ji·had·ica

The Denudation Of The Exoneration: Part 10

  Amidst the personal attacks on Zawahiri in part 10, Sayyid Imam mentions a few more interesting historical tidbits.  First, he notes the opposition of two prominent Jihadis, Abu Mus`ab al-Suri and `Abd al-Rahman al-Kindi (died in 2003), to the attacks on the U.S.  He also discloses that Zawahiri’s imprisoned brother, Muhammad, has been trying to cut a deal with the Egyptian authorities.  Finally, Sayyid Imam claims that Bin Laden told him that the Sudanese had encouraged him to turn against Saudi Arabia in 1994.  Whatever the truth of this last bit, it reminds us that states have frequently used al-Qaeda to their own ends. By the way, Nathan Field has a review of Sayyid Imam’s book.  His take: it’s lame.  I’ll withhold my final judgment until the whole book has been published but I like what I’ve seen so far.  It may be less theoretical than the first book and engage

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Will McCants November 29, 2008

The Denudation Of The Exoneration: Part 7

In today’s installment, Sayyid Imam begins section three of his rebuttal in which he surveys the rhetorical tricks Zawahiri employs to misguide his readers.  Imam continues to portray Zawahiri as the student of Bin Laden, the inverse of the common description of their relationship.  To this end, Imam says that Zawahiri has adopted UBL’s obsession with oil.  The inversion may be pure invention, but it’s worth thinking about. Continuing…. In the first section, I demonstrated that Zawahiri is a liar, making him unfit to give religious opinions.  In the second section, I showed how he distorts the Sharia to justify mass murder.  He should call his book The Justification rather than The Exoneration. In this third section, I will expose the deceptions Z uses.  Z asks around one hundred questions in the Exoneration but does not offer any answer.  He does this to confuse the reader, leaving him in a thick

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Will McCants November 25, 2008

Divide And Conquer

The Hesbah forum’s reaction to two recent rumors is instructive. First, the claim by a Hamas official that Obama’s advisers met with members of the organization during the U.S. election is being met with derision.  The derision is directed not at Obama but at Hamas for selling out and walking down the trail blazed by Fatah.  Interestingly, the credibility of the story is not doubted.  In contrast, many Hesbah members are skeptical of a recent report that the U.S. is trying to cut a deal with Taliban ally Hekmatyar (a seriously bad dude).  Respondents doubt that someone of his stature, ideology, and ties to Bin Laden would cut a deal. Three thoughts:  First, Hesbah members believe the news about Obama’s advisers because it makes Hamas look bad; they don’t believe the news about Hekmatyar because it makes the Taliban look bad.  The Taliban is one of the Jihadis’ last, best hopes

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Will McCants November 12, 2008

Hesbah Discusses U.S.-Taliban Negotiations

A quick rundown of the opinions on the Hesbah forum in reaction to news that the U.S. is negotiating with elements of the Taliban: `Umar: “Humilated, they [the Americans] will leave (Afghanistan) and all of the Muslim countries.” Al-Islam Nasir: “Aren’t negotiations with the Taliban a victory for us, brothers?  What if the result of these negotiations is the exit of the occupier from the land of Khorasan [Afghanistan]?  Is this not our objective?” Al-`Arabi Muslim: “It depends on what they are negotiating.  If they want to leave, then let them leave.  But if they want to negotiate for Karzai to stay, I think this should be refused.” Qahir al-Rafida: “A failed attempt to divide the ranks, fragment the efforts, and destroy the fruit of jihad.  These methods will do not be used by the troops of the emirate and its leaders, by the permission of God.  They are not

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Will McCants October 30, 2008

Jihadis Skeptical Of Reported U.S. Pardon Of Mullah Omar

Members of the Shumukh forum are skeptical of a report in al-Islam al-Yawm that the U.S. is willing to remove Mullah Omar from its blacklist as part of its negotiations with the Taliban (a similar story, in English, is here).  One member, Jaysh al-Zahf (The Advancing Army), says its a Saudi ruse.  Another, Abu Muhajir, goes one better by crediting Satan with the ruse’s creation.   Document (Arabic): 10-26-08-shamikh-response-to-news-that-us-may-pardon-mulla-omar

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Will McCants October 28, 2008

