At the end of the 1980s, with the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan, some elements of the Mujahideen morphed into Al Qaeda, Arabic for “the base,” which referred to the military facilities and training grounds in Afghanistan built for the Mujahideen by bin Laden and the CIA. After the Soviet withdrawal, the term Al Qaeda shifted meaning from the specific military base to the organizational base of jihadist activities.
20世纪80年代末，随着苏联从阿富汗撤军，圣战部队的某些单位演变成为基地组织（阿拉伯语意为“基地”），指的是由本·拉登和中情局在阿富汗建造的训练场地和军事设施。苏联撤军后，基地一词从代指某个具体军事基地转而代指组织圣战活动的大本营。