With the release of their November 2010 Special Issue of Inspire magazine, a group claiming to be Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has again succeeded in getting the entire global news media to uncritically relate their message. Every few months since the first release of the magazine in July 2010, the public is now subjected to a mass of uncritical stories that propagate predefined talking-points which are taken almost verbatim from one of two “monitoring groups” which actually profit from the sale of terrorist propaganda materials. One of those groups, the SITE Intelligence Group, was founded by the daughter of an executed Israeli spy. Joel Meares of The Columbia Journalism Review writes that when “Reading the latest terror reports it seems that any questions about the validity of Inspire have disappeared. The magazine once greeted with skepticism and perspective—to what extent one publication can speak for as disparate and fractured a community as the jihadists is always a question—is now being treated as the unquestioned and official spokes-journal of Al-Qaeda. And some close watchers of Al-Qaeda caution against the approach.”
Tag Archive for Al-Qaeda
Intelligence Fusion Centers, Oregon
(U//FOUO) Oregon TITAN Fusion Center: Al-Qaeda Inspire Magazine Analysis
(U//FOUO) Purpose and Scope: Provide first responders with a summary, analysis, warnings & indicators, and implications of key articles in the Fall 2010 Inspire magazine for Oregon and SW Washington.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(U//FOUO) Afghanistan Atmospheric Report: Civil War if ISAF Leaves Gardez District
(U/ /FOUO) BLUF: If ISAF leaves there will be civil war, even AAF groups are fighting among each other. But the ANA needs assistance if they are going to defend Afghanistan. But the Americans give support to Pakistan even though they support the Taliban and AI Qaeda.
Documents
Adam Gadahn September 2010 “Pakistan Floods” Video
This video was released in late September 2010 by As-Sahab Media and features U.S.-born Adam Gadahn speaking about Pakistani flood relief. At approximately four minutes into the video, Gadahn references the leak of Afghan war documents by WikiLeaks.
Documents
Osama Bin Laden October 2010 “Pakistan Floods” Videos
Two videos released by As-Sahab in the beginning of October 2010 with an individual claiming to be Osama bin Laden discussing Pakistani aid relief and climate change.
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida
(U//FOUO) FBI Warning: Extremists Likely to Retaliate Against Florida Group’s Planned “International Burn A Koran Day”
(U//FOUO) While the FBI has no information to indicate a specific attack has been planned against the United States or US assets in response to the “International Burn a Koran Day” event, the FBI assesses with high confidencea that, as with past incidents perceived as acts of desecration against Islam, extremist actors will continue to threaten or attempt to harm the leaders, organizers, or attendees the event, scheduled for 6:00-9:00pm on 11 September 2010 in Gainesville, Florida. Depending on the continued national and international publicity the event receives, it may also inspire retaliatory attacks against US facilities overseas.
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) DHS “Inspire” Al-Qaeda Magazine Warning
(U//FOUO) This product is intended to provide perspective and understanding of the nature and scope of potentially emergent threats and to assess the initial public responseto the posting of Inspire Magazine. It is also intended to assist federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies and authorities, the private sector, and other entities to develop priorities for protective and support measures relating to an existing or emerging threat to homeland security.
News
FBI Takes Down 73,000 Blogs Over Al-Qaeda Magazine
Earlier this week, the owner of a Wordpress-based blogging platform Blogetery.com was informed by the site’s hosting provider Burst.net that their servers had been deactivated following a request from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Although preliminary reports attributed this takedown to copyrighted content, it has since been discovered that the removal was due to “terrorist materials”. A press release from BurstNet explains “Upon review, Burst.net determined that the posted material, in addition to potentially inciting dangerous activities, specifically violated the BurstNet Acceptable Use Policy. This policy strictly prohibits the posting of ‘terrorist propaganda, racist material, or bomb/weapon instructions’. Due to this violation and the fact that the site had a history of previous abuse, BurstNet elected to immediately disable the system.” Burst.net later posted comments to a forum indicating that they would not allow the customer access to his data. “We cannot give him his data nor can we provide any other details. By stating this, most would recognize that something serious is afoot.”
Department of Homeland Security
(U//FOUO) HITRAC Homeland Security Threat Overview
(U//FOUO) HITRAC Homeland Security Threat Overview, October 2007.
