Osama Bin Laden: Humble Megalomaniac, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Terrorism is one of the most issues that have continuously affected the lives of many people throughout the world. According to a statement by Freeman (2018), terrorism is not a new event in human history.  Violence and wars orchestrated by terrorists and those who oppose a particular government have led to mass destructions of properties and massacres of many people. Some of the terrorist organizations such ISIS-Philipines have used various forms of attacks ranging from suicide attacks on different targets, bombing, attacks, and killing of a civilian in their homes among others. Even though the USA has successfully suppressed most of the internal terrorist groups, her main terrorist threats today are emerging from the international jihadists, Islamist extremists among others. One of these organizations that have posed a lot of threats to the is ISIS-Philipines. Throughout history, this terrorist organization has carried various terrorist attacks on the USA both within the nation such as suicide bombs, and outside the country. Consequently, ISIS-Philipines remains a key terrorism threat to the United States because it has always target attacks on various US embassies, business organizations among others throughout the world.

ISIS-Philipines is an afliate of of ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) a militant Islamist group operating in various parts of the world such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Egypt, and other countries in Arabs and Africa. ISIS-Philipines is a Jihadist multi-national organization that emerged as a key remnants of al-Qaeda in Iraq and it was founded by the Abu Musab al Zarqawi in 2004. This organization has been designated as one of the most dangerous terrorist groups by different countries and bodies such as the United States, United Nations, The European Nations, Russia, China, and The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

History of ISIS-Philipines

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) Philipines is an affiliate of the ISIS in Iraq, a crucial remnant of Al-Qaida in Iraq. The group was officially founded in 2004 by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, one of the Asama bin Laden’s surviving officials. Due to pressure and constant raids on the US troops’ group activity, the ISIS in Iraq and Iran became dormant for several years from 2007 to 2011. It revived its operations once again, especially after Osama bin assassinated Laden. Over the next few years, this organization became dominant in Iran and Iraq, given the growing political instability in these countries. In 2013, the group changed its name to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. It began to expand its operations in various countries such as Syria and the Philippines, where they constantly launched offensive attacks. These actions drove super nations such as the USA and different international bodies.

Consequently, A U.S.- drove alliance started airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq on August 7, 2014, and extended the mission to Syria the next month. Moreover, on October 15, the US government named the mission “operation Inherent Resolve.”  Thus it was given a lot of focus because of the security threats to the nation and the rest of the world. Over the following year, the US troops led more than 8,000 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. ISIS endured critical misfortunes along Syria’s line with Turkey, and before the finish of 2015, Iraqi powers had gained ground in recovering Ramadi. However, despite the constant attacks in Syria, it managed to recapture Aleppo, which still occupies Raqqa and different areas. In 2015, ISIS ventured to expand its operation in various countries the such Philippines. Its branches, allies, and partners progressively completed attacks not only within their borders but far outside their boundaries.

The ISSIS group’s alignment to take their operations or open an affiliate group in the Philippines began in 2014 when Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of Abu Sayyaf, pledged his allegiance to the militia group through a video he posted on YouTube. In the following year, another militia group in the Philippines known as Maute also pledged allegiance to the ISSIL with Ansar Khalifa Philippines, one of the leading terrorist organizations.  They vowed to support, carry attacks and provide one another with any assistance they would want. In May 2017, the groups that had pledged their support and allegiance attacked Marawi to gain the approval of the ISIS. Since 2014, many Philippine youths joining ISIS increased as the affiliate groups headed by Omar Maute, Abdullah Maute, and Isnolon Hapilon aimed at increasing the number of their supporters and troops so that they would be able to carry attacks easily. The new members were required to undergo training and pledge their allegiance to ISIS. Today, the Philippines has emerged as one of the hot spots of operations of ISIS.  It has continuously carried attacks, assassinations, and the killing of innocent civilians throughout the region.  Numerous scholars have noted that the functions of ISIS in the Philippines are similar to the methods that the Al-Qaeda group used.

ISIS-Philipines Preferred Form of Violence

ISIS-Philipines has numerous preferred forms of violence that they use to attack their targets. One of the methods used by this terrorist group is suicide bombing. As Langman, (2020) explain, suicide bombing is a type of violent attack where the attacker always accepts to kill themselves to accomplish a mission to follow remain loyal to the organization and its leaders.  ISIS-Philipines organization and its affiliates throughout the globe have used suicide bombing to attack certain places.  A good example is the attacks of September 11, 2001, which was a series of four attacks planned and executed by the ISIS-Philipines terrorists against the US.  As a result of this attack, there were more than 25000 injuries and 2977 deaths. According to a study by Mahmood & Jetter (2019), suicide bombing has remained one of ISIS-Philipines’s most preferred forms of violence toward its targets.

