The Effect of Osama bin Laden Death on Al-Qaeda Movement (Essay Sample)

Death of Osama Bin Laden: Effect on Al-Qaeda
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Death of Osama Bin Laden: Effect on Al-Qaeda
According to Atwan (2013), the killing of a radical Islamist movement leader may have a boomerang effect as well as proving to be self-defeating. For instance, when Said Qutb, a Muslim Brotherhood theologian was executed in Egypt in the year 1957, his death did not quell the situation but, instead, it helped in propagating his teachings among the jihadist. Osama was one of the beneficiaries of Qutb teachings. Osama’s philosophy was to a greater extent informed by Qutb’s teachings. Another example is, when Sheikh Yassin, the former Hamas leader is assassinated in the year 2004 by the Israeli government. Despite his death, the Hamas movement became more popular and was able to gunner majority of the seats in the Palestinian elections (Herald, 2011). After the 9/11 bomb attack in the U.S., Osama bin Laden disappeared from the limelight. However, he was still recognized as the head of the jihadist movement globally. Further still after his death, his followers around the world regarded him as their legend and martyr. This paper seeks to analyze both positive and adverse effects that the death of Osama bin Laden has had on the Al-Qaeda movement (Herald, 2011).
Atwan (2013) asserts that, the demise of Osama Bin Laden has had a positive effect on the organization of Al-Qaeda thereafter. For example, in the recent past, the Al-Qaeda has managed to become a huge terror network around the globe by forming new collaborations. Under its new outfit; Al-Qaeda and Associated Movement (AQAM), the organization has managed to transverse around the globe by creating other affiliated movements. Some of these movements are: Al- Shabaab in Somalia, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP);which has its base in Yemen, and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM); which transverses the whole of North Africa (Atwan,2013). As opposed to the leadership of Osama bin Laden whereby, only one leader was recognized worldwide, the new Al-Qaeda outfit, has delegated its powers to its affiliated groups around the globe. This has made it difficult for security agencies such as, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to track down the movement since it does not have a center of command.
Another factor that has seen al-Qaeda flourish despite the death of its leader Osama bin Laden is its adequate resource. Firstly, the organization has a well-trained army which is adequately equipped with; high-tech weaponry and encryption technology used in communication. Additionally, the organization is adequately financed. Therefore, the organization highly unlikely to be compromised since it is self-sufficient. Secondly, the organization leverages on the Internet to broadcast its agenda globally through its encrypted website. Moreover, al-Qaeda has its independent media house managed by AQAP. The media house does film production as well as print media. The organization capitalizes on its media house to send warnings to its enemies as well as radicalizing and recruiting new members. Last and not the least, the al-Qaeda has its judicial system which is robust and self-governed by jihad tenets. The judiciary is mandated with prosecution and conviction of rebels and collaborators among the organization (Sanderson, 2013).
On the other hand, al-Qaeda has had its equal share of predicaments since the death of Osama bin Laden. For instance, it has lost most of its top leadership, for example, Atiyan Abd al-Rahman who was al-Qaeda’s top commander in operations and strategies, was killed in Pakistan in the year 2011(Reuters, 2012, August 27), the former leader of AQAP, Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen by a U.S. military drone. The leadership of Al-Qaeda under Ayman al-Zawahiri who was Osama bin Laden’s deputy proved to be none-effective. The less talkative Zawahiri lacks the charisma and public appeal that his predecessor possessed (Kitfield, 2012). Lastly, according to Montagne (2011), Al-Qaida future has been threatened by the rise of Arab spring which advocates for a peaceful method of addressing conflicts as opposed to jihadist ideologies.
In conclusion, it is clear that, the death of Osama bin Laden has had both positive and negative effects on the operations of Al-Qaeda. Nevertheless, despite his death, his jihad ideologies still lives on, and it will take time for the whol...