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Thursday, December 18, 2008

WEAPONS & TERRORISM : Biological Weapons and Bioterrorism

What are biological weapons?
Destroyed chemical/biological warfare agent R400 aerial bombs destroyed in Iraq by U.N. inspectors after the Gulf War
Destroyed chemical/biological warfare agent R400 aerial bombs destroyed in Iraq by U.N. inspectors after the Gulf War

Biological weapons are any infectious agent such as a bacteria or virus when used intentionally to inflict harm upon others. This definition is often expanded to include biologically-derived toxins and poisons.

Biological warfare agents include both living microorganisms (bacteria, protozoa, rickettsia, viruses, and fungi), and toxins (chemicals) produced by microorganisms, plants, or animals. (Some authors classify toxins as chemical rather than biological agents, but most do not, and they were included within the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention-as reflected in its formal title, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction).

Writers on the subject have produced a long list of BW agents that terrorists could potentially use. Among those mentioned have been: anthrax, cryptococcosis, escherichia coli, haemophilus influenzae, brucellosis (undulant fever), coccidioidomycosis (San Joaquin Valley or desert fever), psittacosis (parrot fever), yersina pestis (the Black Death of the 14th Century), tularemia (rabbit fever), malaria, cholera, typhoid, bubonic plague, cobra venom, shellfish toxin, botulinal toxin, saxitoxin, ricin, smallpox, shigella flexneri, s. dysenteriae (Shiga bacillus), salmonella, staphylococcus enterotoxin B, hemorrhagic fever, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, histoplasma capsulatum, pneumonic plague, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, dengue fever, Rift Valley fever, diphtheria, melioidosis, glanders, tuberculosis, infectious hepatitis, encephalitides, blastomycosis, nocardiosis, yellow fever, typhus, tricothecene mycotoxin, aflatoxin, and Q fever.

Some of these agents are highly lethal; others would serve mainly in an incapacitating role. Some authors have also speculated about the possible terrorist use of new, genetically-engineered agents designed to defeat conventional methods of treatment or to attack specific ethnic groups, for example.

How dangerous are biological weapons
The Honorable John D. Holcum, in his Remarks to the Fourth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention, Geneva Switzerland said:

"Biological weapons are immensely destructive. In the right environment they can multiply, and so self-perpetuate. And they can naturally mutate, frustrating protective measures. Chemical weapons, for all their horrors, become less lethal as they are dispersed and diluted. But even the tiniest quantities of disease organisms can be lethal. For example, botulinum toxin has been described as 3 million times more potent than the chemical nerve agent sarin.

And these are truly loathsome instruments of war and terror. Anthrax, for instance, takes three excruciating days to destroy the membranes of the lungs and intestines.

Botulinum toxin annihilates by slow asphyxiation, as the cells of the victim's breathing muscles die from within.

Small wonder that the international community has placed such organisms out of bounds, even in combat. That was done in the 1972 Convention not only because these are weapons of mass destruction, but because they are infinitely cruel -- intrinsically weapons of terror."

WEAPONS & TERRORISM
Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities in the Middle East


Nuclear Biological Chemical
Algeria Research Research Development?
Egypt Research Development? Stockpiled
Used in 1963-67
Iran Development Development Deployed
Used in 1984-88
Iraq Weaponization Stockpiled? Stockpiled?
Used in 1983,1987-88
Israel Deployed Production capability Production capability
Libya Research Development? Deployed
Used in 1987
Saudi Arabia None? None None?
Sudan None None None?
Syria Research Development? Deployed
Turkey Research None None
Yemen None None None?
United States Deployed Terminated Dismantling


Notes
This chart summarizes data available from public sources. Precise estimation of states’ capabilities is difficult, because most weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs remain secret and cannot be verified independently. Based on open-source information, this chart uses the following terms to categorize states' capabilities:

Deployed: Nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) weapons integrated in military forces and ready for use in the event of conflict.

Stockpiled: Produced significant quantity of NBC weapons, but these are not stored in close proximity to military units that would employ them.

Weaponization: In the process of integrating nuclear explosives or chemical/biological (CB) agents with delivery systems, such as aerial bombs, missile warheads, etc.

Production capability: Able to produce significant quantity of fissile nuclear material or CB agents, but not known to have done so.

Development: Engaged in laboratory- or pilot-scale activities to develop production capability for fissile material or CB agents.

Research: Engaged in dual-use research with peaceful civilian applications, but that can also be used to build technical capacity and/or infrastructure necessary for NBC development and production.

Dismantling: Removing NBC weapons from deployment to storage areas and destroying agents and munitions.

Terminated: Produced NBC weapons, but subsequently ended and dismantled program.

None: No confirmed open-source evidence of capability.

Where assessments are uncertain or conflicting reports raise questions about a state's capabilities, the term used is followed by "?".

WEAPONS & TERRORISM
Missiles, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Weapons, and Conflict in the Middle East

Late 1920s (Italy, Libya)
Italian leader Benito Mussolini secretly authorizes the use of gas bombs against Libyan rebels.