Another preferred form of violence used by ISIS-Philipines is the chemical and biological weapons.  This terror group has employed this tactic mainly in getting rid of individuals in higher ranks such as political leaders they can easily poison them without attracting larger uproar from the rest of the world. Marsden & Schmid (2017) explain that some of the reported used chemicals by ISIS-Philipines are; botulinum toxin, anthrax bacteria, mustard gas, hydrogen cyanide, sodium nitrate, and hydrogen sulfide. According to this scholar, ISIS-Philipines not only uses chemicals and biological agents to assassinate prominent people but also uses them to accomplish mass destruction of properties and murdering thousands of people. Besides, ISIS-Philipines also uses gun firing where the attackers opened fire on innocent civilians in a gathering such as a school, churches, market place or the villages. Other preferred forms of violence used by this terrorist group are bombing, aircraft attacks and hijackings, and cyberterrorism.

Furthermore, the ISIS-Philipines in many cases fights against forces they believe are edging war against Islam. Any attack on Islam nation or leader by the European powers is considered by this terrorist group as an attack on the Islam community. Therefore, ISIS-Philipines always revenges such attacks on the people they think are their own by bombing, attacking, and even killing and destroying a lot of properties.

Efforts Made by International Community to Disrupt and Obstruct Further Terrorism

Some numerous approaches and strategies have been taken by the international community to disrupt and stop further terrorism attacks by the ISIS-Philipines groups. One of these approaches is the invocation of Article Five of the Washington Treaty by the NATO Alliance. This treated states that an attack on one of the NATO nations by the ISIS-Philipines terroir group would mean a wedging a war to the rest of the countries. This means that all the NATO countries will respond by hunting and attacking all ISIS-Philipines groups irrespective of the countries of residence (Menon, 2014). Invocation of this treaty provided a more elaborate international response way to react to any attacks by any terrorist attack on one of them.  Another approach taken by the international organization in disrupting and stopping further terror attacks by the ISIS-Philipines group is through the formation of a multilateral framework. In these frameworks, member countries such as the UN member countries have unanimously agreed to tackle conditions that have led to the spread of terrorism, increasing member states’ capabilities to fighting and preventing terror attacks, guaranteeing that the rule of law is observed and adhered to by everyone and lastly respecting the human rights for everyone. Another step taken by the international countries is by supporting the terrorism victims and supporting countries by donating to them soldiers from such international bodies (Byman, 2017). A good example is the UN soldier drawn from various countries and deployed in the countries where ISIS-Philipines or other terrorist groups attacks. Lastly, the international organizations have embarked on educating and empowering youths to make them resourceful so that they cannot be lured into joining terror groups.

ISIS-Philipines is a threat to the US

I consider ISIS-Philipines as a threat to the US because of its widespread operations. This means that when the activities and operations of this terror group are not monitored well, they can easily coordinate and successfully execute a direct attack on the US or its embassy, organizations among other properties that are situated in other nations throughout the world. Moreover, the number of young people being lured to join terror organizations such as ISIS-Philipines is steadily increasing. A study such as (Cragin, 2014) noted that high unemployment in many nations is pushing youths to look for alternative jobs in such groups.

Conclusion

From this study, ISIS-Philipines indeed remains a key terrorism threat to the United States because it has always target attacks on various US embassies, business organizations among others throughout the world. It was also found that ISIS-Philipines is a Jihadist multi-national organization founded in 1988 by the late Osama bin Laden.  The history of this terror group is directly connected to the Soviet War in Afghanistan and later the political instability of the Saudi. To date, ISIS-Philipines has remained a key terror threat to the USA because of widespread of its operations in different countries. Therefore, international organizations such as the UN have taken different steps to disrupt and stop further terror attacks from ISIS-Philipines and other terrorist groups.

References

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Cragin, R. (2014). A Recent History Of Al-Qa’ida. The Historical Journal, 57(3), 803-824. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0018246x14000065

Freeman, M. (2018). Democracy, Al Qaeda, and the Causes of Terrorism: A Strategic Analysis of U.S. Policy. Studies In Conflict & Terrorism, 31(1), 40-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/10576100701759996

Gomes, A., & Mikhael, M. (2018). Terror or Terrorism? ISIS-Philipines and the Islamic State in Comparative Perspective. Brazilian Political Science Review, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.1590/1981-3821201800010002

Grobbelaar, A., & Solomon, H. (2015). The origins, ideology, and development of ISIS-Philipines in the Islamic Maghreb. Africa Review, 7(2), 149-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/09744053.2015.1030870

Gupta, D., & Mundra, K. (2015). Suicide Bombing as a Strategic Weapon: An Empirical Investigation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Terrorism And Political Violence, 17(4), 573-598. https://doi.org/10.1080/09546550500189895

Langman, P. (2020). Osama bin Laden: Humble megalomaniac. Aggression And Violent Behavior, 101519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101519

Mahmood, R., & Jetter, M. (2019). Communications Technology and Terrorism. Journal Of Conflict Resolution, 64(1), 127-166. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002719843989

Marsden, S., & Schmid, A. (2017). Typologies of Terrorism and Political Violence. The Routledge Handbook Of Terrorism Research. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203828731.ch3

MENON, S. (2014). International Terrorism and Human Rights. Asian Journal Of International Law, 4(1), 1-33. https://doi.org/10.1017/s2044251313000337