We have been focusing upon how those at the top of terrorist groups perform leadership roles and influence various audiences (both within their organizations and to the world at large). For this research paper compare and contrast the leadership and communication techniques of former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden with those of one other terrorist leader. Select one other terrorist leader from al Qaeda or affiliated groups such as Zawahiri, Baghdadi or Awlaki to compare and contrast with bin Laden’s leadership and communication approaches. State the topic in your paper.

Ayman al-Zawahiri (al Qaeda successor of Osama bin Laden)

Gohel, S. M. (2017) Deciphering Ayman Al-Zawahiri and Al-Qaeda’s strategic and ideological imperatives. Perspectives on Terrorism, 11 (1). pp. 54-67. ISSN 2334-3745. Retrieved from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/86743/1/Gohel_Deciphering%20Al-Qaeda_2018.pdf

Ayman al-Zawahiri (2018). The Counter Extremist Project. Retrieved from https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/ayman-al-zawahiri

Sude, B. (2015, September). Assessing Al-Qa`ida Central’s Resilience. Retrieved from https://ctc.usma.edu/assessing-al-qaida-centrals-resilience/

Council on Foreign Relations. (2011, July 14). Profile: Ayman al-Zawahiri. Retrieved from https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/profile-ayman-al-zawahiri

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham [ISIS] leader)

McCants, W. (2015, September 1). The Believer. Retrieved from http://csweb.brookings.edu/content/research/essays/2015/thebeliever.html

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (2018). The Counter Extremist Project Retrieved from https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi

Atwan, A. B. (2015). A Portrait of Caliph Ibrahim. The Cato Review. Retrieved from https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/a-portrait-of-caliph-ibrahim/

Anwar al-Awlaki (al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula leader, online jihadist radicalizer)

Shane, S. (2017). The Enduring Influence of Anwar al-Awlaki in the Age of the Islamic State. Retrieved from https://ctc.usma.edu/the-enduring-influence-of-anwar-al-awlaki-in-the-age-of-the-islamic-state/

Anwar al-Awlaki (2018). The Counter Extremist Project Retrieved from https://www.counterextremism.com/extremists/anwar-al-awlaki

Zimmerman, K. (2010, March 12). Militant Islam’s Global Preacher: The Radicalizing Effect of Sheikh Anwar al Awlaki. Critical Threats. Retrieved from https://www.criticalthreats.org/analysis/militant-islams-global-preacher-the-radicalizing-effect-of-sheikh-anwar-al-awlaki

Assignment Specifics:

• The body of your report is to be at least FOUR FULL pages in length (not counting title page and references) and is to contain the following:
• A brief (defined/ stated) introduction, with the topic and your thesis
• A main body, containing the “meat” of the paper, where you provide the requested information supported by class readings and with your analysis
• A (defined/stated) conclusion, summarizing your information clearly and concisely

Make sure you read the instructions carefully and that you focus your paper on answering the assigned questions. This assignment is a research paper, not an opinion paper, so you need to use scholarly sources to support your thesis.  Use formal academic writing and do not use the first person such as ‘I’ or ‘my’; see the OWL site on academic writing style. Make sure you use APA style in-text parenthetical citations at the end of every sentence where you are quoting another’s ideas (or any information) that is not your own thoughts and words, like this (Bergen, 2015, para 14). Citations are required for paraphrases as well, but not the page or paragraph number in that case. I highly recommend you use the APUS writing guide  which can be found in the university library or at this link: APUS Research Writing and Style Guide. You are welcome to use supplementary sources to compliment the assigned readings based upon your research, but make sure you use only scholarly and credible sources (do not use open websites and you never want to use wikipedia for a college level paper). Also, dictionaries and encyclopedias as well as general news sites (like CNN, FOX News) are not appropriate for college level research papers. You need to use mainly scholarly and reputable academic books and journal articles. Also, see the APUS Library Homeland Security Program Guide for good sources, as well as the APUS Research Primer and the APUS Library Research FAQs.

