Entries Tagged 'Pakistan' ↓

Shortly before Aafia Siddiqui was convicted on 3 February, the magazine Nawai Afghan jihad published an article about the Siddiqui case. In the article, entitled “Rescuing the Prisoners”, a certain Umm Hamam writes about Muslims around the world who have been imprisoned by “infidels”.

Previously, numerous references have been made to the Aafia Siddiqui case by different jihadi groups, including  Jaish-e-Mohammad on their weekly online magazine, Al-Qalam. The “arrest/torture of our innocent, Muslim sister by the infidel” rhetoric plays on the honor code and anti-western sentiments of young Pakistani men whom militant leaders aim to attract and recruit. Siddiqui was brought up again in a recent joint interview by Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-ur-Rehman in October 2009; the video ended with the question “who will rescue our sister Dr Aafia Siddiqui from these Christian barbarians?” That the new TTP leadership continues to use Siddiqui as subject matter to appeal to their audience shows the extent of her importance to the Pakistani jihadi propaganda mill.

In “Rescuing the Prisoners” Hamam builds on this propaganda by talking about the “thousands of Muslim sons and daughters rotting in infidel jails,” including Palestinians, Uzbeks, Russians and Pakistanis, and the religious duty of Muslims to save these prisoners.

Excerpts from the Quran and Hadith are used to this end; the Prophet Mohammad has apparently given unequivocal importance to this order when he stated that “whosoever rescues a prisoner from the infidel, I become that prisoner.” Further, “if a Muslim woman is arrested in the east, it is the duty of every Muslim in the west to save her.”

The author singles out Aafia Siddiqui, who has “her hopes hitched on us Muslims now.”  Examples are given of “Fatima and Noor” who in their letters from Abu Ghraib prison claimed: “every day 10 U.S. soldiers assault/abuse us at one time.”

The author ends by appealing to all Muslims to pursue jihad until “all Muslims brothers and sisters have been rescued from infidel jails, Muslims territories have been returned to us, countries who have shamed us have been avenged, and the name of Allah has been raised high throughout the world. “

The January/February 2010 issue of Nawai Afghan Jihad included an article by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan spokesman, Azam Tariq, entitled “The Reality of the Waziristan Operation.”

Azam Tariq mainly talks about the recent military operation in Waziristan and the complicity of Pakistani politicians and special forces (SFs) in importing and waging America´s war on Pakistani territory.

Like most TTP leaders, Azam underlines that theirs is a “defensive” jihad against the Pakistani regime.  The image created is that of a hapless group being provoked into fighting an unwanted jihad. That is, against its own volition, the TTP must fight the Pakistani state and army.

While the cardinal enemy, and “target of all jihadi struggles”, is the U.S. for it sits at the helm of all infidel nations, Pakistan´s “secular rulers” and their shameless submissiveness to the U.S. has left the TTP no choice but to fight the “domestic” infidels first.  The question, then, Azam sarcastically asks, is: “Where do the mujahidin find that elusive Aladin´s lamp which will enable them to ignore the infidel´s (U.S.) puppets in Pakistan and go straight after the beast itself?”

Azam explains that incriminating the Pakistani government and army are certain “ground realities,” encapsulated here as follows:

•    Drone strikes: Pakistani airspace for a long time has been give to the U.S. so to carry out such attacks.
•    Spies captured by the TTP have confessed to the involvement of Pakistani SFs in distributing SIM cards on ground. That is, the drone missile strikes would not be possible without the help of the Pakistani Army.
•    Americans are always landing at Islamabad airport with instructions/orders for the GoP.
•    Pak Army´s Military Intelligence (MI) spy service supports Blackwater, and “everyone knows” that Blackwater is behind the bomb attacks on bazaars, markets and the public.
•    Obama has clearly stated that America´s victory/defeat in Afhganistan depends heavily on Pakistan. Pakistani political parties – PPP, ANP, MQM – have all risen to the occasion, offering themselves up to the Americans.

