003 - Mohammed is captured in a house in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, September 6, 2006 - The U.S. acknowledges Mohammed has been held at a secret overseas CIA prison where he was water boarded 183 times, and is being transferred to Guantanamo Bay, March 15, 2007 - In a 26-page transcript released by the Pentagon outlines Mohammeds crimes.

February 11, 2008 - The U.S. announces it will seek the death penalty against Mohammad, June 5, 2008 At his arraignment Mohammed tells the judge that he wishes to represent himself, and wishes to plead guilty to all charges in connection with his role in the 9/11 attacks and become a martyr. November 13, 2009 - The Justice Department announces Mohammed will be transferred to New York for trial. April 4, 2011 After much uproar, Attorney General Eric Holder announces that Mohammed will now face a military trial at Guantanamo. October 17, 2012 - At a pretrial hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Mohammed declares that he equates the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people to the "millions" he said have been killed by America's military. January 28, 2013 - The second session of the pretrial motion hearing against Mohammed takes place at Guantanamo Bay.

March 2, 2003 After Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, bin Laden's plan to detonate dirty nukes on United States soil is uncovered. March 20, 2003 The Iraq War begins. May 1, 2003 Lyman Faris pleads guilty to providing support to al-Qaeda and plotting to bring down the Brooklyn Bridge. May 6, 2003 Afghanistan: Taxi rigged with explosives rams into a bus carrying German peacekeepers in Kabul, killing five and injuring 29; al-Qaeda probably responsible. May 13, 2003 Saudi Arabia: al-Qaeda suicide bombers use truck bombs on the residential housing compounds for foreign workers. The 34 dead included nine attackers, seven other Saudis, 10 U.S. citizens are killed. June 2003 U.S. born Muslim Ahmed Omar Abu Ali is arrested in Saudi Arabia on charges that he plotted to launch a terrorist attack similar to 9/11 on the U.S., as well as attempt to assassinate President Bush.

Osama bin Laden pays an estimated $100 million to obtain the expertise of Pakistan's nuclear engineers and other specialists. One purchase of 12 kilos of uranium reportedly cost bin Laden more than $75 million. June 17, 2004 Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi extremists bomb Iraqi Army Recruitment Center, killing 35 and wounding 138. July 28, 2004 Al-Zarqawi group bombings in Baquba kill 70, wound 56. August 2004 Two men from Albany, New York named Yassin M. Aref and Mohammed Mosharref Hossain are arrested by the FBI involving a plot to assassinate a Pakistani diplomat with a shoulder-fired missile in N.Y.C. August 1 2004 The threat of attacks by suicide bombings on financial buildings in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. December 6, 2004 Attack by al-Qaeda on U.S. Consulate in Saudi Arabia. In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing five people. December 7, 2004 Gunmen linked to al-Qaeda attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Five employees are killed.

February 28, 2005 Saajid Mohammed Badat of Gloucester, England, Pleads guilty to conspiring with convicted "shoe bomber" Richard Reid to blow up an aircraft in 2001. February 28, 2005 Iraq: Two vehicle-bomb attacks kill more than 160 Iraqis; al-Zarqawi group claims responsibility. August 19, 2005 Three rockets narrowly miss two U.S. military ships in Aqaba, Jordan. They strike a warehouse and hospital, killing one Jordanian soldier and severely wounding another. An al-Qaeda-linked group claims responsibility for the attacks. October 27, 2005 Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly states that Israel "must be wiped out from the map of the world." He then also states, "And God willing, with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism." Several world capitals immediately condemn Iran's leader and call for Tehran to be expelled from the United Nations. December 15, 2005 Democratic parliamentary elections are held in Iraq.