1935-1936 (Italy, Ethiopia)
During the Italo-Ethiopian War, Italian forces repeatedly attack Ethiopian soldiers and civilians with mustard gas. Italian forces are also reported to use tear gas, sneezing gas, and various asphyxiating agents. Italian leader Benito Mussolini authorizes the use of chemical weapons (CW) on 16 December 1935, with the first attack occurring on 23 December when Italian Air Force planes spray mustard gas and drop bombs filled with mustard agent on Ethiopian soldiers and villagers in the Takkaze fords. The full extent of CW use by Italy during this war is unclear. However, a 13 April 1936 letter from the Ethiopian delegate to the League of Nations to the Secretary-General alleges that Italy made 20 "poison gas attacks," with mustard gas being the agent "most frequently used."

1963-1967 (Egypt, Yemen)
Egypt employs chemical weapons in attacks against royalist forces in the Yemen civil war. Reports indicate that Egypt uses mustard gas, phosgene, and tear gas in the attacks. Egypt uses Soviet-built AOKh-25 aerial bombs to deliver phosgene, and Soviet-built KHAB-200 R5 aerial bombs as well as artillery shells abandoned by British forces after World War I to deliver mustard gas. Some reports also suggest that Egypt uses a nerve agent.]

May 1967 (Egypt, Israel)
Egyptian fighter aircraft conduct two reconnaissance flights over Israel's nuclear plutonium production reactor at Dimona.

June-December 1967 (Israel, Egypt)
Some reports claim that following the Six Day War (5-10 June), Israeli forces capture Egyptian chemical weapons, including nerve gas, mustard gas, and phosgene, which are stockpiled in the Sinai peninsula. However, a subsequent report states that an Israeli source denied that Israel captured Egyptian CW equipment.

21 October 1967 (Egypt, Israel)
An Egyptian fast patrol boat fires SS-N-2 Styx anti-ship cruise missiles at the Israeli destroyer Eilat, causing several casualties and sinking the ship.

1972-73 (Egypt, Syria)
Prior to the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, Egypt sends a small quantity of chemical weapons to Syria.[12] Although it is unclear whether the transfer occurred in 1972 or 1973, a March 1993 article in the Lebanese journal Istratigyia claims that in 1972, Egypt agreed to supply Syria with a limited quantity of chemical weapons for $6 million. These weapons are said to include artillery shells and possibly aerial bombs filled with mustard agent, and may also include sarin-filled artillery shells and aerial bombs.

6 October-November 1973 (Egypt, Israel, Syria)
During the Yom Kippur War, Egyptian armed forces fire FROG-7 artillery rockets and Scud-B ballistic missiles at Israeli targets. It is unclear how many missiles Egypt launches, but they reportedly cause only minor damage to Israeli forces and facilities.

In the opening stages of the war, Israeli and Syrian naval vessels exchange fire off the coast of Latakia, Syria. A Syrian minesweeper and three missile boats are sunk by Gabriel ship-to-ship cruise missiles fired from a task force of six Israeli navy ships. The Israeli ships are unharmed by SS-N-2 Styx anti-ship cruise missiles fired by the Syrian Osa-and Komar-class missile boats. Israeli missile boats also sink five Egyptian missile boats during the war. Egyptian forces fire SSC-2b Samlet anti-ship cruise missiles at four Israeli navy ships, but do not hit their targets. However, the Egyptian air force reportedly achieves some success with the approximately 25 AS-5 Kelt cruise missiles it fires at Israeli forces.

1980-88 (Iran, Iraq)
During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, both countries make extensive use of unguided rockets and ballistic missiles, including barrages on population centers. During the early years of the war, Iran's use of rockets and missiles is limited. It increases significantly after 1985, following importation of Scud-B ballistic missiles from Libya and North Korea. Iran is believed to fire several hundred rockets and nearly 100 Scud-B missiles at Iraqi population centers, including Baghdad, after 1985. Iraq's use of rocket and missile began earlier, and was more extensive than Iran's. While exact figures on the number of missiles fired by Iraq are classified, Iraq is known to have launched over 500 Scud-B and al-Hussein ballistic missiles during the course of the war."

Both countries also conduct hundreds of attacks on each others' port facilities and international shipping in the Persian Gulf. As of 12 October 1987, Iran had carried out 214 attacks on shipping, while Iraq had conducted 181. Ships from at least 36 countries, including Iran, were targeted in the attacks. The attacks included the use of anti-ship cruise missiles, unguided rockets, bombs, grenades, gunfire, and mines. Iraqi attacks are notable for their use of French-built Exocet anti-ship cruise missiles beginning on 27 March 1984. Beginning in September 1987, Iran begins to make use of Chinese-built Silkworm anti-ship cruise missiles to strike ships as well as Iraqi and Kuwaiti oil facilities.

30 September 1980 (Iran, Iraq)
During an Iranian attack on Iraqi electrical power plants, two US-supplied F-4 fighter aircraft bomb Iraq's Osirak nuclear research center. According to French embassy officials in Baghdad, the attack damages some auxiliary buildings at the site but does not damage the French-built Tammuz-1 power reactor.

7 June 1981 (Israel, Iraq)
Israel uses US-supplied F-16 fighter aircraft to destroy Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor. Israeli leaders believe that Iraq plans to use the reactor to obtain fissile material for producing nuclear weapons. A French technician working at the plant is reportedly killed during the raid.

