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The U.S. has suffered a lot of its casualties because of suicide bombings in recent years. The government has stepped up its security to try and stop these disasters, but it has been difficult. There are many other organizations and groups that use terror for other purposes besides religion. Terrorism dates back to at least the 1st century, when the Zealots, a Jewish religious sect, fought against Roman occupation of what is now Israel. At the beginning of the 19th century, terrorist movements acquired a more political and revolutionary direction. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, anarchists in Italy, Spain, and France used terrorism. .
At the end of World War II in 1945, conflict in the Middle East between Arab nations and Israel arose, which produced successive waves of terrorism. The two sides are still fighting to this date. Most of the terrorism against Americans has to do with the U.S. support for Israel. The organization responsible for most of these acts is known as Al-Qaeda (the base). It is the largest global terrorist network in the world consisting of hundreds of thousands of operatives that are spread throughout the world. Its attacks are mainly on U.S. interests in the Middle East and also in Europe and Africa. .
Al-Qaeda's operations are highly classified and unpredictable. They execute every five to ten years. The attacks are usually catastrophic, leaving many casualties. Osama Bin Laden, who is the most well known terrorist in the world and is the FBI's most wanted man, and co-defendant Muhammad Atef, founded Al-Qaeda in 1989. One of their main goals was to drive the U.S. armed forces out of Saudi Arabia and Somalia, but have not succeeded to this date. They had a consultation council that discussed and approved major undertakings including operations. Al-Qaeda had ties to other organizations, including the Al-Jihad group based in Egypt, and other extremists in Iran and Sudan.