March 3, 2006 University of North Carolina graduate Mohammed Taheri-azar drives his SUV into a crowd on the U.N.C. Chapel Hill campus, injuring nine. He stated that the act was to avenge the treatment of Muslims. May 3, 2006 The U.S. sentences Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for aiding the 9/11 attacks. May 24, 2006 Shahawar Matin Sarij was sentenced to 30 years in prison for conspiring to plant explosives in New York City in August of 2004 with James Elshafay. June 7, 2006 al-Qaeda ringleader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is killed by a U.S. airstrike on a safe house north of Baghdad. June 23, 2006 Seven men were arrested for the Miami Bomb Plot to attack the Sears Tower after an FBI agent infiltrated their group while posing as an al-Qaeda member. December 8, 2006 Derrick Sharif, age 22, a Muslim convert that wanted to wage jihad against U.S. civilians is charged in a plot to set off four hand grenades in garbage cans on December 22 at the CherryVale Mall in Rockford, Illinois.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the mastermind behind hundreds of bombings, kidnappings and beheadings in Iraq, was killed by an airstrike --north of Baghdad. Zarqawi, a Jordanian-born whose leadership of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq made him the most wanted man in Iraq. U.S. warplanes dropped two 500-pound bombs on a house in which Zarqawi was meeting with other insurgent leaders. Following the attack, coalition forces raided 17 locations in and around Baghdad, seizing a "treasure trove" of information about terror operations in the country.

March 19, 2007 Afghanistan: Suicide bomber attacks U.S. Embassy convoy, wounding two officials and one Afghan child; Taliban claims responsibility. May 7, 2007 Six men are arrested in Fort Dix after planning to kill U.S. soldiers. The six men were inspired by Jihadist videos and were arrested in a failed homegrown terrorism plot to kill soldiers. June 2007 Russell Defreitas, a U.S. citizen from Guyana and a former airline cargo handler, is arrested as the leader in a plot to blow up a jet fuel artery running through residential neighborhoods near JFK airport in New York. October 17, 2007 Two bombs detonate near a truck transporting former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in a motorcade celebrating her return to Pakistan after she had spent 8 years in exile. Earlier in the week, militants loyal to al-Qaeda had threatened to assassinate Bhutto. December 27, 2007 Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated by an attacker who shot her after a campaign rally in Rawalpindi and then blew himself up. At least 20 are known dead.

March 4, 2008 Several pipe bombs explode at a federal courthouse in San Diego, California. March 26, 2008 Michael S. Gorbey was detained in January 2008 for carrying a shotgun two blocks from the Capitol Building and for plotting to set a bomb off. June 2008 Christopher Paul, a U.S. citizen from Columbus, Ohio is arrested on terrorism charges after joining Al Qaeda overseas and plotting to launch bomb attacks in the United States. November 2008 Muslim convert Bryant Vinas, is arrested in Pakistan on U.S. terrorism charges after receiving Al Qaeda training and helping fire rockets at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. He later admits plotting with Al Qaeda to bomb the Long Island Rail Road.

Afghanistan 2009 A double agent linked to Al Qaeda and the Taliban penetrated the secure area of a U.S. military base in eastern Afghanistan and detonated his explosive vest. May 20, 2009 Three U.S. citizens and one Haitian from Newburgh, New York, were arrested in a plot to shoot down military planes operating out of Stewart Air National Guard Base. November 5, 2009 Major Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire at Fort Hood Killeen, Texas, killing 13 and wounding 29. June 22, 2009 With plastic explosives sewn into his underwear Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253, as it neared Detroit, Michigan. September 2009 Najibullah Zazi, a legal U.S. resident from Afghanistan, is arrested in New York City for plotting a suicide bombing of the city's subways. Authorities charge 11 others in the Al Qaeda-orchestrated plot. October 2009 Pharmacist Tarik Mehanna, a dual U.S. and Egyptian citizen from a Boston Suburb, is arrested on charges he plotted with the other men to kill two U.S. politicians and shoot people at a shopping mall.

On December 25, 2009, passengers aboard a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam heard a loud noise on the plane as it descended toward Detroit. The device failed, but AbdulMutallab became enveloped in a fireball that spread to the wall and carpeting of the plane. Four passengers quickly restrained him and helped put out the fire, AbdulMutallab later acknowledged in a courtroom statement that he had traveled to Yemen and was "greatly inspired" to participate in such a plot by U.S.-born militant cleric Anwar al-Awlaki The man who smuggled a bomb in his underwear aboard a commercial airliner on Christmas Day in 2009 has been sentenced to life in prison

