Tuesday December 19, 2006
Al Qaeda's Expanding Propaganda Reach
What is interesting about the new bin Laden and Zarqawi tapes, besides some of the analysis done by my colleagues on the Counterterrorism blog, is the fact that al Qaeda has grown increasingly adept at getting its propaganda videos quickly enough to be relevant to current events. This is new, and shows increased capacity and increased interest in keeping their message out in front, even it it may hint at internal problems.
Any insurgent/terrorist/guerrilla group that wants to be taken seriously in the broader world must have a medium to reach that world. In El Salvador, the FMLN, one of the most successful of recent insurgent-guerrilla armies had Radio Venceremos, which came on every day for several broadcasts of an hour each. People knew when to tune in and receive the message. The FMLN knew how important that link was and spend blood and treasure to protect the station, improve it and cultivate a loyal following.
In contrast, the FARC in Colombia has had no reach outside its areas of direct control, now mostly the coca-growing regions of the country. In part as a result of this lack of communication, the FARC has made few inroads as a political entity in Colombia. Certainly that is not the whole reason-the wholesale assassination of its political allies has certainly played a role. But the FARC has no method of projecting itself into the broader political debate, it only has violence, and hence is widely reviled.
Al Qaeda, both bin Laden and Zarqawi, seem to be focusing a great deal of time and resources on staying visible and talking to their followers or potential followers. No longer does one wait a month or two to heard the latest AQ take on events. The symbols in the videos, as others have pointed out, such as the display of U.S. weapons, MANPADS etc., are not happenstance. They are carefully thought out to send particular messages.
The advantage is that it gives those outside the organization a window to help decifer and analyze what is said, how it is said etc. But the huge disadvantage is that every time they show up in public, the largest message is simply that they have avoided capture by the United States.
The instant dismissal of the appearances by some in government, saying they are displays of desperation or a lack of cohesion, is wrong and dangerous. It shows, more than anything else, the enemy has a functioning propganda arm that is effective and extremely active. By simply showing up on the website or on al Jazeera, bin Laden, Zarqawi and other terrorist leaders powerfully remind people they still are there, still fighting and still able to show their faces.
Any insurgent/terrorist/guerrilla group that wants to be taken seriously in the broader world must have a medium to reach that world. In El Salvador, the FMLN, one of the most successful of recent insurgent-guerrilla armies had Radio Venceremos, which came on every day for several broadcasts of an hour each. People knew when to tune in and receive the message. The FMLN knew how important that link was and spend blood and treasure to protect the station, improve it and cultivate a loyal following.
In contrast, the FARC in Colombia has had no reach outside its areas of direct control, now mostly the coca-growing regions of the country. In part as a result of this lack of communication, the FARC has made few inroads as a political entity in Colombia. Certainly that is not the whole reason-the wholesale assassination of its political allies has certainly played a role. But the FARC has no method of projecting itself into the broader political debate, it only has violence, and hence is widely reviled.
Al Qaeda, both bin Laden and Zarqawi, seem to be focusing a great deal of time and resources on staying visible and talking to their followers or potential followers. No longer does one wait a month or two to heard the latest AQ take on events. The symbols in the videos, as others have pointed out, such as the display of U.S. weapons, MANPADS etc., are not happenstance. They are carefully thought out to send particular messages.
The advantage is that it gives those outside the organization a window to help decifer and analyze what is said, how it is said etc. But the huge disadvantage is that every time they show up in public, the largest message is simply that they have avoided capture by the United States.
The instant dismissal of the appearances by some in government, saying they are displays of desperation or a lack of cohesion, is wrong and dangerous. It shows, more than anything else, the enemy has a functioning propganda arm that is effective and extremely active. By simply showing up on the website or on al Jazeera, bin Laden, Zarqawi and other terrorist leaders powerfully remind people they still are there, still fighting and still able to show their faces.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Monday December 18, 2006
An Outspoken Congresswoman is Blocked From Travel
Rep. Sue Kelly, R-NY, an outspoken critic of Saudi practices of funding radical Islamist teachings and one of the Congressional leaders focusing on terror finance issues, had her State Department approval for an exchange program trip to Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates yanked at the last minute. Niles Latham at the New York Post broke the story yesterday, but it has mostly been ignored elsewhere.