Azam also denies claims pertaining to the “success” of military operation in Waziristan. He alleges that all areas to have been “cleared” by the Army, including Mehsud territory, are false. In fact, the mujahidin are engaged in a fierce battle with the SFs in those very areas, inflicting great damage on the latter. With regards to the “innumerable” mujahidin to have reportedly been killed, Azam claims that only 20 mujahidin have so far been “martyred.” The remaining victims, he writes, were “women, children and the elderly.”

The latest issue of Hittin magazine includes an article titled “China – friend or foe?” by Qari Abdulhadi that centers on the “injustice” committed by China on Muslims, which he argues is unprecedented in history. While the details of this injustice have been hidden from the media, the writer maintains that the growing jihadi activities in China, and the struggles of the mujahidin in Afghanistan and Pakistan, have rendered it difficult for China to keep its true face as the “enemy of Islam” hidden from the public.

While the author accuses the entire umma of referring to China as a “friend” and “brother”, he singles out Pakistan, where diplomatic relations with China have been given a status “even higher than the Himalayas.” Similarly, when listing the responsibilities of the umma with regards to aiding the mujahidin in East Turkistan, neighboring countries – with special emphasis on Pakistan – are said to bear the brunt of the duty.

Abdulhadi presents a list of recommendations, which include the following:
1.    Muslim should correct their misconceptions of China, and recognize the shrewd face of China and its animosity towards Islam.
2.    Make room for the Turkistani mujahidin in their prayers
3.    Expose the heinous face of China and the sufferings of Turkistani Muslims in all religious circles
4.    Spread and contribute to the online journal Turkistan al-Islamiya as it is important for the growth of the Turkistani mujahidin
5.    It is the duty of those with the financial means to help the Turkistani mujahidin

Abdulhadi then offers a brief encyclopedia style description of East Turkistan, with special emphasis on its Islamic history. It notes that since the 17th century at least 40 “jihad-style” movements have emerged in the region, each seeking autonomy from China and the establishment of an Islamic state. Abdulhadi alleges that since 1949, the proportion of Muslims in the region dwindled from 90% to 40% due to efforts of the Islam-hating Chinese regime. These efforts have included limiting the teaching of Uighur language in schools, using East Turkistan as the experimental ground for nuclear testing, and arresting/killing young Muslim activists.

The foundations for the Hizb-e-Islami Turkistan were laid by Sheikh Hassan Makhdoom, aka Abu Mohammad Turkistan, who was trained in Afghanistan and killed by the Pakistani security forces in Waziristan in 2003. The current leader of the group is Sheikh Abdul Haq, who led the movement out of its long spell of silence by carrying out attacks in China against SFs and government employees during the 2008 Olympics.

The June 2009 factory incident in Guangdong province, which resulted in the death of “over 200 Muslims,” and the ensuing violence in East Turkistan, is presented as being symbolic of the “new wave of violence against Turkistani Muslims.” The banning of “beards and veils,” airing a film about the Prophet Mohammad, and denying visas to Uighurs to leave China to “perform Hajj, or go to Pakistan” are also examples of the Chinese state’s “anti-Islamic attitude.”

The bottom line, the writer notes, is that, like all other infidel states, China cannot be a friend of Muslims.

The latest issue of Nawai Afghan Jihad includes an interview with Jalaluddin Haqqani.  The interview is centered on American policy in Afghanistan and the danger America poses to the world. Little mention is made of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or the role of Pakistani extremists in Afghanistan.

To a question regarding the “propaganda unleashed by the Karzai government” that jihadi activity along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan is planned and plotted in Pakistan, Haqqani gives a rather diplomatic response: “there are passionate young men from the tribal areas who have inherited the jihadi gusto of the past (fighting the British and Soviets) and who were martyred on Afghan soil. We acknowledge and appreciate their jihadi engagement.”

Asked to comment on the signs of a changing US policy towards Afghanistan – especially, for the Karzai government to initiate “dialogue” with the Taliban – Haqqani denounces this as sheer propaganda and maintains that the “pretext” of dialogue will be used by Americans to realize its political goals, including “spreading an atmosphere of distrust amongst the mujahideen.” In fact, such heavy reliance on propaganda warfare is symptomatic of an “enemy who is losing in battle.”

