Unlike the Arab uprising in Syria, which was the subject of my previous post, the one in Libya seems to have reached its end. The regime has been overthrown and Mu’ammar al-Qadhafi and some of his sons are dead. Although it is by no means certain that Libya is on its way to becoming a [...]
Archive for the ‘AQ Leadership’ Category
Al-Qaida advises the Arab Spring: Libya
Posted: 9th January 2012 by Joas Wagemakers in AQ Leadership, AQIM, North Africa1
Al-Qaida advises the Arab Spring: Syria
Posted: 19th November 2011 by Joas Wagemakers in AQ Central, AQ Leadership, Jihadi media, Syria, ZawahiriWith the Arab Spring going strong in several countries, al-Qaida (in a broad sense, so including ideologues and scholars supportive of the organisation) still finds it necessary to comment on what is happening. In a series of posts, I will deal with the advice al-Qaida is giving the people of several countries, starting with Syria. [...]
Decade of Fear
Posted: 11th September 2011 by Will McCants in al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, AQ Central, AQ Leadership, Bin Laden, Pakistan, RecruitmentAs is the case for many others, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks has made me reflect on their impact over the past decade. To this end, Michelle Shephard‘s Decade of Fear has been indispensable. A very personal account of her journalistic efforts to chronicle the war on terrorism over the past decade, Michelle weaves the weft [...]
Al-Qaeda’s Past and Present
Posted: 23rd August 2011 by Will McCants in AQ Central, AQ Leadership, StrategyThe newest issue of Foreign Affairs on the ten-year anniversary of 9/11 includes an essay by me (free registration required) on the history of al-Qaeda and its prospects after the Arab Spring. The essay covers the reasons for al-Qaeda’s founding, its targeting of the United States, its strategic thinking under Zawahiri’s leadership, its concept of an Islamic [...]
Shmukh forum user Amal wa-Alam complains that the brothers are disparaging Sayf al-`Adl, the operational leader of al-Qaeda. ”They are beginning to talk about him as if he is a nobody.” Amal strongly disagrees and adduces as evidence West Point’s study of his handiwork in Africa that Clint Watts, Jake Shapiro, and Vahid Brown had [...]
In a statement released online nine hours ago via the Fajr Media Center and dated June 2011, the General Command of al-Qaeda declared its decision to appoint Ayman al-Zawahiri the new head of al-Qaeda. This move was not unanticipated except by those with strange Awlaki/Libi fixations. Leah Farrall guessed it would be so on organizational [...]
Sayf al-’Adl and al-Qa’ida’s Historical Leadership
Posted: 18th May 2011 by Vahid Brown in AQ Central, AQ Leadership, Uncategorized, ZawahiriIn light of the widely reported news that Sayf al-‘Adl (also spelled Saif al-Adel) has taken the reins of operational leadership within al-Qa’ida in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden, I thought it would be useful to Jihadica’s readers to provide a bit of context about this man and about the significance, [...]
A Note on Usama Bin Ladin’s 1998 Declaration of War: al-Kisa’i vs. al-Kasani
Posted: 24th February 2011 by Sayeed Rahman in AQ Leadership, Bin Laden, Islamic jurisprudence[Editor's note: I am very pleased to introduce a new guest contributor, Sayeed Rahman, a Yale PhD and a fellow with the Truman National Security Project.] A number of translations analyze and annotate Usama Bin Ladin’s 1998 statement declaring war against the United States and her allies (see here, here, here, here and here). The original Arabic source for [...]
Al-Qa’ida Revisions: The Five Letters of Sayf al-‘Adl
Posted: 10th February 2011 by Vahid Brown in AQ Leadership, RetractionsThe jihadi forums have seen some rather heated and confused debate over the past several months after the publication online of a series of writings from senior leaders of the pre-9/11 al-Qa’ida organization whom we’ve not heard from in years, and which are bringing back into the open serious disagreements over strategy and ideology that [...]
Al-Qaida’s senior leadership (AQSL) is full of Egyptians, but they have yet to produce an official communiqué about events in their home country. Yesterday, a short message was published by a leading Egyptian jihadi figure. It is not from AQSL, however, but from someone we haven’t heard from for many years. The London-based Al Maqreze Center [...]