List of Al Qaeda articles
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Osama bin Laden with Ayman al-Zawahiri during a November 2001 interview at an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda’s Leader Is Old, Bumbling—and a Terrorist Mastermind
Ayman al-Zawahiri isn’t trying to plan another 9/11 attack—because he doesn’t need to.
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A Soldier assigned to the United Kingdom specialized infantry trains Nigerian forces on refined weapon-reloading techniques during Flintlock 20 near Thies, Senegal, Feb. 17, 2020. (U.S. photo by Sgt. Steven Lewis) In West Africa, U.S. Military Struggles for Scarce Resources as Terrorism Threat Grows
Tensions with Iran almost scuttled a major international training exercise in the Sahel.
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The annual Tribute in Light memorial echoing the twin towers of the World Trade Center illuminates the night sky during the tenth Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on Sept. 11, 2011, in this view from Bayonne, New Jersey. It’s Hard to Commemorate 9/11 If You Don’t Understand It.
Today’s university freshmen were born after the Twin Towers fell. In the Trump era, lack of historical perspective makes young people susceptible to alarmism and more likely to misread threats.
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Islamic fighters from the al-Qaida group in the Levant, Al-Nusra Front, wave their movement's flag as they parade at the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, south of Damascus, to denounce Israels military offensive on the Gaza Strip, on July 28, 2014. Al Qaeda Is Ready to Attack You Again
Eighteen years after 9/11, the terrorist group has found a new home—and rediscovered its old mission.
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The Taliban’s Broken Pledge to Contain Terrorists
A generation ago, the Taliban promised to prevent Osama bin Laden from targeting Americans—then came 9/11.
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U.S. soldiers arrive at Saudi Arabia's Dhahran air base in 1991. Did Mohammed bin Salman Just Give Jihadis the World’s Greatest Terrorist Recruiting Tool?
Anger at the presence of U.S. troops on sacred Saudi soil led Osama bin Laden to found al Qaeda and wage jihad on the West. The crown prince’s decision to welcome them back could light the fuse again.
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Hamza bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's son, is shown at his wedding in a video released by the CIA on Nov. 1, 2017. Like Terrorist Father, Like Terrorist Son
Hamza bin Laden was the son of al Qaeda’s founder—and the future leader that the terrorist group needed.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks toward a plane to depart Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 24. U.S. Intelligence Undercuts Trump’s Case on Iran-al Qaeda Links
Despite claims by Pompeo, Tehran and al Qaeda have been at odds more often than they've been aligned since 9/11.
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A screen grab from a propaganda video released April 29 purportedly shows Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi for the first time in five years at an undisclosed location. ‘Let’s Kill This Baby in the Crib’
That’s what the CIA said when it had Osama bin Laden in its sights after 9/11. Instead, America veered off into Iraq, and the result is Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who appeared in a new video this week.
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A discarded Islamic State flag lies torn on the ground in the village of Baghouz, Syria, on March 24. (Giuseppe Cacace/AFP/Getty Images) ISIS’s West African Offshoot Is Following al Qaeda’s Rules for Success
The amorphous Boko Haram splinter group is taking inspiration where it can get it and bringing disaster to the Lake Chad Basin in the process.
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A man prays at the burial of a friend on January 16, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya after al-Shabab militants stormed the Dusit hotel complex. Al-Shabab Wants You To Know It’s Alive and Well
The brutal attack in Kenya is designed to show Washington and the world that the terrorist group is still a force to be reckoned with in East Africa.
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U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan's Nangarhar Province on July 7. (Wakil Kohsar/AFP/Getty Images) The United States Needs an Afghanistan Exit Strategy
Washington should hand over U.S. military and political roles to other countries, including China.
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(Illustration by Matt Chase for Foreign Policy) The Future of War Will Be ‘Liked’
In the social media age, what you share is deciding what happens on the battlefield.
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Yemeni mourners bury the bodies of Houthis killed in a car bomb attack which targeted a Shiite Muslim mosque in Sanaa during a group funeral procession in the Yemeni capital on July 22, 2015. America Is Not an Innocent Bystander in Yemen
Washington has left a vacuum in the Middle East, letting U.S. allies do as they please—no matter how high the body count.
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Rescuers work among the rubble after the bombing U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya on Aug. 7, 1998. (AFP/Getty Images) The Bombings the World Forgot
On the podcast: Ambassador Prudence Bushnell survived the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya. Now she tells her story.