The truth is, he says, that the US is “connivingly promoting its own strategy by using dialogue as a cover. In order to have a dialogue, the terms and conditions of the various parties concerned need to first be discussed. However, they believe that only they are entitled to having any conditions. The Emirate’s policies and terms with regards to dialogue are clear – the key one being that all occupying forces leave Afghanistan.”

Haqqani repeatedly refers to the US as a nation who has imposed its “arrogance and terrorism” on the whole world, and especially Afghanistan, where the root of all problems is American presence and influence.  “It is America who is targeting innocent people and putting their security at risk, and imposing a secular and corrupt government on the people of Afghanistan. A government whose notoriety – profligacy, involvement in drug smuggling, and looting of its own people – was made public by the US itself.”

However, despite his harsh views of the US, Haqqani displays a certain sympathy for Obama, suggesting that the latter “protect his people from the fire Bush pushed him into.”

In response to a question regarding his preoccupation with jihadi activities outside of the Emirate, Haqqani reassures his audience that the allegation is entirely false and a figment of the enemy’s imagination. He says “I am currently engaged with leading jihadi operations in the Khost and Paktika provinces.”

Blackwater and the Kerry-Lugar Bill appear to be recurrent themes in Urdu jihadi literature. Militant scribes are chipping in on the hot topics of mainstream Pakistani media, dangerously aligning their grievances with those of the public - specifically, the latter’s anti-US sentiments. While opinion may be torn on the use of military operations in Pakistan, Pakistanis from all walks of life appear united in perceiving the US as an enemy. A recent Gallup survey, for example, revealed that 59% of Pakistanis saw the US as the biggest threat to Pakistan. 11% thought the Taliban.

The latest issue of the monthly Nawai Afghan Jihad has two articles on the Blackwater in Pakistan. In “Why this hullabaloo surrounding Blackwater?” by Talha Abu Bakar, the author argues that Blackwater has been active in Pakistan for years, and there is a reason for “letting this genie out of the bottle” at this point in time. In particular, he cites the Kerry-Lugar Bill as the key bone of contention, leading a horde of apostates – Pakistani politicians, journalists, newspapers and TV channels, and retired army officials – to betray their “American masters” and expose Blackwater.

Apparently, these apostates had long been serving American interests in Pakistan; however, “despite their faithfulness they were distrusted by their masters.” The seemingly harsh conditions attached to the Kerry-Lugar Bill symbolize a shift in US approach towards its “Pakistani slaves,” thus jerking the latter’s chain.

The author warns that the US embassy in Islamabad is fast turning into a “mini Pentagon.” The recent attacks on the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad Pearl Continental in Peshawar are justified because they were being used as “regional headquarters” by America and Blackwater.

“Talibanization or Blackwaterization?” by Hamza Abdur Rehman bemoans the sad state of affairs in Pakistan and its capitulation to the US; the country has reached such depths of dishonor that, unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, where Blackwater asked for permission, they need not bother in the case of Pakistan. “Even to breathe we will need to first ask the US embassy and Blackwater.”

While Pakistan has been forced to fear Talibanization because it “challenges the writ of the government,” Blackwater operates freely for it “works within the sphere of that very writ.”

Jaish-e-Mohammad’s Al-Qalam magazine last week issued an article on the Kerry-Lugar Bill,  where author Naveed Masood Hashmi complains that every word of the Bill insults Pakistanis and ridicules the independence of Pakistan as a nation.

The Jaish also appears to be irked by President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize triumph; Talha Saif offers a satirical imaginary account of the award ceremony in this week’s Al-Qalam:

“Order, Order, Order…”, he begins; “People throughout the world are known to have delivered many a kind of jokes and protests but there are 3 persons in particular who have come a knocking at our ‘court of justice’ claiming to be more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than Barack Obama. They are Ehud Barak, Narendera Modi and Pervez Musharraf.”

