Caspian Report - Issue: 07 - Spring 2014

Osama bin Laden, the leader of Al-Qaeda,
was killed by US Navy Seals on May 2,
2011. It looked like the “War on Terror”
had been won.
IntroductIon
Al-Qaeda’s September 11, 2001 attacks
challenged America’s post-
Cold War era global hegemony. In
response, President George W. Bush
launched the “War on Terror”, and
within a month, American and British
troops had entered Afghanistan.
They were later joined by NATO, the
Northern Alliance, and the United
Nations in their mission to destroy
al-Qaeda and eliminate its safe haven
by removing the Taliban from power.
Hamid Karzai became the twelfth
president of Afghanistan following
the removal of the Taliban regime in
late 2001, and Osama bin Laden, the
leader of Al-Qaeda, was killed by US
Navy Seals on May 2, 2011. It looked
like the “War on Terror” had been
won. However, two Chechen brothers
– though found to be self-radicalized
and unconnected to any outside terrorist
groups – were nonetheless motivated
by Jihadism and the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan. They learned
how to build explosive devices from
an online magazine produced by
the al-Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, and
planted bombs at the finish line of
the Boston Marathon on April 15,
2013 killing three and wounding
264. 1
The Obama administration has not
officially used the term “War on Terror”
since 2009. It has become clear
that preventing terrorist attacks
requires more than dismantling Al-
Qaeda or removing the Taliban or
Saddam from power. Moreover, the
US has begun peace talks and negotiations
with the Taliban in Afghanistan,
as the country is undergoing a
major political transition and faces
significant challenges in 2014. In his
state of the union speech on January
28 th , 2014, President Obama said
that, with the so-called Bilateral Se-
7
CASPIAN REPORT, sprIng 2014
1.
Michael Cooper, Michael S. Schmidt, and Eric Schmitt (2013) “Boston Suspects Are Seen as Self-Taught and
Fueled by Web” April, 23. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/us/boston-marathon-bombing-developments.
htmlhp&pagewanted=all&_r=0. Retrieved on February 25, 2014.