324 Journal of the Spanish Institute for Strategic Studies N. 4 / 2014 WHAT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AL- QAEDA? 1. INTRODUCTION Thirteen years after the September 11 attacks against the United States, the knowledge we have today of the organisation responsible for the attacks rema-ins incomplete, despite the vast amount and variety of material that has been published on the subject. The first part of this article briefly explains why this has come about and outlines the general starting points and approach taken by academia to the research of al Qaeda. The immediate conclusion is that much of what we take to be established facts about al Qaeda need to be called into question, and the final version of the history, ideology and goals of the organisation led by Osama bin Laden has not yet been written. Therefore, without it being a contradiction, the following two sections trace the evolution of al Qaeda from its origins to the mid-2000s. When doing so, every effort was made to use the sources closest to and most relevant to the organisation. Nevertheless, as explained throughout the article, the vast amount of sources still outside of the public domain makes it extremely difficult to provide a comprehensive overview of al Qaeda. 2. WHAT AND HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW ABOUT AL QAEDA? Al Qaeda came to the attention of the world as a result of the September 11 attacks against the United States. While the al Qaeda name surfaced after the bombings of the U.S., embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998, it was not until 9/11 that the organisation was elevated to the status of “public enemy number one”. Despite the little that was known about the group up to that point, and the fact that there was practically no direct information on the organisation, the decade following the New York and Washington attacks saw a proliferation of articles and publications of every description on the subject. Prior to 9/11, academic research on
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