He goes on to outline the main “accomplishments” of Barack Obama which earn him the Nobel Peace Prize:
•    Spreading Blackwater activities to Pakistan
•    Continuing Bush’s war in Iraq and Afghanistan
•    Over 30 drone attacks in Pakistan
•    Killing of over 100 innocent women and children
•    Establishing world peace by attacking a wedding in Afghanistan, killing more than 70 ‘terrorist’ children, women and the elderly.
•    Pressuring the Pakistani government to carry out military operations in Swat, killing countless people.”

All the other candidates – Ehud Barack, Narendera Modi and Pervez Musharraf – are asked to state their reasons for deserving the Nobel Peace Prize. Ultimately, Pervez Musharraf, who unlike all the others killed his own people, is declared “most worthy”, forcing Obama to renounce his prize.

Mullah Omar’s Afghan Taliban and al-Qa’ida’s senior leaders have been issuing some very mixed messages of late, and the online jihadi community is in an uproar, with some calling these developments “the beginning of the end of relations” between the two movements.  Beginning with a statement from Mullah Omar in September, the Afghan Taliban’s Quetta-based leadership has been emphasizing the “nationalist” character of their movement, and has sent several communications to Afghanistan’s neighbors expressing an intent to establish positive international relations.  In what are increasingly being viewed by the forums as direct rejoinders to these sentiments, recent messages from al-Qa’ida have pointedly rejected the “national” model of revolutionary Islamism and reiterated calls for jihad against Afghanistan’s neighbors, especially Pakistan and China.  However interpreted, these conflicting signals raise serious questions about the notion of an al-Qa’ida-Taliban merger.

The trouble began with Mullah Omar’s message for ‘Eid al-Fitr, issued on September 19, in which he calls the Taliban a “robust Islamic and nationalist movement,” which “wants to maintain good and positive relations with all neighbors based on mutual respect.”  Mullah Omar further stated that he wishes to “assure all countries that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan … will not extend its hand to jeopardize others, as it itself does not allow others to jeopardize us.”  A week later, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, one of the most influential living Salafi jihadi ideologues, released an angry rebuke to these “dangerous utterances” of the Taliban amir, pointing out that they were of the same order as Hamas leader Khaled Mashal’s statement that the Chechen struggle is a Russian “internal matter.” For a person of Maqdisi’s stature to equate the Taliban with Hamas, especially in light of the recent jihadi media onslaught  against Hamas for its “crimes” against the Jund Ansar Allah, is an extremely serious charge.  Maqdisi ends his statement with the hope that he has misunderstood Mullah Omar’s message and that some clarification from the Taliban leadership will be forthcoming; more on this below.

A week after the Maqdisi message was posted, al-Sahab issued Ayman al-Zawahiri’s eulogy for Baitullah Mehsud (on which, see my earlier post). Midway through that speech, Zawahiri turns to the Palestinian issue, arguing that the mujahidin in Palestine should destroy the “laws of Satan” being imposed upon them, among which he singles out the notion that there should be “national unity with the traitors and those who sold out the religion and the homeland.” He goes on to lambast Hizbullah as representing a model of “turning jihad into a national cause,” a model which “must be rejected by the umma, because it is a model which makes jihad subject to the market of political compromises and distracts the umma from the liberation of Islamic lands and the establishment of the Caliphate.”

On October 6, Abu Yahya al-Libi’s al-Sahab video, “East Turkestan: The Forgotten Wound,” was released, which calls for support for the defensive jihad in northwestern China, one of those neighbors with whom Mullah Omar expressed a hope for “good and positive relations.” As in Zawahiri’s Baitullah eulogy, al-Libi emphasizes the dangers of dividing the umma into nations and ethnicities. He says that “East Turkestan [Xinjiang, China] is part of the Islamic lands that cannot be divided”; that it is the duty of all Muslims to support the Uighurs in their fight against the Chinese state; and that all who would appease China are “apostates.”  In these messages, then, both al-Libi and Zawahiri are denouncing, in the strongest possible terms, a political strategy being enunciated by the Taliban’s supreme leaders.