1984-88 (Iran, Iraq)
During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, Iraq repeatedly attacks Iranian troops with chemical weapons (CW). The first allegations of Iraqi CW attacks come in November 1980, when Tehran Radio reports Iraqi CW attacks at Susangerd. On 3 November 1983, Iran makes its first official complaint to the United Nations regarding Iraqi CW attacks. Iraq is confirmed to have used mustard and nerve agents against Iranian forces from 1983-1988. Although Iranian leaders foreswear retaliating in kind, Iran allegedly uses CW against Iraqi forces on a limited scale beginning in 1984 or 1985. Iran is believed to conduct initial CW attacks by firing captured Iraqi CW munitions at Iraqi forces. However, by the end of the war Iran reportedly employs domestically produced CW munitions against Iraqi soldiers.

25 February-March 1984 (Iraq, Iran)
Iraqi warplanes use French-supplied Exocet anti-ship cruise missiles to attack Iranian oil facilities and international shipping in the Persian Gulf.

24 March 1984 (Iraq, Iran)
Iraqi warplanes attack Iran's Bushehr nuclear power complex. The attack reportedly does not damage the reactor under construction.

12 February 1985 (Iraq, Iran)
Iraqi warplanes attack Iran's Bushehr nuclear power facility, killing one person and wounding several according to an Iranian embassy statement. Iraq denies that the attack took place.

4 March 1985 (Iran, Iraq)
Iran's IRNA press agency reports another attack by Iraqi warplanes on the Bushehr nuclear power facility.

15 April 1986 (Libya, Italy)
In retaliation for US airstrikes on Libyan facilities, Libya fires two or three Scud-B ballistic missiles at a US Coast Guard navigation station on the Italian island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean. The missiles land in the sea short of the island and cause no damage.

17 May 1987 (Iraq, United States)
An Iraqi Mirage F-1 warplane fires two Exocet anti-ship cruise missiles at the US Navy frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf. The attack, termed an "accident" by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, severely damages the ship and kills 37 sailors.

September 1987 (Libya, Chad)
In the final phases of its military intervention in Chad, Libya reportedly uses Iranian-supplied chemical weapons against Chadian troops.

17 November 1987 (Iraq, Iran)
Iraqi warplanes attack the Bushehr nuclear reactor complex, reportedly injuring several West German engineers working at the site and killing one. However, an Iraqi military communiqué says that the attack was on "the Iranian industrial and chemical production complex at Bushehr," some 37 miles from the reactor complex.

16 February 1988 (Iraq, Iran)
Iraqi warplanes attack the Kurdish city of Halabja, Iraq, with mustard and nerve agents, killing up to 5,000 people, mostly civilians.

18 April 1988 (United States, Iran)
The United States Navy attacks Iranian offshore oil platforms in the Persian Gulf in retaliation for a 17 April mine blast that damaged the USS Wainwright. During the attack, an Iranian patrol boat fires a US-built Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile at the Wainwright, which responds by launching two Harpoons that sink the Iranian ship. In a separate incident, US forces use Harpoon missiles and laser-guided bombs to severely damage the Iranian frigate Sahand after it fires at US Navy aircraft.

20 April 1988 (Iran, Kuwait)
Iran fires a Scud-B ballistic missile at Kuwait. The missile lands near the Wafra oil field, but causes no damage.

1990s (Sudan)
After taking power in 1989, the government of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is accused several times of using mustard gas by opposition forces fighting to oust the Bashir government. The allegations are not independently confirmed. After 1995, the opposition Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and Sudanese National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Ugandan security officials repeatedly assert that the Sudanese government produces CW with Iranian and/or Iraqi assistance, and uses mustard gas in attacks on civilians and SPLA forces in the Nuba mountains region of Sudan.

17 January-28 February 1991 (Iraq, Bahrain, Israel, Saudi Arabia, United States)
During the 1990-91 Gulf War, Iraq launches over 90 conventionally-armed al-Hussein and al-Hijara ballistic missiles at targets in Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Iraq launches 43 of the missiles at Israel and a similar number at Saudi Arabia. Iraq also fires an undetermined number of either indigenously produced Fao-70, or Chinese-built Silkworm cruise missiles at naval targets during the Gulf War; these do not cause any damage to Coalition forces.

US Navy surface ships and submarines fire 288 Tomahawk cruise missiles at Iraqi targets. US Air Force B-52 aircraft fire 35 AGM-86 cruise missiles at Iraq. US forces also fire 32 MGM-140 ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) ballistic missiles at Iraqi logistics areas, missile sites, and rocket and artillery installations, as well as approximately seven AGM-84 Harpoon/SLAM air-launched cruise missiles at Iraqi ground targets.

17 January 1993 (United States, Iraq)
The United States launches 45 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Zaafaraniyeh industrial complex in Baghdad, due to the suspicions of United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) weapons inspectors that it is involved in producing uranium enrichment equipment and missile components.

26 June 1993 (United States, Iraq)
US President Bill Clinton orders the launch of 23 Tomahawk cruise missiles at intelligence facilities in Baghdad, Iraq, in response to an alleged Iraqi plot to assassinate former US President George Bush during his visit to Kuwait in April 1993.

