From a Virtual Shadow, Messages of Terror
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 2, 2004; Page A01
SAN FRANCISCO -- He calls himself Abu Maysara al Iraqi, or father of Maysara the Iraqi, and he's a master at being everywhere and nowhere in the virtual world, constantly switching his online accounts and taking advantage of new technologies to issue his communiqués to the world.
American Internet sleuths know next to nothing about him, whether Abu Maysara is his real name, whether he's an Iraqi or even whether he's in Iraq. What is clear is that he is one of the most important sources of information from the country's insurgency, getting his message out through the Internet, and U.S. authorities are trying to silence him.
His updates, terse and business-like, are released several times a week on radical Islamic Web sites. Acting as a spokesman for Abu Musab Zarqawi, the most-wanted guerrilla leader in Iraq, he variously reports attacks on U.S. soldiers and killings of hostages. His words and images reach millions of people when they open their newspapers, turn on their TVs or go online in search of news.
"There's no way of stopping it anymore," said Evan F. Kohlmann, a counter-terrorism consultant. "It's extremely frustrating. They can send out quality videos to millions of people uncensored." (snip)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1570-2004Oct1.html
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "He calls himself Abu Maysara al Iraqi, or father of Maysara the Iraqi, and he's a master at being everywhere and nowhere in the virtual world, constantly switching his online accounts and taking advantage of new technologies to issue his communiqués to the world.
American Internet sleuths know next to nothing about him, whether Abu Maysara is his real name, whether he's an Iraqi or even whether he's in Iraq. What is clear is that he is one of the most important sources of information from the country's insurgency, getting his message out through the Internet, and U.S. authorities are trying to silence him."
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Google Search Term: "ABU MAYSARA AL IRAQI"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22ABU+MAYSARA+AL+IRAQI%22+%0D%0A&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0
Google Search Term: "MAYSARA AL IRAQI"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22MAYSARA+AL+IRAQI%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=810&sa=N&filter=0
Google Search Term: "AL IRAQI"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22AL+IRAQI%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&filter=0
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Google Summary:
WFAA.com | News for Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas | Latest News
... said. It was signed with the pseudonym Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, the name usually
used on statements from al-Zarqawi's group. Claims ...
www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/ latestnews/stories/092104dnintiraq.13aa1ad13.html - 72k - Cached - Similar pages
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REWARDS FOR JUSTICE.net: "ABU MUS'AB AL-ZARQAWI"
http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/english/wanted_captured/Al_Zarqawi.cfm
INTERNET-HAGANAH.US: "LOOKING FOR ZARQAWI?" (July 30, 2004)
http://internet-haganah.us/harchives/002408.html
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Circulating on the 'net:
http://www.strangepolitics.com/content/item/100944.html
OPEN LETTER TO AL ZARQAWI