A week later, on October 12, Jordanian jihadi writer Ahmad Bawadi posted an exchange of correspondence that he’d recently had with the editors of the Taliban’s al-Sumud magazine. Bawadi, without naming names, points out that Mullah Omar’s ‘Eid message had engendered significant controversy, leading some to say that the Taliban supported making the same sort of compromises as Hamas.  The “clarification” sent in response by al-Sumud and posted by Bawadi pretty much dodged the question. Amid some tortuous sophistry about words being like a double-edged sword, the al-Sumud editors defended Mullah Omar’s position by comparing it to the Prophet Muhammad’s divide-and-conquer strategy of distinguishing between different groups of enemies: What’s wrong, as-Sumud asks, with saying we don’t want to fight the Buddhists (read: China) now, since the aim is to divide them from the Christians (read: ISAF/NATO forces) in order to weaken the latter?  Regardless of how one reads the al-Sumud  “clarification,” any doubts that the controversies were causing the Quetta Shura to rethink its public relations strategy were laid to rest the following day, when the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan issued an open letter to the Shanghai Cooperation Conference, reiterating verbatim the “neighborly” sentiments from Mullah Omar’s ‘Eid message.  The SCO, it should be pointed out, includes China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, all countries that are directly targeted by al-Qa’ida-allied groups based in Pakistan’s tribal areas.

All of this has sparked a great deal of heated argument and anxious hand-wringing on several jihadi forums, but for reasons of space I’ll just single out one thread from the al-Hisbah forum. On October 14, “al-Najjar,” in a post entitled “Mullah Omar and Zawahiri Diametrically Opposed: A plan, a problem, or…?!,” contrasts the neighborly outreach of Mullah Omar’s ‘Eid message with the aforementioned statements about the “laws of Satan” in Zawahiri’s Baitullah eulogy, and ends by asking Zawihiri, “Oh our Shaykh, how is it that these are ‘Satanic laws’ when they are essentially the same as what has been mentioned by Mullah Omar, the Commander of the Faithful, to whom the mujahidin in Afghanistan and Pakistan have pledged their allegiance?”  A later poster, “Abu Azzam 1,” adds that Mullah Omar’s messages imply some level of recognition of the United Nations, an organization which al-Qa’ida has unequivocally labelled as “infidel,” and that these opposing moves seem to him to signal “the beginning of the end of relations between al-Qa’ida and the Taliban.”  Another forum participant, “Abu Salam,” agrees, writing yesterday that “this is a clear indication that al-Qa’ida and the Taliban movement are not of one mind, and that al-Qa’ida may turn on the Taliban in the near future.”  We shall see.  But one thing is clear: the recent shift in the Quetta Shura’s strategic communications is not to al-Qa’ida’s liking, and it is raising serious concerns among the broader Salafi jihadi movement about the religio-political legitimacy of the Afghan Taliban’s leadership.

The official al-Qa’ida media outlet al-Sahab has released a flurry of videos in the past two weeks featuring leaders of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), both living and dead, in what amounts to a media campaign announcing their open alliance with Pakistan’s deadliest militant network.  On September 28, Zawahiri’s video eulogy for the slain TTP leader Baitullah Mehsud – the “role model of the youth” (ritha’ qudwat al-shabab) – was posted to the forums, followed two days later by a similar video message on the “martyrdom” of Baitullah starring Mustafa Abu’l-Yazid.  On October 2, al-Fajr Media distributed a third al-Sahab video eulogy for Baitullah, but this time featuring Wali ur-Rahman, the new TTP commander for the Mehsud tribal areas (an English transcript of which can be downloaded from here; links to all three videos can be found here).  

