James H Fitzgerald

Changing the Winds of Paradise: Confronting Al Qaeda's Ideology of Martyrdom James H Fitzgerald

Publisher Marketing: Suicide terrorism is re-emerging as the dominant tactic in asymmetric warfare. Al Qaeda in association with affiliates in the greater Salafi-jihadi movement conduct suicide terror or martyrdom campaigns against strategic and operational targets. Martyrdom operations are the keystone of Al Qaeda's ideology and serve as a unifying tenet of the global Salafi-jihadi insurgency. This study will examine the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) within the context of a transnational or global insurgency fueled by an extreme Islamic ideology propagated by Al Qaeda; seek to correlate the relationship between Al Qaeda's "martyrdom operations" and radical Islamic doctrinal principles and understand the differences between strategic "martyrdom operations" against the "far enemy" exemplified by the attacks of 11 September 2001, and the operational martyrdom operations conducted in Iraq to facilitate the collapse of the state. The analysis highlights the threat Al Qaeda and Associated Movements through the insurgency pose to the US and its interests. Salafi-jihadi organizations demonstrate the intent of attacking US interest and more ominously, the capability with a martyrdom campaign. Success in the GWOT depends on neutralizing the multifaceted impact of Al Qaeda's martyrdom operations.