ji·had·ica

The Non-Strategic “Special Strategic Study”

The “Falluja Think Tank” recently published the “Special Strategic Study of the Global Battle and the Jihadi Movement’s Place in It.” Like Thomas, I had high expectations, but was disappointed in the end because the study amounted to little more than general summaries of U.S. and jihadi history. However, the author did state that divine providence allowed 9/11 to happen, which caused the U.S. to abandon its principles of democracy and human rights. The author started by establishing that the battle between the United States and the jihadis is religious in nature rather than geopolitical or for acquiring resources. He commented that today’s “crusaders” are not only supported by their governments, but also by the “dogmatists” like the Knights Templar and the Knights of Malta, who, he claimed, “resemble the mujahedeen because they fight for faith.” He went on to chart America’s “path” to global dominance and then gave a

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Scott Sanford July 22, 2009

New Study of Jihadi WMD Chatter

The Jihadi Websites Monitoring Group at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzlia, Israel, has produced a very interesting report about WMD discussions on jihadi internet forums (hat tip: Nawaf). I am not surprised that this original work is coming out of Herzlia, for it was Reuven Paz – the pioneer of online jihadism studies – who wrote some of the earliest serious analyses of jihadi intentions regarding WMD. Since then many have made valuable contributions this literature, including Jonathan Spyer , Jerry Long,  Andrea Plebani, Sammy Salama and Lydia Hansell, Anne Speckhard, and others. At my own FFI, Anne Stenersen and others have also conducted in-depth studies on this. (In the most fascinating of these, Anne collaborated with FFI scientists to objectively assess the quality and effectiveness of the many WMD recipes and instruction manuals circulating on the forums, but this report is unfortunately exempt from public disclosure, for

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Thomas Hegghammer June 30, 2009

AQIM, the Plague and the Press

There is an incredible story coming out of Algeria these days. International and Algerian media have reported that 40 members of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) were killed by the plague (black death) at a training camp in Tizi Ozou, eastern Algeria earlier this month (see also here). According to intelligence officials, the outbreak was either a consequence of poor living conditions or, more likely, due to a biological weapons experiment gone awry. While this would seem to place AQIM in line for a Darwin Award, that is precisely why we should be careful to conclude too early on the veracity of these rumours. AQIM, on its side, has been quick to respond to the story, publishing Wednesday (January 21) an official statement refuting the reports. Ascribing the story to “hypocrite pens” and characterizing it as “a plot by the intelligence community”, AQIM “assures that the claims are totally

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Hanna Rogan January 23, 2009

The Denudation Of The Exoneration: Part 8

In part 8, Sayyid Imam continues to hammer al-Qaeda for bringing disaster to the Middle East and for the hypocrisy of its leaders.  He puts forward the odd claim that AQ lied to the U.S. about WMD in Iraq and about AQ ties with Iraq to push the U.S. to invade observes that Iran and Syria have been the primary beneficiaries of AQ’s antics in Iraq notes what any observer of the region already knows but rarely says: bashing the U.S. and Israel and talking about the Palestinian issue is great PR offers an excellent explanation as to why AQ will not get a foothold in the Palestinian territories claims that Bin Laden gave Saudi donations for jihad to Nawaz Sharif in support of his candidacy against Benazir Bhutto Continuing… Z claims that only the mujahids have thrawted the plans of the U.S.  That’s like Gamal Abdel Nasser’s slogan after the

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Will McCants November 28, 2008

Nasir al-Fahd’s Ruling on WMD

Nasir al-Fahd’s May 2003 ruling on WMD has been making the rounds on Ekhlaas as part of the general hubbub surrounding the nuke video. It’s worth a review since Jihadis refer to it often not only to justify their quest for WMD, but to justify indiscriminate killing of noncombatants in general. Fahd, a Saudi cleric who was put in jail soon after writing this ruling, argues that Jihadis can use WMD if they have no other way to repel the evil of their enemies. The scriptural proofs for this position are of two types: The first type of scriptural proof (mainly from the Qur’an) says that you can strike your enemy with what they use to strike you. There is no need for other proof in this situation. Since the infidel enemy has killed ten million Muslims through direct and indirect means, then Muslims can kill ten million of them.

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Will McCants June 5, 2008

Insider Analysis of Nuke Tape

Akram Hijazi, a Jordanian professor who’s a big favorite on the Jihadi forums, blogged about the nuke tape that was posted on May 25 on the Ekhlass forum with the title: “The Prayer, The Prayer (Answered)–Allah Akbar America Has Been Destroyed–By a Fatal Jihadi Nuclear Strike.” The video, which Evan Kohlmann dismissed as poorly-made amateur propaganda, was posted by Ekhlaas member p2l0a0g8u9e and contains a description of Islam’s position on the use of various kinds of WMD. Hijazi notes that thousands of people viewed the post and hundreds commented on it, asking for the source. He also points out that this is p2l0a0g8u9e’s only posting, which means he wants to conceal his identity from the other forum participants. Some of the Ekhlaas commentators figured out that the name of the poster, p2l0a0g8u9e, is a rudimentary code for plague2008-9. Hijazi observes that this date corresponds to September 2008, also the time

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Will McCants May 30, 2008
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