This series of al-Sahab celebrations of Baitullah, released two days apart over the course of a week, is itself a rather unusual concentration of al-Qa’ida media attention on a single non-al-Qa’ida member, and is totally unprecedented in terms of the al-Sahab air time devoted to the TTP.  Prior to these developments, the closest that al-Qa’ida came to officially signaling its ties to the TTP was in the release of an al-Sahab interview with Mullah Nazir shortly after he and Gul Bahadur joined Baitullah Mehsud to form the Shura Ittihad ul-Mujahidin this February.  Aside from the brief mention of Baitullah in that video, these recent releases are to my knowledge the first official al-Qa’ida communiqués to give any significant attention to the TTP and its leadership.

But that’s not all, folks. Yesterday, an Urdu newspaper reported that Aqil, alias Dr. Uthman, the sole surviving attacker in this weekend’s dramatic assault on the Pakistani Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi , is the subject of an al-Sahab video released to a private television station in Pakistan, in which Aqil is shown receiving training in Waziristan and casing targets in Rawalpindi (Khabrain, 13 October 2009, pp. 6 and 8; article unavailable online, but there is an OSC translation).  And today, Pakistan’s ARY TV aired an al-Sahab video that they’d received, featuring TTP amir Hakimullah Mehsud, appearing alongside Wali ur-Rahman, in which both of them deliver statements to the people of Pakistan regarding their jihad against the state. (Ironically, both TTP leaders emphasize in the video that the TTP is not a servant of foreign masters, and that the TTP are “sons of Pakistan”).

While the close relationship between al-Qa’ida and the Pakistani Taliban has long been known, this release of multiple joint AQ-TTP messages from the al-Sahab production outlet is nonetheless extremely significant.  First of all, these developments indicate that al-Qa’ida has successfully seized the moment in the wake of the death of Baitullah to dramatically increase its influence over the TTP.  But this series of videos is perhaps also evidence of a decreasing willingness on al-Qa’ida’s part to remain in the shadows of its Pakistani partners as they unleash yet another bloody campaign of violence in Pakistan’s cities.  If so, this would represent a very important strategic shift in the thinking of al-Qa’ida’s senior leaders, who have thus far been content to provide largely anonymous guidance, training and force-multiplication assistance to their Pakistani jihadi allies.

UPDATE, 10/22/09: The video mentioned here as being aired in part by ARY TV on 14 October was distributed on the forums today by al-Sahab.  It is a little over thirty minutes long and, after opening invocations in Arabic, features Hakimullah and Wali ur-Rahman speaking in Urdu. There is no subtitling.

A growing number of news reports from Pakistan are voicing concern over the alleged presence of the controversial security contractor Blackwater (or Xe) in Pakistan. The latest online edition of banned Urdu newspaper Zarb-e-Momin (linked to the outlawed al-Rasheed Trust) also issued an article on this topic.

After briefly outlining Blackwater’s history, columnist Aurya Maqbool Jan argues that the most shocking aspect of the firm is that it operates under the cover of NGOs and charity organizations in areas where Americans wish to carry military operations:

“It asks a few educated individuals to engage in welfare activities in the area; while this facade is being maintained guerrilla-like soldiers sneak their way in.”

In Pakistan, Jan claims, Blackwater headquarters are situated in the University Town area of Peshawar, and the NGO cover used by the firm is that of “Creative Associates,” an organization involved in development work in the tribal areas.

“Driving dark colored armed vehicles, wearing even darker shades, carrying heavy weapons, they come out of their cars only during traffic jams in order to protect the important personalities sitting in it. [...] Under the pretext of providing protection to NGOs and its American staff members they enter their target area, and soon thereafter envelop entire regions under their influence.”

Jan suggests that retired army officials, bureaucrats, journalists and workers of human rights organizations in Pakistan may already have been hired to realize Blackwater aims in Pakistan.

Jan reminds his readers that Blackwater has been accused of “murder, kidnapping, (and) sexual violence.” He draws a comparison with Iraq whose people are “very familiar” with Blackwater activities; because NGOs were spying for Blackwater in “all Iraqi cities”, and “killed Iraqis everyday.”

The writer warns that if the Pakistani people does not turn away these “unwelcome guests”, Pakistan could turn into another “Falluja or Najaf”.

In the latest edition of al-Qalam, the weekly online magazine of the Pakistani militant group Jaysh-e-Mohammed, columnist Naveed Masood Hashmi lashes out at Hillary Clinton for linking madrassas, or religious seminaries, to suicide bombings. In an article entitled “Hillary, Madaris and Hanging/Execution,” Hashmi asks: “… who is she [Hillary Clinton] to accuse Pakistani madrassas of sponsoring suicide attacks?” and wonders if the US ambassador to Pakistan, N. W. Peterson, will offer an apology to the Pakistani people for this immensely “provoking” statement made by their Secretary of State.

The author delves into a lengthy praise of madrassas, their popularity and social benefits, and goes on to emphasize that at no point during the long and glorious history of madrassas did they produce terrorists or encourage suicide strikes. Instead, he argues, it is the U.S. that is to blame for the ongoing suicide missions in Afghanistan and Pakistan:

“After 9/11 when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan, they not only made the Muslims there victims of their viciousness, but also ensured that their slave, Pervez Musharraf, enact the same barbarity in Pakistan’s tribal areas [...] So, it wasn’t madrassas that created suicide bombers, rather they were borne of American evil-doing and are thirsty for vengeance.”

Therefore, Hashmi advises, the solution is not to change Pakistan’s education sector with the help of American dollars or the propaganda being played out by Pakistani “liberals” or any schemes such “devilish minds” can concoct. Instead, the only fool-proof method of preventing suicide bombings is to alter US policy:

“If the Secretary of State stops accusing madrassas of propagating extremism and tells the Pentagon and White House to end their brutality against Muslims… then I can assure you, suicide bombing shall cease.”

On 25 August 2009, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) published a plea by Dr. John Boutros for Muslims to aid the jihadi cause. He stated, “Do not mourn because the Islamic Caliphate is imminent… Trust me, the US is one or two thrusts” away from crumpling. However, in order to make this happen Muslims must give aid to the jihadis.

Boutros claimed that the United States is weak due to the financial crisis, which is allegedly causing the rich states to consider separating from the Union. He stated that militarily the United States is vulnerable because it has so many soldiers in the mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and in the suburbs of Baghdad, who are easy targets. In regards to the United States homeland he continued, “Hundreds of thousand of soldiers stationed in the streets of Washington and Los Angeles wait for a martyr to cross the continents carrying a nuclear, biological, or chemical bomb.”

He alleged that from al-Qaida’s viewpoint, things are much better. Somalia is becoming more peaceful and prosperous because the Shabab al-Mujahidin are instilling sharia law and in Afghanistan the Taliban control 80% of the country while coalition forces only leave their bases in armored vehicles in the other 20%. However, the Islamic State of Iraq has made many sacrifices, as has Ansar al-Islam, who gave up their bombs, snipers, and bases.

He then stated that given the current state of affairs, if the United States fell, “In a short period, the Taliban Emirate will be a great state encompassing Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir, Turkistan, and a large part of Iran.” In the western area of the Islamic world, the Shabab al-Mujahidin will control all of Somalia, Djibouti, and Sudan after the US fall. Then, he maintained, there will be justice in the Afghanistan and Somali Emirates and in other areas like Iraq, Chechnya, Algeria, and Nigeria where things will either turn around for the already established emirates or the mujahidin will prevail.

He then gets to the point of his fairytale, “After your mujahid brothers sacrifice themselves and their funds on this path, will you be stingy in support and assistance? Will you be stingy in spreading the word? Will you be stingy in financial support after many operations are canceled because of a shortage of materials like what happened during operations within Denmark?”

The fanciful nature of this report is striking even for the GIMF and I am not sure what to make of it. Is this an indication that something structurally has changed within the GIMF? Or, is it simply an attempt to garner support and the editorial staff did not realize how unrealistic it sounds? Regardless of its meaning, if this is the grand strategy of budding al-Qaida strategists, I am not worried.