ji·had·ica

The End of an Era

Like most others, I knew this day would come but I still can’t believe it’s here.  And to come at such a momentous time in Middle Eastern history, with the Arab Spring and the end of our combat presence in Iraq. I’ve been pleasantly surprised that the stock thinking about the implications of Bin Laden’s demise has given way to careful analysis when finally faced with the fact.  Al-Qaeda will certainly go on and may catch its breath with the likes of Zawahiri and Awlaki, but it is Bin Laden who was the driving force of the organization and much has died with him.  Like al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Qaeda Central will continue zombie-like to wreak havoc but it will never be the same.  This truly is the end of an era and more politically savvy Islamists will now take center stage. There are a legion of big questions about the

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Will McCants May 2, 2011

Homecoming

Two years, an underwear bomber, an Arab Spring, a new war, and many memos later, I’ve returned to the private sector and blogging.  At the Department of Defense I tried to find ways to persuade academics to write about terrorism.  At the Department of State, I tried to find ways to persuade angry youth not to give academics something to write about. In all of that, I benefited greatly from the work here and around the blogosphere.  The proliferation of sites that dispassionately study Islamist militancy has been heartening, if not the increase of the subject’s importance.  Ibn Siqilli’s and Aaron’s blogs are particularly valuable new resources and Clint’s is a refreshing change of pace.  As for my old standbys, they have only gotten better (I’m looking at you Aaron, Leah, Marc, and Ex).  Now if I can figure out this twitter thingamajigger, I can hang out with the cool kids again.

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Will McCants April 22, 2011

Return Of The Jihadica

No sooner had I signed off than I got an email from a friend whose scholarship I deeply respect volunteering to take over Jihadica with the help of his equally brilliant cohorts (Tim unwittingly prophesied it in his kind send off).  It’s not a done deal but I wanted to post something before all of Jihadica’s readers abandoned ship.  Stay tuned over the weekend.  If this works out, you’re going to love what’s coming.  If not, I’ll delete this message and go back to the farewell post. As for me, I’m officially exiting the building.

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Will McCants January 15, 2009

Farewell For Now

I am starting a new job on Friday and will no longer be able to blog.  I’ve been thrilled by the interest the site has generated and by the dispassionate, thoughtful analysis of its readers, who range across the ideological spectrum.  I hope the positive response to this site in the blogosphere and media will encourage others with the requisite language and cultural expertise to undertake similar endeavors.  Please drop me a line if you do. I will keep the site online so that others can benefit from the primary source material I’ve gathered.  And you can still reach me through the contact page. Thank you for reading and responding.

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Will McCants January 14, 2009

Bin Laden And Zawahiri Not Sharing Talking Points

It’s interesting to compare Bin Laden’s new statement on Gaza with Zawahiri’s of last week.  Of course the overarching message–jihad now!–is the same.  But unlike Zawahiri, Bin Laden doesn’t mock Obama, he doesn’t echo Zawahiri’s call for demonstrations in Egypt (Bin Laden says demonstrations are useless), and he takes a slightly more conciliatory view of democracy (electing a president, yes; man-made legislation, no).  Bin Laden is also more explicit about how to raise money to finance the jihad (hit up rich businessmen). Bin Laden does echo Zawahiri in one important respect.  Zawahiri said that the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq is one of the “good omens” (basha’ir) of AQ coming to fight in the Palestinian Territories.  Bin Laden ends his message by saying that in this year there will be “omens” (tabashir, from the same Arabic root as basha’ir) of the receding of the Zionist-Crusader campaign.  Make of it what you

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Will McCants January 14, 2009

Q&A On Gaza

Asad al-Jihad2, who some claim is senior AQ member Hukayma, is taking questions on Gaza.  The Q&A session, modeled on that of Zawahiri, is open for four days of questions; AJ2 will give his answers soon after.  Individuals are allowed to ask five question and news orgs can ask ten. One has to be careful not to read too much into these questions since some were probably posted by intel orgs.  But the concerns raised jive with everything else I’ve seen on the forums: what’s our stance on Hamas, who are the authentic Jihadi groups and why aren’t they doing more, and what do we do about Egypt and the Gulf countries? I don’t have time to summarize them all, but one question directed to Asad al-Jihad2 struck me: “What is your view regarding the recent disclosure that Gaza is being annexed to Egypt and the West Bank is being

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Will McCants January 12, 2009

No Jihadi Claim Of Rocket Attacks

There’s been no claim on the forums today for the rockets fired from southern Lebanon into Israel but everyone believes it’s a Salafi-Jihadi group.  Some have opined that it’s Fatah al-Islam, but they’re as clueless as the rest of us.  Look here and here for some clues as to what’s going on. Update: From MEMRI.

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Will McCants January 8, 2009

New Zawahiri Statement: Obama Is Killing Muslims In Gaza

An audio statement by Zawahiri was just posted to the forums.  Here’s a summary: Bin Laden swore he would keep fighting until Palestine and Muslim lands are free of foreign occupiers. The Israeli attacks are Obama’s “gift” to the Palestinians before he takes office.  President Mubarak of Egypt is an accomplice in this slaughter since he has closed Egypt’s border with Gaza. To the Muslims and mujahids in Gaza and Palestine: Al-Qaeda is with you.  We are attacking the American-Zionist Crusade wherever we can and we are quickly moving toward you.  The American withdrawal from Iraq heralds our approach toward you. To the Muslims in Egypt: Strike and protest to force Mubarak to end the blockade. To the Bedouins in Sinai: Help break the blockade. To the Muslims of the world: American propaganda portrayed Obama as your savior but here he is “killing” Muslims in Gaza.  Demonstrating against these atrocities

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Will McCants January 6, 2009

Maqdisi Blasts Hamas

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the leading Jihadi scholar in Jordan (and worldwide for that matter), has issued a statement on his website regarding Gaza.  In short: Hamas has let down the Muslim community and needs to step out of the way and allow the Jihadis there and abroad to take over the fight against Israel.  Maqdisi is particularly enraged by Hamas’ recent crackdown on the Army of Islam.  Here’s a summary of the highlights: If not for tyrranical rulers and their armies, Muslims would be flocking across their countries’ borders to Gaza now on a jihad. We’re not surprised by the failure of our feckless rulers.  We’re surprised by the leaders of Hamas, who spurn the Taliban, Jihadi clerics, and true monotheists [eg Army of Islam] while praising the Shia and its leaders [eg Hezbollah and Iran] and even secular governments that plot against Islam. Some might say this is the

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Will McCants January 6, 2009

Ansar Network Hacking Jewish Websites In Response To Israel Attack

Several blogs and news orgs (start here) have noted that Jewish websites are being hacked and replaced with Jihadi propaganda in response to Israel’s attack on Hamas.  Until yesterday, I had not seen anyone on the forums claim the attacks.  Now the Ansar al-Mujahideen Network has posted a statement on the Faloja forum claiming several of them.  There’s not much to dissect in the statement, but it does give a list of sites the group has hacked (click pdf below). Here’s a screen shot of one of the hacked sites: Document (English): 1-4-09-faloja-list-of-hacked-jewish-sites

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Will McCants January 5, 2009
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