A friend who was held six months in "protective custody" for backing the wrong side in Zaporozh'e city politics thinks it's going to be a revolution, but I think the people are too pessimistic and worn-out to bother.
Posted on 08/16/2004 3:02:51 PM PDT by Calpernia
The September11 terror attacks in the US were staged to overcome disunity in al-Qa'ida, confidential computer records reveal. Alan Cullison reports on what happened after his laptop was wrecked while he was covering the combat in Afghanistan
IN the autumn of 2001, I was one of scores of journalists who ventured into northern Afghanistan to write about the US-assisted war against the Taliban.
After losing use of my computer in an accident, I scrawled stories by candlelight with a ballpoint pen and read dispatches to my editors at The Wall Street Journal over a satellite phone.
When the Taliban's defences crumbled in November 2001, I joined a handful of malnourished correspondents who rushed into Kabul and filed stories about the city's liberation. Unlike most correspondents, I needed to spend some time getting to know Kabul's computer dealers because I wanted to replace my laptop. It took about an hour to shake hands with all of them.
The regime that had forbidden television and kite-flying as un-Islamic had also taken a dim view of computers. I searched through the bazaars and found Soviet-era radios and TV sets, but the electronics dealers had never seen a computer and certainly didn't know how to wire one to a satellite phone.
One dealer told me he had serviced computers belonging to the Taliban and to Arabs in al-Qa'ida. I forgot about my own computer problems and hired him to search for these computers.
Eventually he led me to a semi-literate jewellery salesman with wide-set eyes and a penchant for gold chains. This was the man who that December would take $US1100 from me in exchange for two of al-Qa'ida's most valuable computers -- a 40-gigabyte IBM desktop and a Compaq laptop.
He had stolen them from al-Qa'ida's central office in Kabul on November12, the night before the city fell to the Northern Alliance. He wanted the money, he said, so that he could travel to the US and meet some American girls.
On the night before Kabul fell, Taliban officials were fleeing the city in trucks teetering with their personal effects. The looter who sold me the computers figured that al-Qa'ida had fled as well, so he crawled over a brick wall surrounding the house that served as the group's office. Finding nobody inside, he took the two computers, which he had discovered in a room on the building's second floor. On the door of the room, he said, was the name of Muhammad Atef -- al-Qa'ida's military commander and a key planner of the September 11 attacks in the US.
Each day, he said, Atef would walk into the office carrying the laptop in its black case. The looter knew he had something good. So did the US military when it heard what I had bought. Thinking that the computers might hold information about future attacks, my editors called the US Central Command, which sent three CIA agents to my hotel room in Kabul. They said they needed the computers immediately; I had time to copy only the desktop computer (disk) before handing them both over.
Atef's laptop was returned to me two months later in Washington, DC, by an agent named Bert. The CIA said that the drive had been almost empty, but I've always wondered if this was true.
The desktop computer, it turned out, had been used mostly by Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's top deputy. It contained nearly 1000 text documents dating back to 1997. Many were locked with passwords or encrypted. Most were in Arabic, but some were in French, Farsi, English or Malay, written in an elliptical and evolving system of code words.
I worked intensively for more than a year with several translators and with a colleague at The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Higgins, interviewing dozens of former jihadis to decipher the context, codes and intentions of the messages for a series of articles that Higgins and I wrote for the Journal in 2002.
What emerged was an astonishing inside look at the day-to-day world of al-Qa'ida, as managed by its top strategic planners -- among them bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, Atef, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, all of whom were intimately involved in the planning of 9/11, and some of whom -- including bin Laden and al-Zawahiri -- are still at large.
The documents included budgets, training manuals for recruits and scouting reports for international attacks, and they shed light on everything from personnel matters and petty bureaucratic sniping to theological discussions and debates about the merits of suicide operations.
There were also video files, photographs, scanned documents and web pages, many of which, it became clear, were part of the group's increasingly sophisticated efforts to conduct a global internet-based publicity and recruitment effort.
The jihadis' Kabul office employed a zealous manager -- al-Zawahiri's brother Mohammed, who maintained the computer's files in a meticulous network of folders and subfolders that neatly laid out the group's organisational structure and strategic concerns. (Mohammed's system fell apart after he was arrested in 2000 in Dubai and extradited to Egypt.)
Considered as a whole, the trove of material on the computer represents what is surely the fullest sociological profile of al-Qa'ida to be made public.
Perhaps one of the most important insights to emerge from the computer is that the September 11 operations sprang not so much from al-Qa'ida's strengths as from its weaknesses. The computer did not reveal any links to Iraq or any other deep-pocketed government; amid the group's penury, the members fell to bitter infighting.
The blow against the US was meant to put an end to the internal rivalries, which are manifest in vitriolic memos between Kabul and cells abroad. Al-Qa'ida's leaders worried about a military response from the US, but in such a response they spied opportunity: they had fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and they fondly remembered that war as a galvanising experience, an event that roused the indifferent of the Arab world to fight and win against a technologically superior infidel.