May 1994 (Yemen)
In renewed fighting in Yemen's civil war, southern forces fire approximately 20 Scud-B ballistic missiles at the northern capital of Sana. In late May, northern forces fire surface-to-surface missiles at the southern capital of Aden. It is uncertain how many and what type of missiles are fired by the northern forces, and at least one report suggests that they were probably short-range artillery rockets rather than ballistic missiles.

7 November 1994 (Iran, Iraq)
Iran fires up to four Scud ballistic missiles at a military camp in Ashraf, Iraq, used by guerrilla forces of the exiled Mujahideen Khalq opposition group. Teheran radio reports that the attack causes heavy casualties at the camp, located some 80km inside Iraq.

3-4 September 1996 (United States, Iraq)
Following the August 1996 attack on Irbil by Iraqi forces entering the Kurdish safe- haven zone in northern Iraq, the United States fires 44 Tomahawk cruise missiles at eight Iraqi surface-to-air missile sites and seven air-defense command-and-control facilities.

20 August 1998 (United States, Sudan)
US Navy warships in the Red Sea launch more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at the al-Shifa Pharmaceutical Factory in Khartoum, Sudan. According to US officials, the facility is involved in production of a precursor for VX nerve agent. Subsequent reports indicate that the facility was probably not involved in CW production.

16-19 December 1998 (United States, Iraq)
In response to Iraq's refusal to cooperate with the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), the United States and United Kingdom conduct airstrikes and missile attacks on 100 Iraqi military sites. US Navy ships fire more than 325 RGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, while US Air Force B-52 aircraft fire 90 AGM-109 Tomahawks. US Secretary of Defense William Cohen says that the attacks "degraded [Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein's ability to deliver chemical and biological weapons."

WEAPONS & TERRORISM
Anthrax as a Biological Warfare Agent

Bacillus anthracis
Bacillus anthracis
click to view larger


Anthrax is the preferred biological warfare agent
It is highly lethal.
• 100 million lethal doses per gram of anthrax material (100,000 times deadlier than the deadliest chemical warfare agent).
• Silent, invisible killer.
• Inhalational anthrax is virtually always fatal.

There are low barriers to production.
• Low cost of producing the anthrax material.
• Not high-technology. Knowledge is widely available.
• Easy to produce in large quantities.

It is easy to weaponize.
• It is extremely stable. It can be stored almost indefinitely as a dry powder.
• It can be loaded, in a freeze-dried condition, in munitions or disseminated as an aerosol with crude sprayers.

Currently, we have a limited detection capability.


What is Anthrax?

Fact Sheet
also called splenic fever, malignant pustule , or woolsorters' disease acute, specific, infectious, febrile disease of animals, including humans, caused by Bacillus anthracis, an organism that under certain conditions forms highly resistant spores capable of persisting and retaining their virulence in contaminated soil or other material for many years. A disease chiefly of herbivores (grass eaters), the infection may be acquired by persons handling the wool, hair, hides, bones, or carcasses of affected animals.

Anthrax is a naturally occurring disease of plant eating animals (goats, sheep, cattle, wine, etc.) caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis.

It is an illness which has been recognized since antiquity. Anthrax was common in essentially all areas where livestock are raised. Intensive livestock immunization programs have greatly reduced the occurrence of the disease among both animals and humans in much of the world, an most outbreaks occur in areas where immunization programs have not been implemented or have become compromised (primarily Africa and Asia; however, outbreaks occurred during the mid- I 990's in Haiti and the former Soviet Union).

Anthrax spores can remain viable for several decades under suitable environmental conditions; thus, absence of cases does not equate to absence of risk.

Humans can contract anthrax in three ways:
• Through cuts or breaks in the skin resulting from contact with an infected animal (cutaneous anthrax), resulting in local and possibly systemic (bloodstream) infection.
• From breathing anthrax spores (termed "woolsorters" disease) resulting in an infection of the lungs (inhalational anthrax).
• From eating infected meat, resulting in gastrointestinal infection (gastrointestinal anthrax). Gastrointestinal anthrax is generally not considered a threat to U.S. forces.

What are the symptoms?
Symptoms of anthrax begin after a 1 to 6 day incubation period following exposure.
For contact or cutaneous anthrax, itching will occur at the site of exposure followed by the formation of a lesion. Untreated contact anthrax has a fatality rate of 5-20 percent, but with effective antibiotic treatment, few deaths occur.
Initial symptoms for inhalational anthrax are generally non-specific: low grade fever, a dry hacking cough, and weakness. The person may briefly improve after 2 to 4 days; however within 24 hours after this brief improvement, respiratory distress occurs with shock and death following shortly thereafter.

Almost all cases of inhalational anthrax, in which treatment was begun after patients have exhibited symptoms, have resulted in death, regardless of post-exposure treatment.

What is the medical countermeasure?
Prior to exposure, prevention through vaccination, using the FDA-licensed vaccine. Link to nbc-med.org with information about the Anthrax Vaccine »
Otherwise, antibiotics such as penicillin, ciprofloxacin, and doxycycline are the drugs of choice for treatment of anthrax.
Treatment with antibiotics must begin prior to the onset of symptoms and must include vaccination prior to discontinuing their use.
The use of antibiotics keep the patient alive until their body can build an immunity to anthrax via vaccination. After symptoms appear however, inhalational anthrax is almost always fatal, regardless of treatment.

