This dyad belongs to the conflict United States of America: Government
Summary of conflict United States of America: Government
The intrastate conflict between the government of the US and al-Qaida began on 11 September 2001, as al-Qaida operatives attack US military and civilian targets in New York City and Washington D.C. Though the incompatibility concerns the government of the United States of America, except for the attacks on 11 September, no fighting has taken place on the US territory. Instead, fighting has been located in countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In some of these locations, the bulk of fighting has been carried out by the US government’s allies.
In 2018, the conflict became inactive for the first time since 2001. Yet, it became active again in 2019, though the total number of battle-related deaths was still the lowest among all active conflict years. All of the relevant conflict events were recorded in Afghanistan.
Conflict background
The conflict between the government of the United States of America (US) and al-Qaida constitutes an untraditional case of internal armed conflict, with most of the violent activity taking place outside of the US and including soldiers from over 20 different countries.
The US has, for several decades, maintained a strong military presence and political involvement in Middle East politics; a position that became perhaps even more explicit in the 1990s as the US became the sole superpower in the world. Also, following the US intervention in the Iraq-Kuwait conflict of 1990-91, American airbases remained in Saudi Arabia, which was a cause for much criticism from actors within the Middle East. This opposition was directed not only against Middle Eastern governments but also against the US itself. Some groups and governments viewed those American deployments as concrete political and ideological problems.
Al-Qaida (Arabic for ‘the Base’) was formed in 1988 by volunteer forces that were fighting alongside the Islamic rebels (‘mujahideen’, meaning holy warriors) in Afghanistan’s conflict against a communist government supported by the Soviet Union. Encouraged by the eventual withdrawal in 1989 of Soviet troops, al-Qaida declared an ambition to continue fighting ‘jihad’ (holy war) in defense of Islamic movements and countries. The founder of al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden from Saudi Arabia, became increasingly critical of the US and focused primarily on its presence in the Islamic world. Statements from bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders have included both general criticism of the US and its allies to specific suggestions about the change of the US government. Before the events of 9/11, al-Qaida had, however, not pronounced statements that could qualify as being a stated incompatibility against the government of the US.
Al-Qaida-linked attacks on US interests, however, have occurred as far back as in 1998, with the simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya). Also, in October 2000, the US warship USS Cole, stationed in Sanaa’s harbor (Yemen), was attacked by a suicide bomber thought to have been linked to al-Qaida.
In the UCDP’s view, the conflict between the government of the USA and al-Qaida, however, begins on 11 September 2001. On that date, al-Qaida operatives launched an attack on government buildings in Washington (the Pentagon specifically) as well as against civilian targets in New York City. More than 2000 civilians in New York City’s World Trade Center, and more than a hundred employees in the Pentagon, were killed as a consequence. The stated goal was to force the US to abandon a basic pillar of government policy during the last fifty years, its involvement overseas, and specifically in the Middle East.
9/11 and the fall of the Taleban
Following the attacks on Washington D.C. and New York City in September 2001, US President George W Bush responded by declaring the “War on Terror" and a war on al-Qaida. Several other countries soon declared a willingness to support the government of the USA in its fight against terrorism.
Knowing that the bulk of al-Qaida’s network was based in Afghanistan, the US demanded that the government of Afghanistan, then under the control of the Taleban movement, should extradite the al-Qaida leaders it harbored. This demand was rejected as the Afghans wanted the US to show more convincing evidence of al-Qaida's involvement in the attacks before agreeing to such a deal. Those requests were dismissed by the US. Instead, the government launched "Operation Enduring Freedom" beginning on 7 October 2001. These attacks, which were carried out mainly through airstrikes and the insertion of special forces, targeted suspected al-Qaida bases in Afghanistan but were also made in support of the rebels of the Northern Front (also known as UIFSA, United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan) that were opposed to the Taleban.
Throughout October and November 2001, troops were deployed from the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Poland, Italy, and Turkey while other countries offered other types of support to bring down al-Qaida and the Taleban. By March 2002, more than 17 000 military personnel from 17 different countries had been deployed alongside US forces as the so-called "Coalition of the Willing," which also included other types of support from even more countries. The involvement of these actors diminished as al-Qaida’s presence in Afghanistan dropped markedly following the US and UIFSA victory over the Taleban government. Note that the bulk of these military forces were later integrated into the UN-mandated enforcement force ISAF (International Security Assistance Force), which was deployed to fight off the resurgent Taleban.
Most of the Coalition remained located in Afghanistan, where there was only limited fighting against al-Qaida reported in 2004 and onwards. The former Taleban government of Afghanistan responded after their removal from power in November 2001 by declaring their support for al-Qaida in its fight against the US. As the majority of al-Qaida fighters were killed, captured, or left the country, this support has become less marked. Some tactical cooperation has, however, been recorded throughout the years of fighting.
When the Taleban government of Afghanistan had been defeated, the US’ attacks on al-Qaida intensified. Most surviving al-Qaida operatives fled across the border into Pakistan in 2002-03, while others regrouped in Saudi Arabia. This dispersing of the al-Qaida network meant that the conflict became inactive in 2003. Some al-Qaida operatives based in Saudi Arabia attacked American civilians in 2003, but there was no battle-related activity worthy of note. When the conflict resumed in 2004, almost all the activity took place in the Pakistani tribal areas and in Saudi Arabia.
The continuous worldwide "war on terror"
While 2003 saw no noteworthy amount of battle-related fatalities, the conflict between the US government and al-Qaida restarted again in 2004 and took on a new dimension. Though 2001 and 2002 had seen mainly fighting in Afghanistan, the conflict thereafter took place in several locations around the globe as the US targeted al-Qaida in several countries and al-Qaida attacked US interests in the same manner. Through attacking US interests in Saudi Arabia, al-Qaida became involved in fighting with Saudi security forces throughout 2004, as the government of Saudi Arabia aided the US in the conflict.
During 2005 - 2008, most of the conflict activity took place in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where American, Coalition, and Pakistani forces continued their search for al-Qaida operatives. While fighting continued to intensify in these areas, al-Qaida activity in Saudi Arabia decreased in 2006 and 2007.
Conflict activity during 2008 continued to take place mainly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the bulk of al-Qaida losses being registered in Pakistan's tribal areas. While ground forces were sometimes used against suspected al-Qaida bases and affiliates in Afghanistan, those killed in Pakistan were targeted almost exclusively by missile attacks. These attacks on Pakistani soil soured the official relationships between the US and Pakistani governments. A limited number of missile strikes were also launched in Somalia.
No al-Qaida attacks against US interests in Saudi Arabia were recorded in 2008; however, a new front was opened as al-Qaida operatives that had returned to Yemen (presumably from Iraq) launched attacks on the US embassy in that country in September. These attacks later evolved into a battle between Al-Qaida in the Arabic Peninsula and the government of Yemen.
The year 2009 saw a notable increase in the number of battle-related deaths compared to the preceding years, with the exception of the years 2001 and 2002. This upsurge in the number of fatalities was mainly a consequence of the Obama administration’s increasingly aggressive use of missile strikes from pilot-less aerial drones (most often ‘Predator’ drones). Such drones targeted Taleban (Afghan and Pakistani) and al-Qaida operatives in the tribal areas of Pakistan which they controlled.
Since 2009, the intensity of the conflict has fluctuated yet remained lower than the level in that year. In 2018, the conflict even became inactive for the first time. Yet, it became active again in 2019, though the total number of battle-related deaths was still the lowest among all active conflict years.
With the exception of the first day of fighting, 11 September 2001, this intrastate conflict has not been fought in the US territory. No negotiations have taken place to resolve the incompatibility.
