'Al Qaeda': What's In A Name?

A War Against A Name: Al Qaeda
Bedouin protesters raise Al-Qaeda-affiliated flags on a watch tower in Egypt's Sinai on September 14, 2012 after they stormed a compound of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) to protest against a film mocking Islam, sparking clashes that left three people injured, a security official said. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/GettyImages)
Bedouin protesters raise Al-Qaeda-affiliated flags on a watch tower in Egypt's Sinai on September 14, 2012 after they stormed a compound of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) to protest against a film mocking Islam, sparking clashes that left three people injured, a security official said. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/GettyImages)

In the summer of 1988, in the University Town neighborhood of Peshawar, Pakistan, Osama bin Laden founded Al Qaeda, which means “the Base,” in Arabic. As a calling card for terror or revolution, the name lacked pizzazz. Bases are safe places, not threatening ones. We can infer from the historical record that bin Laden’s comrades either couldn’t come up with a better idea or didn’t want to annoy him by questioning his brainstorm.

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