List of Taliban members


See also: List of alleged Al-Qaida members

Leaders, Ministers and Deputy Ministers (italicized and bold name indicates captured or killed by U.S.-coalition forces)
Name Position Situation
Mullah Mohammed Omar Emir of Afghanistan; Head of the Taliban Movement At large
Mullah Mohammad Rabbani Chairman of the Ruling Council; Head of the Council of Ministers Died in Pakistan of liver cancer, April 2001
Mullah Mohammad Hasan First Deputy Council of Ministers At large; spoke to Reuters by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location on May 4, 2003 [1]
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir Second Deputy Council of Ministers ?
Abdul Wakil Motawakil Minister of Foreign affairs ?
Abdul Rahman Zahed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Allegedly created an impression that he entered Pakistan after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, but had returned before the end of 2001 to his home village in Loghar province [2]
Mullah Abdul Jalil Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs ?
Mullah Ubaidullah Akhund Minister of Defense ?
Mullah Abdul Razaq Minister of Interior Affairs Afghan forces captured Razaq while scouring a rugged mountainous region north of Kandahar, April 1, 2003 [3]. Razaq's son, Abdul, had been killed on September 5, 2002 as he tried to shoot President Hamid Karzai
Mullah Khaksar Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs ?
Mohammad Sharif Deputy Minister of Interior Affairs ?
Qari Ahmadullah Minister of Security (Intelligence) Killed in late December, 2001 by a U.S. bombing raid in the Paktia province [4]
Mullah Nooruddin Turabi Minister of Justice Allegedly sheltered in Quetta by Pakistani officials by the end of 2001 [5]
Qari Din Mohammad Minister of Planning ?
Amir Khan Muttaqi Minister of Culture & Information Allegedly moved to Peshawar, Pakistan before the end of 2001 [6]
Mullah Ghausuddin Foreign Minister Killed in a gun battle in Zabul province, May 27, 2003 [7]
Mullah Abbas Akhund Minister of Health ?
Sher Abbas Stanekzai Deputy Minister of Health ?
Mullah Abdul Salam Haqqani Minister of Education ?
Mullah Yar Mohammad Minister of Communication ?
Alla Dad Tayeb Deputy Minister of Communication ?
Alhaj Mullah Mohammad Isa Akhund Minister of Mines and Industries ?
Mawlawi Mohammadullah Mati' Minister of Public Works ?
Mawlawi Rostam Nuristani Deputy Minister of Public Works ?
Hafez Mohibullah Minister of Haj and Religious Affairs ?
Mawlawi Moslim Haqqani First Deputy Council of Ministers ?
Mawlawi Abdul Raqib First Deputy Council of Ministers ?
Mullah Mohammad Jan Akhund Minister of Water and Electricity ?
Mawlawi Faiz Mohammad Faizan Deputy Minister of Commerce ?
Mawlawi Abdul Hakim Monib Deputy Minister of Frontier Affairs ?
Mawlawi Shahid Khel Deputy Minister of Education Captured in Afghanistan in early April 2003 [8]
Sattar Sadozai "A key intelligence official" Captured in Afghanistan in early April 2003 [9]
Zabihullah Zahid Deputy Minister of Education Arrested in Balkh province, Afghanistan in early August 2003 [10]


Governors
Name Position Situation
Mullah Niaz Mohammad Governor of Kabul Province ?
Mawlawi Abdul Kabir Governor of Nangrahar Province; Head of Eastern Zone; (also see above) Allegedly moved to Peshawar, Pakistan before the end of 2001 [11]
Mawlawi Khair Mohammad Khairkhwah Governor of Herat Province ?
Mawlawi Nurullah Nuri Governor of Balkh Province; Head of Northern Zone ?
Na'im Kucki Governor of Bamian Province ?
Commander Bahsir Baghlani Governor of Baghlan ?
Commander Arif Khan Governor of Kunduz Province ?
Mawlawi Shariqullah Mohammadi Governor of Khost Province ?
Mawlawi Ahmad Jan Governor of Zabol Province ?
Mullah Dost Mohammad Governor of Ghazni Province ?
Mullah Badar Governor of Badghis Province Captured by Afghan forces in the province of Badghis in early April 2003 [12]


Other high ranking officials, ambassadors and envoys abroad
Name Position Situation
Noor Mohammad Saqib Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Allegedly moved to Peshawar, Pakistan before the end of 2001 [13]
Abdul Rahman Agha Chief Justice of the Military Court ?
Mawlawi Mohammed Qalamuddin Head of the Vice and Virtue Ministry Allegedly captured April 17, 2003, in Logar province, Afghanistan [14]
Sayed Mohammad Haqqani Ambassador to Pakistan ?
Abdul Hakim Mujahid Envoy to the United Nations Arrived in Pakistan in early December 2001 [15]
General Rahmatullah Safi Envoy to Europe ?
Mahmoud Saikal consul to Australia ?
Akhtar Mohammad Mansour Head of Aviation ?
Mullah Hamidullah Head of Ariana Afghan Airlines ?
Aljah Mullah Sadruddin Mayor of Kabul City ?
Mawlawi Abdul Hai Motma'in Spokesman in Kandahar ?
Toorak Agha Ex-Governor of Paktia Province ?
Mullah Baradar ? ?