Requirements:

• Written according to the APA style and format (parenthetical in-text citation formats only; not end notes or footnotes);
• Use Times New Roman 12 point font;
• 1 inch margins on all sides with no paragraph indentation other than the first line by .5 inches
• Double space all text (no extra lines or spaces after a paragraph or section headings and no added font sizes or lines either)
• A respectable number of credible resources used, cited in the paper as in-text citations, and included on the reference page. A good rule of thumb is at least 2 scholarly sources per page of content (a minimum of 2 new scholarly sources per page in a research paper is acceptable). Use those academic and credible sources provided to you throughout the course, as well as other scholarly material obtained from conducting your own research. Freely utilize appropriate and reputable academic sources, summarize in your own words and cite accordingly.
• The paper must be free of typographical, spelling and grammatical errors (make sure to proof read before submission)

On Wednesday, February 19, Houston City Council voted to approve resolutions giving the city’s support to 23 proposed Low Income Housing Tax Credit developments scattered throughout Houston. The Low Income Housing Tax Credit program allows apartment operators to take a credit against their income tax in exchange for agreeing to lease apartments at affordable rents to residents with incomes below a certain percentage of the average income for the area.

The resolution passed to support all 23 proposals, but not without opposition to various projects by various council members – mostly for the proposed communities in their districts.

Houston’s support for affordable housing is not new. Mayor Sylvester Turner has worked hard to ramp up the city’s efforts to provide more housing options for more low-income Houstonians. What is new, though, is the holistic approach of mapping out and passing 20 tax credit support resolutions at one time, with the properties very meticulously dispersed throughout the entire city. The city’s list of supported projects include some in high-dollar neighborhoods that have not been chosen for affordable housing in the past. Two of the properties are in the Heights and one is on Post Oak Boulevard inside Loop 610.

Why is the city looking at these locations, and why now?

A few years ago, Houston began planning a 233-unit affordable housing community on Fountain View, in the Galleria area. At an estimated $53 million, the property was far more expensive that most similar projects. On the one hand, the project would have provided 233 units in a “high opportunity area,” zoned for good schools. On the other hand, that same sum of money could have provided many more badly-needed housing units in areas with lower land costs. Mayor Turner opposed the Fountain View property in favor of other options that would provide housing for more people.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development immediately launched a five-month investigation, which resulted in a scathing 14-page letter accusing the city of “blocking and deterring affordable housing proposals in integrated neighborhoods.”

“The city’s refusal to issue a resolution of no objection for Fountain View was motivated either in whole or in part by the race, color, or national origin of the likely tenants,” Garry Sweeney, director of HUD’s Fort Worth’s regional office of fair housing and equal opportunity, wrote. “More generally, the department finds that the city’s procedures for approving Low-Income Housing Tax Credit applications are influenced by racially motivated opposition to affordable housing and perpetuate segregation.”

Mayor Turner, an African-American with strong roots among low-income Houstonians, saw the issue very differently. To him, focusing solely on housing in “high opportunity areas” was basically telling low-income Houstonians they should give up on their neighborhoods, and that working to improve the areas where they live would be a waste of money. If they want a better life, by that logic, they should give up on the neighborhoods they know and move somewhere else. Turner, as evidenced by his commitment to the Complete Communities program, is a supporter of investing in low-income communities and turning them into the high-opportunity areas in which HUD wants affordable housing.

Reasonable people can disagree about the best approach to affordable housing, but  the most important point may be simply that Houston needs more affordable housing everywhere. With a population of over 2 million, Houston’s roughly 78,000 subsidized units are not nearly enough. As the cost of housing continues to rise faster than wages for unskilled and low-skilled workers, the gap between supply and demand is going to continue to grow.

Meanwhile, the 20 Houston properties supported by Houston City Council for tax credits will now have to compete for those credits with properties all over the state. Out of the 20 supported by the City of Houston, only about 10 are likely to be awarded credits and proceed to construction.

For your assignment this week, write a 2 – 5 page essay about the city’s decision to support these projects. Is this a good idea? Do you think there are better ways to proceed, and, if so, what suggestions would you have if you were a member of the Houston City Council?

Submit in Word. Cite your sources.

Resources

Here’s the Houston City Council agenda from that week (Look for Item 41, starting on page 8): http://www.houstontx.gov/citysec/agenda/2020/Feb1820.pdf (Links to an external site.)

If you go to the “online agenda,” for February 18, scroll down and click on Item 41, you can see the “backup” information given to council members: https://houston.novusagenda.com/agendapublic/ (Links to an external site.)

The Houston Chronicle wrote about the leadup to this: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/real-estate/article/Two-dozen-mixed-income-projects-seek-tax-credits-15047375.php (Links to an external site.)

…then the upcoming vote: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/affordable-homes-tax-community-change-income-low-15065977.php# (Links to an external site.)

…and the outcome: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Houston-council-support-tax-credits-housing-afford-15068063.php (Links to an external site.)

Here’s a little background on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program: https://www.nhlp.org/resource-center/low-income-housing-tax-credits/