Brian Fishman on Zarqawi and his Legacy:
Selected Articles by Fawaz Gerges:
National Intelligence
Estimate: The Terrorist Threat to the US Homeland"Al-Qa-'ida is and will remain the most serious
threat to the Homeland, as it's central leadership continues to plan high-impact plots, while pushing others in
extreme Sunni communities to mimic its efforts and to supplement its capabilities."
Read the latest assessment from the NYT Ombudsmen regarding use of the word "Al Qaeda" in
connection to the Iraq war"And in using the language of the administration, the newspaper has also
failed at times to distinguish between Al Qaeda, the group that attacked the United States on Sept. 11, and Al
Qaeda in Mesopotamia, an Iraqi group that didn't even exist until after the American invasion."
Recent Comments by the Bush Administration regarding Al Qaeda and Iraq:
Council on Foreign RelationsThis nonpartisan research group has prepared various reports about Al Qaeda and its connections to Iraq including:
Bush plays al Qaeda card to
bolster support for Iraq policyBy Jonathan S. Landay, MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS, June 28, 2007
"The reference, in a major speech at the Naval War College that referred to al Qaeda at least 27 times, seemed
calculated to use lingering outrage over the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to bolster support for the
current buildup of U.S. troops in Iraq, despite evidence that sending more troops hasn't reduced the violence or
sped Iraqi government action on key issues."
More on Prussian military thinker Carl von Clausewitz
Bush Insists al Qaeda in Iraq Threatens U.S.by Brian Knowlton, NEW YORK TIMES, July
24, 2007
"President George W. Bush argued forcefully today that an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Iraq is linked
tightly to the central al Qaeda leadership, and that for American forces to leave Iraq without defeating the
terror group would be 'dangerous for the world and disastrous for America.'"
BBC News: Investigating Al QaedaThis site offers a comprehensive history of al Qaeda along with recent articles highlighting its growing threat.
FRONTLINE: al Qaeda's New Front
FRONTLINE investigates the threat radical jihadists pose to Western Europe and its allies - including the United States.
Excerpts from al Qaeda's Training Manual
FRONTLINE offers a peak into the training involved in al Qaeda operations through these excerpts from an al Qaeda training manual found by police in Manchester, England, in a search of an al Qaeda member's home. It was originally translated into English and introduced as evidence in the 2001 embassy bombing trial in New York.
AMERICA AT A CROSSROADS: Jihad: The Men and Ideas behind al Qaeda
The AMERICAN AT A CROSSROADS series takes a look at modern, radical Islamic groups and explores the ideas and beliefs that inspire them, along with the challenges they pose for governments in the Middle East and the West.
MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base Profile on al Qaeda in Iraq
The MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base has profiled history, affiliations, locations, and tactics of terrorist groups operating across the world, with over 35 years of terrorism incident data and hundreds of group and leader profiles and trials. TKB also features interactive maps, statistical summaries, and analytical tools that can create custom graphs and tables.
America's Pakistan DilemmaBy Howard LaFranchi, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, July 23, 2007
"In debating what to do about Pakistan - after a grim National Intelligence Estimate last week found Al Qaeda to be re-energized from its bases there and planning new attacks against the US - the Bush administration is caught between a familiar rock and a hard place."
The Master Plan: For the new Theorists of Jihad, Al Qaeda is just the Beginning By Lawrence Wright, THE NEW YORKER, September 11, 2006
Lawrence Wright takes a look at competing views of how al Qaeda and other jihadist groups should go forward. He discusses debates among leading jihadist thinkers in the wake of September 11, the toppling of the Taliban from power in afghanistan, and the Iraq War.
Franchising Al QaedaBy Rita Katz and Josh Deven, BOSTON GLOBE, June 22, 2007
"Since 9/11, Al Qaeda's name has been applied liberally to numerous individuals and groups believed to be engaged in jihadist terrorism. However, while Al Qaeda does provide logistical and financial support to jihadist cells and continues to serve as the inspiration for countless jihadist groups across the globe, bin Laden does not allow any group to carry the brand name "Al Qaeda" without his approval. Groups wishing to join Al Qaeda officially must meet certain requirements before they are granted the right to adopt the name."
Top Qaeda Figure in Iraq a MythREUTERS, Jul 18, 2007
A senior operative for al
Qaeda in Iraq who was caught this month has told his U.S. military interrogators a prominent al Qaeda-led group
is just a front and its leader fictitious, a military spokesman said on Wednesday."
No Evidence Ties Al Qaeda to Recent Bombing of a Shiite Shrine By Nancy A. Youssef, MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS, June 29, 2007
"Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that the U.S. has no 'hard evidence' that the Sunni Muslim insurgent group al Qaida in Iraq was responsible for the recent bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra, although Bush Administration officials cite the attack as proof that al Qaida in Iraq is stoking sectarian violence."
Al Qaeda in Iraq Figure Is in U.S. CustodyBy Megan Greenwell and Karen DeYoung,
WASHINGTON POST, July 19, 2007
"Officials in Washington said the announcement of Mashhadani's capture, two
weeks after it occurred, was unrelated to White House efforts this week to emphasize tight links between al-Qaeda
in Iraq and the organization headed by bin Laden."
portrait photos by Robin Holland
posted July 27, 2007
"No one is suggesting that al Qaeda does not exist in Iraq," asserts professor of Middle Eastern and Internal Affairs
