After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, al-Qaeda surpassed the IRA and the PLO as the world's most well-known terrorist organization. Al-Qaeda, or "the base" in Arabic, is the network of extremists organized by Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda has its origins in the uprising against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Thousands of volunteers from around the Middle East came to Afghanistan as mujahideen, warriors fighting to defend fellow Muslims. In the mid-1980s, Osama bin Laden …showed first 75 words of 1230 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1230 total…Osama Bin Laden (Free<Tab/><Tab/>Press, 2001). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaida http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2004_hr/040104black.html http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223-fatwa.htm http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress01/caruso121801.htm http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2003/c12108.htm http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/trainingmanual.htm Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2003. United States Department of State, June 2004.