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(CNN) -- SNIPPET: "The charge centers around a one-way ticket that authorities allege Abdel Hameed Shehadeh purchased from Queens, New York, to Islamabad, Pakistan. Shehadeh originally told investigators that the purpose of his trip was to visit an Islamic university and attend a friend's engagement party. But he later admitted to FBI agents in Hawaii that he bought the ticket in order to join a fighting group such as the Taliban, according to a criminal complaint unsealed in New York Monday."

"Abu Yahya al-Libi’s Long, Lonely Journey" SNIPPET: "On 29 April 2010, Abu Yahya al-Libi penned a statement entitled, “Jihad and the Battle of Dubious Claims.” Released in early June, this essay is nothing if not one of his seminal works." SNIPPET: "I’m just not seeing how this essay is going to be rousing jihadists to action any time soon. I see in his writing a man that has been continuously reading, thinking and talking about the steep hill that global jihadist movement must trudge. But I also see a man who is growing frustrated with what he believes to be...

Hi everyone – apologies for the hiatus. I’ve been underwater lately with work and hitting the media circuit so the blog drew the short end of the stick. I’m back in the saddle and have some exciting things in the pipeline that should break soon. While you wait, here’s a long-overdue round-up of my recent antics:

SNIPPET: "Some comments • I have to assume that al-Balawi was thoroughly debriefed by al-Qaida before being sent on this mission, and I'm surprised no one has sought to correlate his "infiltration" of al-Qaida with Abu Yahya al-Libi's book released over the summer: "Guidance on the Ruling of the Muslim Spy" • See also: Al Qaida: Western Spies Multiply "Like Locusts"."

Senior al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban leaders are reported to have met with Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud to advise him to move his group's operations into Afghanistan and halt attacks against the Pakistani state. Several meetings were said to have been held last week after an 11-man delegation of al Qaeda and Taliban heavy hitters arrived in Waziristan to deliver a request from Mullah Omar, the Amir al Mumineen, or the leader of the faithful in Pakistan and Afghanistan, according to a report in The Nation. The Taliban dispatched Sirajuddin Haqqani, the powerful military commander of the Haqqani Network,...

The US Department of State has issued multi-million dollar rewards for two senior Taliban leaders and an al Qaeda leader and propagandist. Up to $5 million dollars has been offered "for information leading to the location and/or capture" of Pakistani Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud or Taliban and al Qaeda ally Sirajuddin Haqqani. A $1 million bounty has been offered for information leading to the capture or conviction of al Qaeda propagandist and ideologue Abu Yahya al Libi.

SNIPPET: "According to one of my most trusted sources, the blurry image seen on the tape is indeed Osama bin Laden. One of the reasons that this is convincing is that the blurry image remains in the video. As Sahab, which produces al Qaeda's propaganda, is very selective in the information it releases, and rarely leaves garbage in its videos. As Sahab intentionally leaves in this clip, for reasons unknown. Does al Qaeda want to generate a buzz? Is this a hidden message? Perhaps this is a precursor to a new bin Laden tape?"

SNIPPET: "New Abu Yahya al-Libi video released on 6 OCT – I havent had a chance to blog for awhile so I thought I’d go through the transcript line-by-line, pulling out anything that I find of note, and then annotate as I go through it. One quick note: Abu Yahya is no longer wearing his pinky ring, the one that he’s been wearing since late 2005 – this is the first video that I havent seen it (although it may just be at the shop getting cleaned) – here’s a screen cap:" SNIPPET: "Wow, could I be any more right...

Abu Yahya al-Libi circles back to Algeria today in his new video, “Algeria Between the Sacrifice of Fathers and Faithfulness of Sons.” In short, it seems like a call for direct action to the AQIM guys against Algerian military/government targets and a broader recruiting call to the broader Maghrebi jihadi population.

This morning, Al-Fajr Media launched a new 29-page book by Abu Yahya al-Libi entitled, A Spear to Fight the Government and the Army of Pakistan It’s chalk full of ideo-religious stuff in order to lay a groundwork for overthrowing Islamic regimes, something that most of Islamic history declares a big no-no. This is just one more chapter in the long book of Abu Yahya’s attempt to rewrite Islam from within. It’s his attempt to labotomize the religion and cram it full of Abu Yahya’isms. In my view, ABu Yahya is Machiavellian in his ambition. Few seem to get how scary...

Special Dispatch - No. 2323 April 22, 2009 No. 2323 Al-Qaeda Commander Abu Yahya Al-Libi in New Video: There Is No Difference Between Palestine and Other Jihads – Including Al-Andalus; If Helping the Israelis Is Apostasy, So Is Helping the U.S. In a 59-minute video produced by Al-Sahab, Al-Qaeda's media wing, and posted on jihadist forums on April 22, 2009, senior Al-Qaeda commander Abu Yahya Al-Libi tries to convince Islamist clerics of Al-Qaeda's positions on fighting against the U.S. and against the regimes in Muslim countries.

Excerpt - NEWSWEEK: Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the Qaeda No. 2, Has Provoked a Potentially Serious Ideological Split Within Al Qaeda, Jihadists Tell Newsweek NEW YORK, July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Pakistani and Taliban officials interviewed by Newsweek say the Qaeda No. 2, Ayman Al-Zawahiri is behind the wave of retaliatory attacks launched after Pakistani troops overran the Red Mosque in Islamabad, which have killed more than 150 people. While Osama bin Laden has been keeping a low profile, Zawahiri has moved aggressively to take operational control of the group. In so doing, Zawahiri has provoked a potentially serious ideological split within Al...

CAIRO, EGYPT - In a new video posted Thursday on the Internet, an al-Qaida militant who escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan urged Sunni militants in Iraq to join the terror group and claimed the U.S. military's security plan for Baghdad has failed. Abu Yahia al-Libi, who broke out of the U.S. prison at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul in 2005, said it was the sacred duty of all mujahedeen, or holy warriors, to "stand steadfast together." He called on militant groups known as Ansar al-Sunnah, the Islamic Army in Iraq and the Army of the Mujahedeen to...

Laura Mansfield discloses that As Sahab will release a new Al Qaeda video tape soon. "According to banners placed on several Arabic language message boards, it appears that Al Qaeda's media production arm, As Sahab, will be releasing a new video tape 'soon.' This tape does not show either Osama Bin Laden or Dr. Ayman al Zawahiri, but instead features an address by Abu Yahya al Libi." UPDATE: ABC News reports that al Libi, who escaped from a US prison at Bagram, Afghanistan in 2005, will honor Umar Faruq, who was killed in Iraq by British troops in September. See...