As is the case for many others, the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks has made me reflect on their impact over the past decade. To this end, Michelle Shephard‘s Decade of Fear has been indispensable. A very personal account of her journalistic efforts to chronicle the war on terrorism over the past decade, Michelle weaves the weft [...]
Archive for the ‘Recruitment’ Category
Decade of Fear
Posted: 11th September 2011 by Will McCants in al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, AQ Central, AQ Leadership, Bin Laden, Pakistan, Recruitment2
Strategic Theory of the Second Generation of Jihadis
Posted: 3rd August 2011 by Will McCants in propaganda, Recruitment, StrategyThree days ago, Abu Hafs al-Sunni al-Sunni, a member of the Atahadi forum, posted an article he titled, “The Strategic Theory of the Second Generation of Jihadis: Propagandistic Foundations and Operational Methods.” Despite the title, it is less about strategy and operations and more about the public relations problems plaguing the jihadis. Here are his main [...]
Al-Qaeda Is Making a Cartoon
Posted: 18th July 2011 by Will McCants in al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula, propaganda, RecruitmentAccording to a member of the Shmukh jihadi forum, the media wing of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is making a cartoon. I haven’t seen anything like this before and I am very skeptical that it is a real product. But if it’s legit and anywhere near like the purported screen shots and promotional banner [...]
The Limits of Gamification
Posted: 25th April 2011 by Will McCants in Jihad culture, propaganda, RecruitmentJarret and Alix have published an intriguing article in Foreign Policy on how jihadi ideologues and forum administrators are deliberately applying gaming principles to their discussion boards and propaganda. The jihadis are doing so to encourage their readers to compete with one another to embody the community’s ethos and take direct action. That’s a new [...]
Jihadi Encryption
Posted: 9th February 2011 by Thomas Hegghammer in Europe, Recruitment, tactics, technology, Terrorism trials, U.K.The Wall Street Journal ran a fascinating story on Monday about the encryption methods employed by radical Islamist activists. The details emerged in the ongoing UK trial of Rajib Karim. The article is a reminder that there is more to online jihadism than what we see published on radical websites.
An Ex-Jihadi in the Arctic
Posted: 15th October 2010 by Thomas Hegghammer in Australia, Converts, Indonesia, Recruitment, training campsI grew up in the far north of Norway, hundreds of kilometers above the Arctic Circle. As you might expect, my research interests and arctic origin do not intersect very often. Last time was back in 2004 when a plane on the way from my home town Narvik to Bodø was nearly brought down by an axe-swinging Algerian Islamist. [...]
Quilliam Report
Posted: 27th September 2010 by Thomas Hegghammer in Better Know a Forum, Ideological trends, Jihadi media, propaganda, Recruitment, technologyThe Quilliam Foundation, a London based think tank, has released a very interesting new report by Muhammad Ali Musawi titled Cheering for Osama: How Jihadis Use Discussion Forums. It is one of the best introductions to the world of online jihadism that I have seen. It also points out some recent forum trends that should [...]
Weekend Reading: “The Second Foreign Fighter Glut”
Posted: 29th May 2009 by Scott Sanford in propaganda, Recruitment, Strategy, terrorism, Western AnalystsLongtime Jihadica friend Clint Watts recently published an article at the Small Wars Journal titled, “Countering Terrorism from the Second Foreign Fighter Glut.” This article is the third in a series he has authored using data from the Sinjar records (Part 1 and Part 2 of the series). He concluded, “The key to success for [...]
On 15 May 2009, the Jihadi Brigades of Internet Incursion, which appear to be a part of the Shumukh Forums, announced a successful “incursion” of over 250,000 email addresses. Their announcement stated: We bring good news to the Islamic Ummah of the continuation of the electronic jihadi media raids in support of the truth in [...]