The jihadis expected the US, like the Soviet Union, to be a clumsy opponent. Afghanistan would again become a slowly filling graveyard for the imperial ambitions of a superpower.
Like the early Russian anarchists who wrote some of the most persuasive tracts on the uses of terror, al-Qa'ida understood that its attacks would not lead to a quick collapse of the great powers. Rather, its aim was to tempt the powers to strike back in a way that would create sympathy for the terrorists.
Al-Qa'ida has so far gained little from the ground war in Afghanistan; the conflict in Iraq, closer to the centre of the Arab world, is potentially more fruitful. As Arab resentment against the US spreads, al-Qa'ida may look less like a tightly knit terror group and more like a mass movement.
And as the group develops synergy in working with other groups branded by the US as enemies (in Iraq, the Israeli-occupied territories, Kashmir, the Mindanao peninsula and Chechnya, to name a few places), one wonders if the US is indeed playing the role written for it on the computer.
Secret operations
AS al-Qa'ida established itself in Afghanistan in the late 1990s and began managing international operations of increasing complexity and audacity, the group focused on ensuring the secrecy of its communications. It discouraged the use of email and the telephone, and recommended faxes and couriers.
The electronic files reflect the global nature of the work being done; much of the correspondence was neatly filed by country name. Messages were usually encrypted and often couched in language mimicking that of a multinational corporation; thus bin Laden was sometimes "the contractor", acts of terrorism became "trade", Mullah Omar and the Taliban became "the Omar Brothers Company", the security services of the US and Britain became "foreign competitors", and so on.
Letters sent from and to al-Zawahiri in 1999 contain coded language typical of many files on the computer; they also show the degree to which al-Qa'ida operatives abroad were being exposed and detained because of their efforts. In the first of the following two letters, much of the code remains mysterious.
To: Yemen Cell Members
From: Ayman al-Zawahiri
Folder: Outgoing Mail -- To Yemen
Date: February 1, 1999
...I would like to clarify the following with relation to the birthday [probably an unspecified attack]:
(a) Don't think of showering as it may harm your health.
(b) We can't make a hotel reservation for you, but they usually don't mind making reservations for guests. Those who wish to make a reservation should go to Quwedar [a famous pastry shop in Cairo].
(c) I suggest that each of you takes a recipient to Quwedar to buy sweets, then make the hotel reservation. It is easy. After you check in, walk to Nur. After you attend the birthday, go from Quwedar to Bushra St, where you should buy movie tickets to the Za'bolla movie theatre.
(d) The birthday will be in the third month. How do you want to celebrate it in the seventh? Do you want us to change the boy's birth date? There are guests awaiting the real date to get back to their work.
(e) I don't have any gravel [probably ammunition or bomb-making material].
To: Ayman al-Zawahiri
From: Unknown
Folder: Incoming Mail -- From Yemen
Date: May 13, 1999
Dear brother Salah al-Din:
...Forty of the contractor's [bin Laden's] friends here were taken by surprise by malaria [arrested] a few days ago, following the telegram they sent, which was similar to Salah al-Din's telegrams [that is, it used the same code]. The majority of them are from here [Yemen] and two are from the contractor's country [Saudi Arabia]... We heard that al-Asmar had a sudden illness and went to the hospital [prison]. He will have a session with the doctors [lawyers] early next month to see if he can be treated there, or if he should be sent for treatment in his country [probably Egypt, where jihadis were routinely tortured and hanged]...
Osman called some days ago. He is fine but in intensive care [being monitored by the police]. When his situation improves he will call. He is considering looking for work with Salah al-Din [in Afghanistan], as opportunities are scarce where he is, but his health condition is the obstacle.
After 9/11
THE first evidence of work on the computer following September 11, 2001, comes just days after the attacks, in the form of a promotional video called The Big Job -- a montage of TV footage of the attacks and their chaotic aftermath, all set to rousing victory music. The office was surely busier than it had ever been and soon many members of al-Qa'ida's inner circle were competing for time on the computer.
Bin al-Shibh, the senior Yemeni operative who co-ordinated with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in masterminding the attacks, used the computer to work on a hasty and unfinished ideological justification for the operation, which he titled The Truth About the New Crusade: A Ruling on the Killing of Women and Children of the Non-Believers, excerpts of which follow:
Concerning the operations of the blessed Tuesday [9/11] ... they are legally legitimate, because they are committed against a country at war with us, and the people in that country are combatants. Someone might say that it is the innocent, the elderly, the women and the children who are victims, so how can these operations be legitimate according to sharia? And we say that the sanctity of women, children and the elderly is not absolute.
There are special cases ... Muslims may respond in kind if infidels have targeted women and children and elderly Muslims, [or if] they are being invaded, [or if] the non-combatants are helping with the fight, whether in action, word or any other type of assistance, [or if they] need to attack with heavy weapons, which do not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants...
There are benefits ... The operations have brought about the largest economic crisis that America has ever known. Material losses amount to $1trillion. America has lost about 2000 economic brains as a result of the operations. The stock exchange dropped drastically, and American consumer spending deteriorated. The dollar has dropped, the airlines have been crippled, the American globalisation system, which was going to spoil the world, is gone...
