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NRO
October 21, 2005
By Rita Katz

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/katz200510210928.asp

It's Real

The arguments over that Zawahiri letter suggests we don't know our
enemy.

On October 8, 2005, the U.S. government unsealed a letter allegedly
written by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama Bin Laden's deputy, to "the
Emir (prince) of al-Qaeda in Iraq," Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The
letter's authenticity was largely questioned; as reported by Reuters
on October 14: "U.S. intelligence officials who released a letter
purporting to be from an al Qaeda leader to Iraq insurgency leader
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi this week said on Friday they could not account
for a passage that has raised doubts about the document's
authenticity".

A Los Angeles Times op-ed titled "Fake Letter, Real Trouble," said
that "there are reasons to doubt that it is authentic." The main
question over authenticity appears to arises from a passage that
concludes the letter: "By Allah, if by any chance you are going to
Fallujah, send greetings to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." If the letter is
written from Zawahiri to Zarqawi, the reports implicated, why does
the former ask the latter to send regards to himself? How could
Zawahiri, the purported writer of this letter, forget that it was
already addressed to Zarqawi?

In spite of these and similar doubts, Reuters quoted a spokesman for
John Negroponte, U.S. director of national intelligence, who
acknowledged that the greetings passage did appear confusing, but
that the intelligence community was confident the letter was
authentic. Other terrorism experts suggested that perhaps the letter
was not addressed to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, but rather to abu Musab al-
Suri, also known as Mustafa Setmarian Nasser, al Qaeda ideologist and
expert on urban warfare.

Media representatives, U.S. government officials, and experts who
doubt the credibility of the letter may have jumped to the wrong
conclusion. The greetings in the passage in question, if anything,
strongly confirm the letter's authenticity. What all these pundits
are sometimes missing is a familiarity with the vernacular of the
jihadi community.

Since November 2004, following battles with the Coalition Forces in
Fallujah, jihadis on the Internet have been widely using a slogan
that was borrowed from a poem. The poem included the following lines:

It will be destroyed on the arrogant son of an arrogant

You who rule countries by his infidels

You can kill flies with chemicals

You who are riding the fast thing

By Allah, where are you going to?

If you are going to Fallujah

Send my regards to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

And all the jihadis in his group . . .(1)

The poem has caught on in jihadi circles. Members of hundreds of
online jihadi forums, not just ones directly connected to the
insurgents in Iraq, had posted and discussed it. Some of these
discussions are down now, but others are still active. Examples are
the Jihadi Palestinian Forum where the poem has been posted since
November 15, 2004, and the Yemen Youth Forum, which still features an
active link.

Because of its success, music was composed for the poem that was then
circulated as a song and posted on jihadi message- boards and
websites all over the world. An example is the Arabic Saudi Forum, a
very popular forum, which posted links to the audio on December 14,
2004.

On November 14, 2004 ,the Buradh jihadi message board posted a new
thread titled "By Allah, if by chance you are going to Fallujah, send
greetings to Abu Musab al-zarqawi." The entire al-Ghamidi poem was
posted, but the focus of discussion was the slogan. Likewise, on
January 23, 2005, a member of a Palestinian forum signing
as "Muhammad the engineer" posted a new thread, with the same title.
Shortly thereafter, the slogan turned into a synonym for
Zarqawi's "great war" against the "crusaders."Some message-board
members even use it as a signature and in response to al Qaeda
communiqués. The slogan is also frequently used in greetings,
blessings, or, as in Zawahiri's letter, as concluding statements.

The sentence with which Zawahiri closed his letter to Zarqawi, is, in
fact, that slogan: "By Allah, if by any chance you are going to
Fallujah, send greetings to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi." Not only is it
reasonable for him to conclude his letter to Zarqawi thus, but it
also demonstrates that he is well-informed on the very latest
developments in the jihadi community.

As for the suggestion that the addressee is in fact al-Suri rather
than Zarqawi, in the body of the letter Zawahiri makes note of
beheadings in Iraq: This could only apply to Zarqawi, as no
beheadings are attributed to al-Suri.

An erroneous interpretation of the letter is a typical example of how
superficial understanding of the al-Qaeda network and its workings
continues to imperil the war on terror. Wrong conclusions based on
partial or incorrect information can lead to wrong decisions,
tactics, and strategies. The fight over the letter is bad news: The
West just doesn't know it's enemy.

— Rita Katz is the author of Terrorist Hunter and the director of the
SITE Institute.

1 The poem in its entirety, in the original Arabic, can be found on
SITE Institutes Web site,
http://siteinstitute.biz/videos/clips/SITE_Institute_Fallujah_Poem.pdf

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/net/2005/10/29/brother.of.top.terror.leader.killed.in.southern.rp.(2.30.p.m.).html

Saturday, October 29, 2005
Brother of top terror leader killed in
southern RP (2:30 p.m.)

ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Security forces killed a
brother of a senior Abu Sayyaf leader during a
clash in the southern Filipino island of Jolo,
officials said Saturday.

Officials said many gunmen were also wounded in
the clash that occurred in the village of Asturias
late Friday.

There were no reports of casualties in the military
side, but the island's military chief, Brigadier
General Alexander Aleo, said the killing of Lalong
Parad dealth a serious blow to the Abu Sayyaf,
who is blamed for a series of terrorist activities
and and banditry in the south.