March 10, 2010 Colleen LaRose, a.k.a. Jihad Jane, of Pennsylvania, was tied to an alleged assassination plot against Swedish cartoonist, Lars VIlks, who depicted the prophet Muhammad atop the body of a dog. May 1, 2010 A car bomb is defused in New York City's Times Square. Faisal Shahzad, allegedly parked a Nissan Pathfinder packed with a crude bomb in the middle of the busy tourist attraction. The bomb failed. October 27, 2010 Farooque Ahmed, 34, of Ashburn, Virginia, is arrested for attempting to assist others planning multiple bombings at Metrorail stations in the Washington, D.C., area. November 26, 2010 Mohamed Osman Mohamud , 19, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Somalia, is arrested on charges of attempting to use a explosives in connection with a plot to detonate a vehicle bomb at an annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, Oregon. December 8, 2010 Muhammad Hussain, was arrested after he attempted to detonate what he believed was explosives in a vehicle parked in the Armed Forces recruiting station parking lot in Cantonsville, Maryland. December 7, 2004 Armed gunmen linked to al Qaeda attack on the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Five employees are

January 17, 2011 A radio-controlled, defused pipe bomb is discovered along the route of the Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial march in Spokane, Washington. February 24, 2011 Virginia resident Zachary Adam Chesser is sentenced to 25 years in prison for soliciting jihadists to desensitize law enforcement and attempting to provide material support to al Shabaab. May 31, 2011 Iraqi nationals Waad Ramadan Alwan and Mohanad Shareef Hammadi are arrested in Bowling Green, Kentucky for providing assistance to al-Qaeda in Iraq and attempting to send weapons overseas. June 3, 2011 U.S. military forces are believed to have killed alQaeda military commander and strategist, Ilyas Kashmiri, during a predator airstrike in South Waziristan. June 11, 2011 High-ranking al-Qaeda operative and senior Shabaab commander, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, is killed after speeding through a Somali checkpoint in Mogadishu. He is believed to have played a role in the 1998 bombings of United States embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. August 6, 2011 A Chinook helicopter was shot down by a Taliban rocket-propelled grenade in Afghanistan. At least 20 of the killed SEALs were of the unit SEAL Team Six, that killed Osama bin Laden

May 1, 2011 U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six, or Naval Special Warfare Development Group, found al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a Pakistani compound, where he was reportedly hiding. During the extraction, bin Laden was killed, his body taken to Afghanistan for identification and buried at sea. "Justice has been done," President Barack Obama said in a dramatic announcement at the White House while a crowd cheered outside and hundreds more gathered at ground zero in Manhattan to celebrate the news.

Timeline:
November 5, 2009 - Army Major Nidal Hasan kills 13 soldiers at Fort Hood. Al-Awlaki is suspected of communicating with Hasan. December 25, 2009 - Failed plot to bring down a jetliner over Detroit. Al-Awlaki is suspected of directing the plot. 2010 - The U.S. Treasury Department names al-Awlaki a specially designated global terrorist. November 2, 2010 - Is formally charged in absentia with incitement to kill foreigners by Yemeni prosecutors. January 17, 2011 - A Yemeni court sentences in absentia al-Awlaki to 10 years in prison for charges of inciting to kill foreigners. May 6, 2011 - A U.S. official tells CNN that al-Awlaki was targeted by a missile strike from a military drone within the last two days. He was not injured. September 30, 2011 - Is targeted and killed in the Province of Jawf by a CIA drone strike.

As an imam in California and Virginia, al-Awlaki preached to and interacted with three of the 9/11 hijackers according to the 9/11 Commission Report. Spent 18 months in a Yemeni prison in 2006-2007 on kidnapping charges, but was released without going to trial. Al-Awlaki claims that he was imprisoned and held at the request of the United States.

The U.S. Military hands over the reigns to the Iraqi armed forces.
The withdrawal of American military forces from Iraq began in June 2009 and was completed by December 2011, bringing an end to the Iraq War. For U.S. President Barack Obama, the military pullout is the fulfilment of an election promise to bring troops home from a conflict inherited from his predecessor. What will the U.S. military pullout mean for the future of Iraq? Will the shaky democracy survive? Will Al Qaeda return?

Last U.S. Military convoy heads to Kuwait.

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5.