Field commanders
Name Position Situation
Mullah Fazel Mohammad Mazloom Chief of Staff Released by Abdul Rashid Dostam in November 2001 after fighting near Kunduz, and disappeared [16]
Mawlawi Dadullah ? Escaped from the siege of Kunduz in November 2001 and reached Kandahar. Took part in the evacuation of Qandahar, then may have returned to his native town Kajai in Helmand province [17]; allegedly participated (by giving orders via cell phone) in the murder of Ricardo Munguia on March 27, 2003 [18]
Mawlawi Nanai ? ?
Mullah Ahmadullah ? ?
Mawlawi Habibullah Ershad Commander of Shamali front ?
Abdul Razaq Nafez ? Released by Abdul Rashid Dostam in November 2001 after fighting near Kunduz and disappeared after fleeing to Kandahar [19]
Juma Khan Military commander Captured by Afghan forces in the province of Badghis in early April 2003 [20]


Other prominent Taliban members
Yasser Essam Hamdi Another U.S. born Taliban member Captured during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, now held in a naval brig in Norfolk, Virginia
David Hicks The "Australian Taliban" Captured during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
John Walker Lindh The "American Taliban" Captured during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, now serving 20 years in prison in the United States

Al-Quida : Do You Know

Al-Qaida (القاعده in Arabic, and also transliterated as al-Qaeda, al-Qa'ida, al-Quaida, el-Qaida, and is Arabic for the foundation) is an Islamist paramilitary movement which is widely regarded as a terrorist organization, especially in the West.

Al-Qaida has other names that it goes by, such as The Base, Islamic Army, World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders, Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places, Usama Bin Laden Network, Usama Bin Laden Organization, Islamic Salvation Foundation, and The Group for the Preservation of the Holy Sites.

Overview

Al-Qaida was established by Osama Bin Laden in 1988 to expand the resistance movement against the Soviet forces in Afghanistan into a pan-Islamic resistance movement. It evolved from an organisation referred to as the Makhtab al-Khidamat, which initially helped to finance, recruit, and train mujahedeen for the Afghan resistance against the Soviets during the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. This organisation was funded partly by Osama Bin Laden himself, but also by donations from many sources in Islamic countries and the US Government. Al-Qaida is thought currently to have several thousand members.

Although "Al-Qaida" is the name of the organisation used in popular culture, the organization does not use the name to formally refer to itself. The name al-Qaida comes from a text from the organization that talks about it being the "Qaida-al-Jihad" - the base of the jihad.

The military leader of al-Qaida is widely reported to have been Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who was reportedly arrested in Pakistan in 2003. Its previous military leader, Muhammed Atef, was allegedly killed in a U.S. bombing raid on Afghanistan in late 2001.

Al-Qaida's religious inspiration has its roots in the Wahhabi sect, the creed embraced by the current rulers of Saudi Arabia. The ultimate goal of al-Qaida is to establish a Wahhabi Caliphate across the entire Islamic world, by working with allied Islamic extremist groups to overthrow regimes it deems "non-Islamic" (ie non-Wahhabi Islamist). It sees western governments (particularly the US Government) as interfering in the affairs of Islamic nations in the interests of western corporations. The largest attack for which al-Qaida is believed to have been responsible was on the World Trade Center in New York and The Pentagon in Washington DC on September 11th, 2001. See Islamism. Al-Qaida is also suspected of carrying out the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings.

History of al-Qaida

Al-Qaida evolved from the Makhtab al-Khidamat (MAK) - a mujahedeen resistance organisation fighting the Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Osama Bin Laden was a founding member of the MAK along with Palestinian militant Abdullah Azzam. Towards the end of the Soviet occupation, many mujahedeen wanted to expand their operations to include Islamist struggles in other parts of the world. A number of overlapping and interrelated organistaions were formed to further those aspirations.

One of these was al-Qaida, which was formed by Osama bin Laden in 1988. (The name "al-Qaida" was not self-chosen; it was coined by the United States government based on the name of a computer file of bin Laden's that listed the names of contacts he had made at the MAK.) Bin Laden wished to extend the conflict to non-military operations in other parts of the world; Azzam, in contrast, wanted to remain focused on military campaigns. After Azzam was killed in 1989, the MAK split, with a significant number joining bin Laden's organization.

Since other parts of the world were often not in such open warfare as Afghanistan under the Soviet occupation, the move from MAK to al-Qaida involved more training in terrorist tactics. Other organisations were formed, including others by Osama Bin Laden, to carry out different types of terrorism in different countries.