News
Al-Qaeda Magazine is Cupcake Recipe Book
Recently reports of an English-language “al-Qaeda magazine” were dealt with in mostly uncritical terms by the majority of news outlets. Wired’s Danger Room blog described how the new magazine was an attempt “to move politically frustrated Muslim youth in the West down the road of violent extremism” by filling that “inexplicably vacant media space between O: The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics and the al-Qaida book Knights Under The Prophet’s Banner”. FOXNews quotes Brookings Institution fellow Bruce Reidel as saying that the magazine is “clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the U.S. or U.K. who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber”. The Daily Beast quotes U.S. government officials as saying that the “U.S. government is aware of this new propaganda vehicle by al Qaeda in Yemen and Anwar Awlaki” and that “AQAP and Awlaki are clearly trying to incite terrorist activity overseas, and to recruit new extremists. The packaging of this magazine may be slick, but the contents are as vile as the authors.”
Documents
Anwar al-Awlaki May 2010 Interview Video
Anwar al-Awlaki May 23, 2010 Interview Video.
Documents
Adam Gadahn March 7, 2010 Video with Transcript
This video was released on March 7, 2010 by the Al-Qaeda media arm As-Sahab and has been variously titled “A Call to Arms” and “Unsheath Your Sword”. In the 25-minute video, Adam Gadahn calls on Muslims in the West to follow in the footsteps of Nidal Malik Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter. Gadahn encourages Americans and other Muslims in the West to “prepare to play his due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam.” Gadahn also provides advice on choosing high-value targets for potential terrorist attacks in America and the West, such as military installments and mass transportation systems, as well as symbols of capitalism whose ruin could cripple the Western economy. Gadahn urges his followers to take action as soon as possible and explains that now is the “golden, once in a lifetime opportunity to reap the rewards of jihad and martyrdom…so unsheathe your sharpened sword and rush to take your rightful place among defiant champions of Islam.”
Congressional Research Service
Al Qaeda and Affiliates: Historical Perspective, Global Presence, and Implications for U.S. Policy
Al Qaeda (AQ) has evolved into a significantly different terrorist organization than the one that perpetrated the September 11, 2001, attacks. At the time, Al Qaeda was composed mostly of a core cadre of veterans of the Afghan insurgency against the Soviets, with a centralized leadership structure, made up mostly of Egyptians. Most of the organization’s plots either emanated from the top or were approved by the leadership. Some analysts describe pre-9/11 Al Qaeda as akin to a corporation, with Osama Bin Laden acting as an agile Chief Executive Officer issuing orders and soliciting ideas from subordinates.
Documents
Adam Gadahn December 12, 2009 Video with Transcript
As-Sahab video released December 12, 2009 and featuring Adam Gadahn, who claims that the mujahideen is not responsible for attacks on civilians in Afghanistan.
Documents
Osama bin Laden September 7, 2007 Video with Transcript
Originally appeared in a banner ad on an Islamic militant website regularly used by Al-Qaeda on September 6, 2007. The ad carried a picture of Osama bin Laden and the logo of Al-Qaeda’s media production company As-Sahab. An accompanying translated message read “Soon, with the permission of God, a new visual tape, the Sheikh, the Lion, Osama bin Laden. May God protect him.”
New York
NYPD Responding to Terrorist Attacks: Trends in European Response Scenarios
This paper analyzes three high-profile European case studies of post-9/11 terrorist attacks (Istanbul [2003], Madrid [2004], and London [2005]). It also examines targeting and tactical information gleaned from several failed/foiled plots in Europe. Although the general findings of this paper can be applied to any type of large scale terrorist attack, this study focuses on those attacks perpetrated by Muslim extremists since this subset currently constitutes the most prominent terrorist threat to the U.S.
Foreign Broadcast Information Service
Compilation of Usama Bin Ladin Statements 1994 – January 2004
Prominent Arab Mujahid [holy warrior] Usama Bin Ladin has said that he or his al-Qua’ida group has nothing to do with the 11 September suicidal attacks in Washington and New York. He said the US Government should find the attackers within the country. In an exclusive interview with daily “Ummat,” he said these attacks could be the act of those who are part of the American system and are rebelling against it and working for some other system.