Since the American pullout of Iraq there have been a multitude of terrorist attacks trying to take down the freely elected government of Iraq. For example: March 20, 2012 Suicide Bombings, Car Bombs, and shootings kill 250 in Baghdad, Iraq. May 31, 2012 Car bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 18. August 10, 2012 Truck bomb and shootings in Mosul, Iraq kill 13. December 16, 2012 Bombings and IEDs kill 19 in Northern Iraq. December 17, 2012 Bombings, IEDs and shootings kill 92 across Iraq. January 05, 2012 Kandahar, Afghanistan: Four U.S. National Guard engineers are killed and one is injured by the Taliban while trying to clear a road of bombs. January 27, 2012 Antonio Martinez, 22, from Maryland pleaded guilty to trying to set off what he thought was a car bomb outside of a military recruiting center in Baltimore. February 17, 2012 A 29-year-old man named Amine El Khalifi was apprehended on his way to carry out an alleged attack on the U.S. capital using an automatic weapon and an explosive vest device.

 September 11, 2012 Islamist stormed and burned the American Embassy in Benghazi, Libya. Ambassador Stevens, Sean Smith and Navy Seals Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods 9:40 p.m.: Dozens of armed militiamen charge the main gate and set fire to a barracks building as they make for the ambassador's residence. 10 p.m.: Attackers breach the mission walls and make for the ambassador's residence. Stevens runs to a safe room with one security agent. An alert is sent to the CIA security team a mile away, the State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli. Stevens tells them we're under attack." Stevens takes refuge behind a fortified door. Attackers set fire to the villa with diesel fuel. Within minutes, Stevens is overwhelmed by smoke.

Six U.S. security agents leave the CIA annex for the main building. They and 16 Libyan security guards regain control over the compound . Shortly after 11 p.m. A U.S. surveillance drone arrives over Benghazi. 1:15 a.m. A rescue team from Tripoli arrives in Benghazi. About 30 Americans have been rescued from the consulate building and are holed up with the Stevens at the CIA annex. 2 a.m. An eyewitness captures on video Stevens being pulled from the smoke-filled building. 4 a.m. The attackers launch a full-on assault against the annex. Navy SEALs Glen Doherty and Tyrone Woods are killed in the attack. 10 a.m.: The bodies of Stevens, Smith, Doherty and Woods are put on the last plane out of Benghazi.

April 15, 2013 Boston, Mass. Two bombs detonated near the finish line of the Boston Marathon killed 3 people and injured more than 180. Dzhokar Tsarnaev and his older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev were identified as the main suspects. The two brothers are also suspected of the fatal shooting of a police officer in Cambridge. The brothers are believed to have ties to Russian extremist groups.

Martin William Richard, 8 Sean A. Collier, 27 Lu Lingzi, 23 Krystle Marie Campbell, 29

Mehsud Dead
Remote controlled airplanes called drones are the weapon of choice of the U.S. military. Drones can carry multiple weapons including Hell Fire missiles. A drone has killed such terrorists as Anwar alAwlaki, The American Cleric in Yemen on September 30, 2011. Most recently on November 1, 2013, a drone attack killed Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud. Mehsud is also believed to be behind a failed car bombing in New York's Times Square in 2010.

United States forces are due to leave Afghanistan in early 2014. President Obama is willing to leave behind a small contingent of forces, supplies and advisors if President Hamid Karzai signs a security agreement. So far Karzai is unwilling to do so until after the 2014 Presidential elections in Afghanistan. The Taliban is urging Karzai not to sign an agreement with the United States. Why do we want to throw away the sacrifice and the great investment we have made through the years with $600 billion in expenditures, more than 2,000 lives lost, and take a gamble that Afghanistan will not be a source of problems for us again?"

Since the September 11 attacks, U.S. State Department has offered a $25 million reward for information leading to al-Zawahiri's apprehension. As a qualified surgeon he became bin Laden's personal advisor and physician. The former #2 leader in Al Qaeda has now reached #1 status since the killing of bin Laden. His infamous letter to Al-Zarqawi remains the blueprint for Al Qaedas caliphate after the United States pullout of Iraq. He remains at-large and the #1 target in the war on terror.

Zawahiri's Letter to Zarqawi