After the Soviet union withdrew from Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia, while al-Qaida continued training operations in Afghanistan. He spoke against the Saudi Government during the Gulf War, and was encouraged to leave Saudi Arabia. In 1991 he moved to Sudan, whose Islamic government was fighting a civil war at the time. Money poured in from false charitable funds such as Benevolence International, and several groups that bin Laden's brother-in-law Mohammed Jamal Khalifa started. Bin Laden sent men to Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United States. Money and arms flowed through cities like Chicago, Illinois, Houston, Texas, Kansas City, Missouri, Santa Clara, California, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

In 1996 he was expelled from Sudan after possible participation in the 1994 attempted assassination of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak while his motorcade was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Osama bin Laden returned to Afghanistan with some of his Sudanese operatives.

Al-Qaida training camps trained thousands of militant Muslims from around the world; some of whom later applied their training in various conflicts around the world such as Algeria, Chechnya, the Philippines, Egypt, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Somalia, Yemen, Kosovo and Bosnia. Other terrorists came from parts of Africa, the People's Republic of China (Uighurs), and in one case, the United Kingdom. These terrorists intermingled at their camps, causing all of those causes to become one. Despite the perception of some people, Al Qaida members are ethnically diverse and are connected by their fundamentalist version of Islam.

In February 1998, bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri of Egyptian Islamic Jihad issued a statement under banner of "the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders" saying that it was the duty of all Muslims to kill US citizens, either civilian or military, and their allies everywhere.

From January 5, to January 8, 2000, Al-Qaida held the 2000 Al Qaeda Summit in a condominium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysian authorities found out about the summit beforehand and provided videotapes after the summit occurred. Several September 11 hijackers attended the summit. However, wiretaps were not conducted, so authorities did not hear what they were discussing.

Benevolence International Foundation, a non-profit charity group accused by U.S. authorities of funding Al-Qaida was branded as a terrorist organization in 2002.

In September 2002, the Lackawanna Cell was discovered by the Americans, leading to the arrests of the Buffalo six.

Al Qaeda has used London's Finsbury Park mosque as a recruitment ground, as well as areas in Manila, Philippines. The Finsbury Park mosque was raided in 2003.

The United States Administration now claims that two-thirds of the top leaders of Al-Qaida are in custody or dead.

Al-Qaida terrorist actions

The first terrorist attack that Al Qaeda has supposedly carried consisted of out three bombings which were targeted at US troops in Aden, Yemen, in December 1992. Two Austrian tourists died in the bombing.

They claim to have shot down US helicopters and killed US servicemen in Somalia in 1993. It is also sometimes suggested that they were involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Al Qaeda members Ramzi Yousef, who was involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and Khalid Sheik Mohammed, made Operation Bojinka. If it was implemented, it would have been disastrous. An apartment fire in Manila, Philippines exposed the plan. Youssef was arrested, but Mohammed evaded capture until 2003.

They have been thought to have proctored a bombing at a U.S. military facility in Riyadh in November 1995, which killed two people from India and five Americans. Al Qaeda is also thought to be responsible for the 1996 bomb attacks on American military personnel in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Al-Qaida is believed to have conducted the bombings in August 1998 of the US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing more than 300 people and injuring more than 5,000 others.

On January 3, 2000, Al-Qaida also planned attacks against US and Israeli tourists visiting Jordan for millennial celebrations, however the Jordanian authorities thwarted the planned attacks and put 28 suspects on trial. Al-Qaida also attempted the bombing of the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California during the millennium holiday although the bomber, Ahmed Ressam was caught at the US-Canadian border with bombs in the trunk of his car. Also, Al-Qaida planned to attack the USS The Sullivans but that failed due to too much weight being put on the small boat meant to bomb the ship.

For more information about those three plots, see: 2000 celebration terrorist attacks plot

They are also thought to be responsible for the October 2000 USS Cole bombing. German police foiled a plot to destroy a cathedral in Strasbourg, France in December 2000. That plot was probably being carried out by Al Qaeda.

The most destructive terrorist act ascribed to al-Qaida was the series of attacks in the USA on September 11th, 2001, an attack the group's spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith defended on widely-distributed videos in October 2001.

Several attacks and attempted attacks since September 11, 2001 have been attributed to al-Qaida. The first of which was the Paris embassy terrorist attack plot, which was foiled. The second of which involved the attempted shoe bomber Richard Reid (who proclaimed himself a follower of Osama bin Laden - he got close to destroying American Airlines Flight 63)

More subsequent plots included the synagogue bombing in Djerba, Tunisia and attempted attacks in Jordan, Indonesia, Morocco, and Singapore. See: Singapore embassies terrorist attack plot. The network has also been implicated in the Limburg tanker bombing, of complicity in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl and suspected of complicity in the October 2002 Bali car bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia. Al-Qaida was also involved in the assassination of US diplomat Laurence Foley in Jordan, a terrorist car bombing in Kenya in November 2002, the Riyadh Compound Bombings, and the Istanbul Bombings in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2003.

Al-Qaida has a worldwide reach, with cells in a number of countries and strong ties to Sunni extremist networks. Bin Laden and his lieutenants took shelter in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime in the 1990s. The group had a number of terrorist training camps there, and in the late 1990s the Taliban itself became effectively subordinate to al-Qaida. Since the American attack, members of the group are suspected of fleeing to the tribal areas of the Northwest Frontier Province and Baluchistan, Pakistan.