New Issues of Two Jihadi Journals

Issue 12 of the Tala’i` Khurasan (Vanguards of Khurasan) is out.  Several big names have written pieces, including Atiyyat Allah (we have to learn from our mistakes), Abu al-Walid al-Ansari (how past jihads failed), Abu Yahya al-Libi (fighting to restore the Sharia is the only way forward in Palestine), and Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (the meaning of piety and patience).  It also includes a 9/11 anniversary article on al-Qaeda’s strategic reasons for attacking the U.S., an article on Jihadis released from prison in Afghanistan, and a summary of the most important operations in Afghanistan over the last four months. This month we also have a new journal published by al-Shabaab, the AQ-linked group in Somalia.  Marisa thinks its publication means Shabab is growing stronger; that may be, but they can’t produce an attractive journal yet.   The name of the journal, Millat Ibrahim (The Religious Community of Abraham), is an allusion

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Will McCants October 5, 2008

Pakistani Taliban Videos Posted On Mainstream News Site

[Chipotle Mystery] One of the difficulties in studying militant groups in Pakistan is that there aren’t a lot, if any, forums dedicated to these groups that are affiliated with the Taliban. Most Taliban-related information that is available in forums comes through Al-Qaeda clearinghouses like Al-Sahab, though smaller studios occasionally have videos that make it to the Internet (these were more common in the past). News about the activities of the Pakistani Taliban generally comes from the media and we have very few “primary sources” from such groups.  Although it is well known that they do produce and distribute tapes in Pakistan, I must admit from personal experience that I was unable to locate any when I was in Pakistan a few months ago. Asia Times Online has posted two videos from the Pakistani Taliban today. Syed Saleem Shahzad has alluded to these in his recent posts. They’re both interesting videos

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Will McCants August 27, 2008

Pakistan Preparing All-Out Confrontation of Militants?

[Chipotle Mystery] Since late July a number of suicide attacks have struck Pakistan, reminiscent of the spate of violence that ringed in the New Year and witnessed the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The rise in violence comes as the Pakistani military appears to be engaging in a large-scale offensive in Bajaur, one of the seven agencies that make up the semi-autonomous Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and also follow the visit of Yusuf Raza Gillani to Washington in July (It appears that the U.S. Government gave its approval for the removal of Musharraf during this meeting – but this is just speculation). Quick background: The FATA serves as a sanctuary for various Taliban-affiliated groups, notably the “Pakistani Taliban” led by Baitullah Mehsud who has been blamed for Ms. Bhutto’s assassination. The FATA may also house Al-Qaeda leaders, and Bajaur in particular has often been speculated as serving as a hiding

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Will McCants August 25, 2008

The Chameleon Strategy

Muhami al-Dawla (“Defender of the State”) has written an essay on Ekhlaas titled, “The Connection between the State of Islam and the Taliban is the Strategy of the ‘Chameleon.’”  His argument is that the Taliban’s recent successful surge in Afghanistan is the result of using “chameleon cells,” which are small, well-organized, armed bands that 1) blend into the population, 2) do not take orders from a commander, and 3) have penetrated the state security apparatus. Muhami claims that the Taliban borrowed the strategy from the Islamic State of Iraq, which used it after the tribal Awakenings.  The chameleon groups in Iraq are able to carry out attacks on Awakening leaders because of their infiltration of the Awakening security forces.  Moreover, their presence in these forces means that they can undertake attacks for which the Awakening leaders get blamed. Muhami argues that the Taliban has adopted this strategy because it is

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Will McCants August 21, 2008

Abu al-Yazid Alive

That’s the claim of Zamjari, which Ekhlaas ranks as “a major author” on the forum.  He writes: We proclaim to the supporters of the mujahids everywhere that our beloved shaykh is alive, prosperous, fighting, moving about freely, and leading battalions of mujahids.  Martyrdom has not yet been decreed for him. That’s quite a claim for a major forum member to make given that al-Qaeda could release a statement that would prove him wrong.   Since there’s been no such statement, I’m inclined to give this unofficial proclamation some weight. Document (Arabic): 8-16-08-ekhlaas-major-forum-member-says-mustafa-abu-al-yazid-still-alive

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Will McCants August 18, 2008
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