The slain militant was the brother of Albader
Parad, who is one of those wanted by the US for
the killing of two of its citizens in 2001 and the
2000 kidnapping of 21 people in Sipadan island
off Sabah.

"Parad's death was surely a big blow because he
is one of the most notorious criminal in Jolo and
behind the killings of many innocent civilians and
soldiers, and the kidnapping this year of three
Indonesian sailors," Aleo said.

It was unknown whether the militants were
planning new attacks or just resting for the night.

Aleo said troops on Saturday were still tracking
down the rest of Parad's gang in Jolo, where
security forces mounted fresh campaign against
the terrorist group with links to the Jemaah
Islamiyah and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda
network.

Last Wednesday, government forces stormed a
militant hideout in the southern port city of
Zamboanga and captured seven people, including
Hilarion "Ahmad" Santos, the alleged leader of
the radical group called Rajah Soliman Movement.

Policemen, backed by troops, also recovered a
cache of anti-tank rockets from the hideout in San
Jose village.

Authorities linked the group, composed mostly of
Christians, who converted to Islam, to Jemaah
Islamiya and was believed behind the spate of
bombings in Manila since 2000.

It said the Rajah Soliman is the most radical
group next to the Abu Sayyaf and that the group
has terror cells across the country.

"We have established that Santos and his Rajah
Soliman group is tied to Jemaah Islamiyah and
the Abu Sayyaf.

There is an ongoing operation to track down other
members of the group hiding in the southern
Philippines," said Southern Command Chief
Edilberto Adan.

The military doubled its security in the Philippines
because of an increasing threats of attacks by
either the Abu Sayyaf or the Jemaah Islamiyah.

Troops are hunting down two senior Jemaah
Islamiyah bomb-makers Dulmatin and Umar
Patek, believed to be hiding in the southern
Philippines.

The duo masterminded the 2002 Bali bombings
that killed more than 200 people.

The US has tagged the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah
Islamiyah as foreign terrorist organizations. (Al
Jacinto)

28 October 2005

Military AttachÃ©s from 60 Nations Discuss Counterterrorism

Partnerships, communications strategies needed for success

Washington â€“- Further progress in the Global War on Terror will require nations to develop strategies to better inform their
publics and to garner public support for anti-terror programs, says Lieutenant General Dell Dailey, commander of the U.S.
Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

Dailey spoke to military officers and attachÃ©s from 60 nations who met in Florida in October to discuss regional and
national counterterrorism efforts.

Terrorism is â€œa global problem that recognizes no borders â€¦ violates the sovereignty of all â€¦ nations and â€¦ must be
combated individually and collectively,â€ Dailey said.Â He said the next level on the global War on Terror will require nations
to develop individualized strategies with which to communicate to their publics about the problem, as well as find ways to
enlist public support for anti-terrorism programs. Â [Note: The United States has done this through its Rewards for Justice
program. (See related article.)].

SOCOM and the U.S. Strategic Command hosted 80 participants for the two-day multinational workshop held at MacDill
Air Force Base October 18-20.Â They heard SOCOMâ€™s Colonel John Davis point out that global partnerships make it
possible â€œto plan, execute and sustain effective counterterrorist networks.â€Â Successful counterterrorist initiatives, he said,
depend â€œon the total integration of all our partner nationsâ€™ capabilities.â€Â Such partnership, he added, is critical for the
success of the global war against terrorism.

Workshop attendees from every region of the world participated in sessions to discuss how to influence individuals who
may be considering committing acts of terrorism, as well as how to share information about various counterterrorist
initiatives and programs offering rewards for information.Â Dailey said the goal was to spark a frank dialogue.

Lieutenant Commander Steve Mavica, SOCOMâ€™s media relations officer, deemed the workshop a success because
participants gained a better understanding of effective U.S. anti-terror strategies.Â Discussions of cultural differences and
their effect on perceptions also led to suggestions on ways the United States can improve its own performance, he said.

Participants heard SOCOM officials outline a Global Rewards Information Program, also known as GRIP.Â Mavica said
some participants suggested that the program be renamed because the concept of a â€œrewardâ€ for information leading to the
apprehension of terrorist can have a negative connotation in some cultures.

An individual who provides such information might be compensated in different parts of the world, for example, by money,
land, a job or relocation.Â Individual programs thus could be tailored according to whatever works best in that nation or
region.Â In some cultures, for example, providing tips about terrorists is considered a civic duty and the idea of offering a
reward is thought to be offensive.

Workshop participants also listened to presentations about the global Jihad movement.Â SOCOMâ€™s public diplomacy
adviser, Stanley Schrager, told the St. Petersburg Times that the ideological attraction that terrorism has for some recruits
cannot be addressed militarily.Â â€œItâ€™s a war of ideology and itâ€™s a war for the hearts and minds of people,â€ he told reporter
Alexandra Zayas.Â (See related article.)

One Singaporean said the United States has to make a bigger investment in the Muslim world.Â Rohan Gunaratna, director
of the International Center for Political Violence and Terrorism Research, said that statistical analysis shows that less than 1
percent of the Muslim population supports terrorism.Â Gunaratna said he believes defeating terrorist groups and their
supporters requires the complete support from the entire Muslim population.

Information about the U.S. Rewards for Justice program is available on the program Web site.

Â

For more information about U.S. policy on terrorism, see Response to Terrorism.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)

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