Al-Qaida has strong links with a number of other Islamic terrorist organisations including the Indonesian Islamic extremist group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Organizational specialists point out al-Qaida's network structure, as opposed to hierarchical structure is both its strength and a weakness. The decentralized structure enables al-Qaida to have a worldwide base; however, acts involving a high degree of organization, such as the September 11 attacks, take time and effort. American efforts to disrupt al-Qaida have been partially successful. Attacks made by al-Qaida since then have been simpler and involved fewer persons.

The UN Security Council, on January 16, 2002, unanimously established an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of bin Laden, Al-Qaida, and the remaining Taliban.

The chain of command

Osama bin Laden is the emir, or the ruler of the group.

His second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri is the head of the Shura council. The shura council is made up of 30 aides who deal in policymaking.

Next down in the line are three committees:

  • The Military committee is responsible for training, weapons acquisition, and planning terrorist attacks.
  • The Money/Business committee runs business operations. The travel office provides air tickets and false passports. The payroll office pays Al-Qaida members, and the Management office oversees money-making businesses.
  • The Islamic study/fatwah committee issues fatwahs meant to promote Al-Qaida's cause

There was a once Media committee, which ran the now defunct newspaper Newscast and did public relations.

How Al-Qaida strikes

Al-Qaida sets up groups of members called "terrorist cells" all over the world. To do this, members obtain false passports and travel to wherever they are assigned to.

Some cells are immediately put to work on performing a terrorist attack. Other cells are "sleeper cells". Sleeper cells blend in with the community and remain active until the top brass sends them further instructions. Some cells launder money and/or make false passports.

Members have some say in recent terrorist plots. Mohammed Atta chose the date which the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks occurred.

Countries that Al Qaida operates in

According to the United States Department of State, Al Qaida has operated in the following countries.

Internet Activities

Al Qaeda had allegedly possessed several websites. Several others offered Al Qaeda content. Some of the websites were taken over by American crackers.

Alneda.com and Jehad.net were perhaps the most significant of the websites, and both were probably owned by Al-Qaida. Alneda was initially taken down by an American, but the operators kept trying to put the website back up.

Al-Qaida also claimed responsibility for two of its attacks on Jehad.net. Its members had also allegedly signed up for free electronic mail accounts and used steganography to transmit messages.

Some believe that Al-Qaida is actively trying to recruit members using the Internet. They are believed to use public internet cafes.

Al-Qaida-backed crackers probably were behind an October 16, 2003 denial of service attack against a website called Internet Haganah (web). The DDoS attack originated from a server in Malaysia. Internet Hanagah is an Israeli site that states that it is there to uncover and shut down websites and message boards run by Al Qaeda sympathizers. See: [1]

Did US actions create al-Qaida?

Many believe that al-Qaida would not have come into being without the US funding and training given to the Afghan mujahedeen fighting the Soviet invasion of 1979 to 1989. The Pakistani military regime may have tended to supply the most extreme Islamist Afghan fighters with the lion's share of the imported weaponry.

Critics of US and Western policies in the Middle East and worldwide note that some actions have caused a great deal of opposition among Arab and Islamic people, and regard terrorism as a predictable reaction. Examples of controversial policies are

  • Perceived US support of Israel in its ongoing conflict with the Palestinians;
  • US support of some dictators in the Middle East, including Saddam Hussein in Iraq before the Gulf War;
  • The US bombing of a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan in 1997 suspected of being a chemical weapons facility;
  • The use of Saudi Arabian bases by allied forces after 1991, which, since as the birthplace of Islam, the Arabian Peninsula is seen as a Holy Land under Islam where non-believers do not belong; and
  • Periodic military action against Iraq by the US and the UK from 1991 to the 2003 Iraq War, with the last particularly controversial.

List of alleged Al-Qaida members

This is a list of people accused of being Al-Qaida members. Some of them have been captured and convicted of participating in the organization by the U.S. government or another party.

See also List of Taliban members.

At large, free, or status unknown

Alive and captured/in custody

Dead

Referenced By

Al-Kaeda | Al-Kaida | Al-Qa'ida | Al-Qaeda | Al-Qaida | Al-Qaida Al-Jihad | Al-Qaïda | Al-Quada | Al-Quaida | Al-Queda | Al-Quida | Al Kaeda | Al Kaida | Al Qa'ida | Al Qaeda | Al Qaida | Al Qaïda | Al Quada | Al Quaeda | Al Quaida | Al Quida | El-Kaeda | El-Kaida | El-Qaeda | El-Qaida | El-Queda | El-Quiada | El Kaeda | El Kaida | El Qaeda | El Qaida | El Queda | El Quiada | Grabi Ibrahim Hahsen | Islamic Army | Islamic Army for the Liberation of the Holy Places | Islamic Salvation Foundation | List of Taliban leaders | List of Taliban members | Osama Asmurai | Osama Asmuray | Osama Turkestani | Qaeda Al-Jihad | Qaida Al-Jihad | Taliban members | The Base | The Group for the Preservation of the Holy Sites | Usama Bin Laden Network | Usama Bin Laden Organization | Wahli Kahn | Wahli Kahn Amin Shah | Wali Amin Shah | Wali Khan Amin Shah | Wali Shah Khan | Walli Khan Amin Chah | World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders