The al-Qaeda supporters on the Shumukh forum have mixed reactions to the Abbottabad documents released by the CTC. Here’s a summary of the main thread (159824) that discusses the documents: These documents are not real. They are designed to sow discord among jihadis and create tension b/n al-Qaeda and the online jihadi forums. The documents are real and show normal disagreements between a commander and his subordinates. No big deal. We need to wait for Sahab (AQ’s media wing) to validate the documents. Even if the documents are false, most outside analysts agree they show the sincerity of AQ and its seriousness. Each of the documents contains an element of truth but the CTC has also mixed in falsehood, such as the bits about divisions between AQ leadership and the affiliates We need to see all of the Bin Laden documents to really know what’s going on. This is just a

While you wait patiently for the CTC’s release of a few Bin Laden documents tomorrow, here are three articles I’ve written recently on what’s happened since Bin Laden’s death (plus a video): A Brookings memo explaining why many of Egypt’s Salafis have embraced party politics after railing against it for decades An update to my Foreign Affairs piece An exploration of the implications of al-Qaeda holding territory in Yemen and Somalia A panel discussion on al-Qaeda’s status with Stephen Tankel and Mary Habeck Totally unrelated, if you’re interested in what the US government is doing, not doing, and should be doing in the realm of social media, there’s this.