... to achieve their goals. Al-Qaeda is an international terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden. Thousands of volunteers from around the Middle East came to Afghanistan as warriors fighting to defend fellow Muslims beliefs and culture. It seeks to free the Muslim countries from the influence of the West and replace their governments with fundamentalist Islamic culture. After al-Qaeda's September 11, 2001, attacks on America, the United States launched a war in Afghanistan to destroy al-Qaeda's bases there and overthrow the Taliban who provide a safe haven for Osama and his fellow fighters. Mainly, the principal aims of al-Qaeda are to drive Americans and American influence out of all Muslim nations, especially Saudi Arabia; destroy Israel; and topple pro-Western dictatorships around the Middle East. Furthermore, it is bin Laden's goal to unite all Muslims and establish, by force, an Islamic nation adhering to the rule of the first Caliphs (Hayes, ...

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