God said to assault whoever assaults you, in a like manner ... In killing Americans who are ordinarily off-limits, Muslims should not exceed 4million non-combatants or render more than 10million of them homeless. We should avoid this, to make sure the penalty [that we are inflicting] is no more than reciprocal. God knows what is best.
Bin Laden
BIN Laden himself was composing letters on the computer just weeks before the fall of Kabul. In them he defiantly addressed the American people with a statement of al-Qa'ida's goals, which he then went on to spell out at much greater length for Mullah Omar, in the spirit of a powerful, high-level political adviser offering advice to a head of state.
To: Mullah Omar
From: Osama bin Laden
Folder: Deleted File (Recovered)
Date: October 3, 2001
...I would like to emphasise the major impact of your statements on the Islamic world. Nothing harms America more than receiving your strong response to its positions and statements ... Newspapers mentioned that a recent survey showed that seven out of every 10 Americans suffer psychological problems following the attacks on New York and Washington ... Keep in mind that America is currently facing two contradictory problems:
(a) If it refrains from responding to jihad operations, its prestige will collapse, thus forcing it to withdraw its troops abroad and restrict itself to US internal affairs. This will transform it from a major power to a third-rate power, similar to Russia.
(b) On the other hand, a campaign against Afghanistan will impose great long-term economic burdens, leading to further economic collapse, which will force America, God willing, to resort to the former Soviet Union's only option: withdrawal from Afghanistan, disintegration and contraction.
Thus our plan in the face of this campaign should focus on the following:
Serving a blow to the American economy, which will lead to:
(a) Further weakening of the American economy.
(b) Shaking the confidence in the American economy. This will lead investors to refrain from investing in America or participating in American companies, thus accelerating the fall of the American economy...
Conducting a media campaign to fight the enemy's publicity. The campaign should focus on the following important points:
Attempt to cause a rift between the American people and their government, by demonstrating the following to the Americans:
That the US Government will lead them into further losses of money and lives.
That the Government is sacrificing the people to serve the interests of the rich, particularly the Jews.
That the Government is leading them to the war front to protect Israel and its security.
America should withdraw from the current battle between Muslims and Jews.
This plan aims to create pressure from the American people on their Government to stop its campaign against Afghanistan, on the grounds that the campaign will cause major losses to the American people...
Peace upon you and God's mercy and blessings.
Your brother,
Osama Bin Mohammed Bin Laden
Worth a REbump!
Conducting a media campaign to fight the enemy's publicity. The campaign should focus on the following important points:
Attempt to cause a rift between the American people and their government, by demonstrating the following to the Americans:
That the US Government will lead them into further losses of money and lives.
DNC Talking point 1
That the Government is sacrificing the people to serve the interests of the rich, particularly the Jews.
DNC Talking point 2
That the Government is leading them to the war front to protect Israel and its security.
EU Talking point 1
America should withdraw from the current battle between Muslims and Jews.
EU Talking point 2
This plan aims to create pressure from the American people on their Government to stop its campaign against Afghanistan, on the grounds that the campaign will cause major losses to the American people...
Wow it looks like the DNC and the EU got an early draft of the memo.
8 posted on 08/16/2004 6:52:33 PM EDT by usurper
I just tried to access the EOM/Daleel group to copy over posts for cross referencing.
That group is gone? It isn't showing in my Yahoo User Group now.
BTTT
I am starting to think that the main stream journalist is no longer a research.
The media is totally ignoring the documents out there to support your point. The http://www.jfklibrary.org/pr_kissinger_files.html and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/940575/posts files totally support your thoughts. Yet no main stream news outlet is researching this.
Granny, your opinions, instincts, and wisdom are so valuable in solving the terror problem. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for explaining.
Since I didn't post the original article, I thought maybe you were asking me for an index of....??
I'm guilty of that too. I come by and want to read something later, I will only bump, ping or just hit .. to the last person listed.
..
hee hee
Is the EOM yahoo group gone? I just looked for it and didn't see it in my Yahoo groups. There are some great messages above to cross reference.
You here? Ping.
How is your leg?
Yes, the Iran/Russia connection is deeply disturbing.
Thanks for the ping.
>>>the Iran/Russia connection is deeply disturbing
Ping
Looks like the Kerry campaign is answering Osama's call. They are carrying out all his directions:
Conducting a media campaign to fight the enemy's publicity. The campaign should focus on the following important points:
Attempt to cause a rift between the American people and their government, by demonstrating the following to the Americans:
That the US Government will lead them into further losses of money and lives.
That the Government is sacrificing the people to serve the interests of the rich, particularly the Jews.
That the Government is leading them to the war front to protect Israel and its security.
America should withdraw from the current battle between Muslims and Jews.
Ping
Thanks for the ping.
Freepmail for you.
A friend who was held six months in "protective custody" for backing the wrong side in Zaporozh'e city politics thinks it's going to be a revolution, but I think the people are too pessimistic and worn-out to bother.
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