Al-Qaeda's been around since the late

1980s. US intelligence had their eye on

them way before 9/11 because they'd been

linked to several attacks, including a

1992 bombing at a hotel in Yemen; a truck

bomb that blew up at the World Trade

Center; simultaneous attacks on American

embassies in Tanzania and Kenya; and the

bombing of a US Navy destroyer. So what

was driving al-Qaeda? Well, to understand

that we have to understand Osama bin

Laden.

He was born in Saudi Arabia and came

from a wealthy family that ran one of

the biggest construction companies in

the Middle East. In the 1980s bin Laden

went to Afghanistan to join the fight

against the Soviet occupation.

He styled himself as a devout Muslim who

had a duty to defend other Muslims from

a foreign occupying power.

And in 1988 he established al-Qaeda,

using his millions to fund and recruit

fighters for the cause. After the Soviets

withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, bin

Laden's mission shifted to focus on the

US. And the first Gulf War was the

catalyst.

Iraq had invaded Kuwait. The US came to

Kuwait's defence, and in the process

stationed thousands of US soldiers in

Saudi Arabia. And as with the Soviets in

Afghanistan, bin Laden saw the US as a

foreign power in Muslim lands.

The question was —

How would he do it?

Well, by 1996, the Taliban had seized

power in Afghanistan and it became clear

they would provide some kind of

sanctuary for bin Laden to build up his

group.

So the late ’90s was a time that al-Qaeda,

tucked away in Afghanistan, was able to

grow and plan attacks, including 9/11.

That so-called war on terror led to the

invasion of Afghanistan by the US and UK,

with several other countries joining a

bit later.

President Bush also used it to justify

the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 even

though Iraq had no connection to 9/11.

Over the next few years many top members

of al-Qaeda were killed, mostly by US

drone strikes. But al-Qaeda was still a

threat, and it was still able to attract

new recruits for lots of reasons. One of

them was the growth of the internet,

which helped them spread their message

further and faster. And it's been argued

that abuse committed by the US and

others in the name of the “war on terror”

also ended up pushing more people

towards them.

Things like the torture at the Abu

Ghraib prison in Iraq, and the indefinite

incarceration without charge or trial of

hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

In

the years after 9/11 there were more

plots and attacks by al-Qaeda, and those

they inspired, like the Bali bombing, the

Madrid train attack, London 7/7 and the

Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris.

But not all these happened under Osama

bin Laden. Because by 2011, he was dead.

After a 10-year manhunt, the US found

him and killed him in Pakistan.

The killing of Osama bin Laden was a big

blow to al-Qaeda. He was replaced by

Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian who had

been a top member of al-Qaeda since the

late ’90s. But he's no bin Laden.

There have been various reports of

al-Zawahiri being killed.

But most experts believe he's still

alive, hiding out somewhere in

Afghanistan with a $25-million

bounty on his head.

Al-Qaeda's leadership is under constant

pressure from a huge international

counterterrorism effort that's made it

harder for the group to plan attacks on

the same scale as 9/11.

But al-Qaeda has adapted.

So al-Qaeda now has a

network of affiliates around the world.

Aside from Afghanistan and Pakistan,

there are groups in different parts of

Africa. Like al-Shabab in Somalia, and

al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in

Algeria, Libya and Tunisia. There's

another group in Mali, and in South Asia it's

been active in places like India and

Bangladesh. And in the Middle East, al-

Qaeda has taken advantage of the chaos

caused by wars in Iraq, Syria and Yemen,

developing branches in all those

countries. The one in Iraq actually split

off and became ISIL.

But

are al-Qaeda about to get a boost?

The Taliban has taken over Afghanistan

again, and last time around they helped

al-Qaeda.

This time they say it'll be different.

But can the Taliban be trusted when it

comes to al-Qaeda?

Some people, though, would

argue that al-Qaeda's biggest weapon has

always been, and continues to be,

something more powerful and elusive than

men with guns.

But actions by the US and its

allies since 9/11 have also created a

ripple effect.

And now that the last US soldier has

left Afghanistan, the Taliban are

celebrating what they see as a victory

in that war.

And so, it would seem, are al-Qaeda.

Twenty years

after 9/11, the world has changed and al-

Qaeda has changed. But after all this

time, the question of what al-Qaeda might

do next is probably as important as it

ever was.

If you want to know more about what's

been going on in Afghanistan, check out

our recent episode on the fall of Kabul.

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