The US government has released some of the documents it captured during its raid on Bin Laden’s compound. The documents have been released through West Point’s CTC, which has provided an excellent overview and hand list. Since the documents are being circulated in a .zip file, I thought it’d be useful to put them online in an easy-to-access format.
- Date: Unknown, From: Unknown, To: Unknown (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000009]
- Date: Unknown, From: Unknown, To: Unknown (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000017]
- Date: Unknown, From: Unknown (probably Bin Laden or `Atiyya), To: Nasir al-Wuhayshi (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000016]
- Date: 14 Sept 2006, From: Unknown, To: Bin Laden (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000018]
- Date: Between 24 Oct and 22 Nov 2006, From: `Atiyya, To: Jaysh al-Islam (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000008]
- Date: after Jan 2007, From: Unknown, To: `Atiyya (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000014]
- Date: 28 Mar 2007, From: Unknown (an Egyptian), To: Hafiz Sultan (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000011]
- Date: 11 June 2009, From: `Atiyya, To: Unknown (possibly Bin Laden) (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000012]
- Date: late May 2010, From: Bin Laden, To: `Atiyya (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000019]
- Date: 7 Aug 2010, From: Bin Laden, To: Mukhtar Abu al-Zubayr (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000005]
- Date: 27 Aug 2010, From: Bin Laden, To: `Atiyya (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000003]
- Date: 21 Oct 2010, From: Bin Laden, To: `Atiyya (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000015]
- Date: 3 Dec 2010, From: `Atiyya and Abu Yahya al-Libi, To: Hakimullah Mahsud (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000007]
- Date: Dec 2010, From: Unknown (possibly Zawahiri), To: Bin Laden (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000006]
- Date: Late Jan 2011, From: Adam Gadahn, To: Unknown (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000004]
- Date: 26 April 2011, From: Bin Laden, To: `Atiyya (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000010]
- Date: Unknown (probably 2011), From: Unknown, To: Unknown (Eng) (Ar) [SOCOM-2012-0000013]
Question to the expert: when did AQ start using the term “al-qiyada al-‘amma”? It was used in the statement where OBL’s death was announced, and it has been used since, but how far back does it go before that? Is it known whether it refers to a particular institution (the Emir, the Majlis Shoura) or is simply some form of general term for outsiders call AQC?
… it came to mind after reading this in the CTC report:
In 2010, Bin Ladin asked `Atiyya to prepare a memorandum of understanding (mudhakkira) that would require regional jihadi groups to consult with AQC before they act.34 It is ironic that Bin Ladin deemed it fitting to appropriate the expression “AQC” from the media to clarify the plan he sought to implement. “This expression [AQC],” he wrote to `Atiyya, “is a technical term (istilah) used in the media to distinguish between al-Qa`ida in Afghanistan and Pakistan and al-Qa`ida in the rest of the regions (aqalim). I do not object to using it initially to clarify the objective [of the centralization endeavor].”