Osama Bin Laden

Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden (1957-2011) was the founder of Al-Qaeda, a fundamentalist Islamic organization responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Born and raised in a wealthy Saudi family, bin Laden began his career fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s, as part of the mujahedeen forces.

Bin Laden studied economics and business administration at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, but most of his interest was in fundamentalist Islam. He was motivated by the belief that U.S. foreign policy was largely responsible for harming and killing Muslims. In 1979, he traveled to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, where much of the mujahedeen were funded by the CIA through the Pakistani Intelligence Service. Paper Masters can write a custom written research paper on Osama bin Laden that follows your specific guidelines.

bin Laden and Al-Qaeda

Bin Laden founded Al-Qaeda in 1988, taking up the jihadist cause following Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan.Bin Laden objected to U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, and one of Al-Qaeda's first major plots was the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Exiled from Saudi Arabia, bin Laden first took refuge in Sudan, before moving his base of operations to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Al-Qaeda was responsible for the following:

• 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings in Africa
• The attack on the USS Cole
• Launching the 9/11 attacks

Following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, bin Laden disappeared for several years, before being tracked down in Pakistan and killed by U.S. Special Forces.