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The War on Terrorism
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  What Is Osama bin Laden Attempting to Achieve Through Terrorism?

Osama bin Laden


 
One of al Qaeda's earliest demands has been for the removal of the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden views the current monarchy as corrupt and that only U.S. military support can continue to prop it up. However, there is nothing to warrant this concern, absent a revolutionary movement in the kingdom led by someone like bin Laden.

Some analysts believe that bin Laden hopes to create enough causalities on the United States so as to make that country withdraw military forces throughout the region. The counter argument to this is why, then, would bin Laden take actions that would lead to an increase in American military might in the region?

One possible answer is that he wishes to cause increased resentment towards the West, as well as towards the Western-tilting governments in the region. Of greatest concern is the situation in Pakistan. As bin Laden has made no secret about his desire to acquire nuclear weapons, one possible goal may be to destabilize the current government of President Pervez Musharraf.

Another potential target may be the Saudi royal family. Paul Michael Wihbey, writing for the London Daily Telegraph, believes that bin Laden's real goal is to overthrow the House of Saud and thereby threaten the stability of Western economies through the control of much of the world's oil supply. Read Wihbey's article.

Still other analysts believe that bin Laden's ultimate goal is to overthrow most of the current governments in the region and create a large fundamentalist Islamic state in the region.

Although bin Laden's propaganda efforts of late have tried to embrace the Palestinian cause for self-governing statehood, few analyst believe that bin Laden is too troubled about the plight of the Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza.

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