It is a passing strange since Kelly had asked for and received State Department approval to attend a similar conference the year before, which she did. Other Congressmen were granted permission to go to Qatar as part of the State Department exchange program. Kelly's office had alerted the State Department of her plans in February and planned an itinerary with Department personnel. Less than 48 hours before the trip, State Department lawyers told her the trip no longer met the criteria for approval.
Kelly had several strikes against her, despite being a Republican in a Republican administration because she has consistently placed terrorism issues at the center of bilateral and multilateral relations with nations in the Gulf region. It is uncomfortable for some, especially in the wake of the UAE ports debacle, but necessary. It would be criminal if the United States started censoring members of Congress the administration or Department of State did not agree with.
In addition to holding the Saudi kingdom's feet to the fire on their ficticious establishment of a functioning Financial Intelligence Unit and pressing for the UAE to finally crack down on the illegal flights of arms merchant Viktor Bout, Kelly has been quietly leading another fight that may have angered the State Department.
She had been pressuring the State Department and others to pressure Qatar to get rid of Interior Minister Abdullah bin Khalid al Thani, who reportedly befriended both Osama bin Laden and 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He features somewhat prominently in the 9-11 Commission report.
This is something few want to address. The U.S. needs the military facilities loaned by Qatar.But it would be useful if, from time to time, these royal regimes were reminded that someone is actually trying to pay attention to those in their governments that might have ties to the enemy.
Below is a short open source summary of al-Thani's relationship with al Qaeda and its leaders.
Abdallah al-Thani
Since Operation Bojinka was uncovered in the Philippines (see January 6, 1995), nearly all of the plot's major planners, including Ramzi Yousef, are found and arrested. The one exception is 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He flees to Qatar in the Persian Gulf, where he lives openly using his real name, enjoying the patronage of Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, Qatar's Interior Minister and a member of the royal family. [ABC News, 2/7/03]
In January 1996, he is indicted in the US for his role in the 1993 WTC bombing, and in the same month, the US determines his location in Qatar. FBI Director Louis Freeh sends a letter to the Qatari government asking for permission to send a team after him. [Los Angeles Times, 12/22/02]
One of Freeh's diplomatic notes states that Mohammed was involved in a conspiracy to "bomb US airliners" and is believed to be "in the process of manufacturing an explosive device."
[New Yorker, 5/27/02]
Qatar confirms that Mohammed is there and is making explosives, but they delay handing him over. After waiting several months, a high-level meeting takes place in Washington to consider a commando raid to seize him. However, the raid is deemed too risky, and another letter is sent to the Qatari government instead. One person at the meeting later states, "If we had gone in and nabbed this guy, or just cut his head off, the Qatari government would not have complained a bit. Everyone around the table for their own reasons refused to go after someone who fundamentally threatened American interests..." [Los Angeles Times, 12/22/02]
Around May 1996, Mohammed's patron, Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, makes sure that Mohammed and four others are given blank passports and a chance to escape. Qatar's police chief later says the other men include Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Atef, al-Qaeda's number two and number three leaders, respectively. [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/02; ABC News, 2/7/03] Bin Laden twice visits al-Thani in Qatar. [ABC News, 2/7/03; New York Times, 6/8/02]
It is a passing strange since Kelly had asked for and received State Department approval to attend a similar conference the year before, which she did. Other Congressmen were granted permission to go to Qatar as part of the State Department exchange program. Kelly's office had alerted the State Department of her plans in February and planned an itinerary with Department personnel. Less than 48 hours before the trip, State Department lawyers told her the trip no longer met the criteria for approval.
Kelly had several strikes against her, despite being a Republican in a Republican administration because she has consistently placed terrorism issues at the center of bilateral and multilateral relations with nations in the Gulf region. It is uncomfortable for some, especially in the wake of the UAE ports debacle, but necessary. It would be criminal if the United States started censoring members of Congress the administration or Department of State did not agree with.
In addition to holding the Saudi kingdom's feet to the fire on their ficticious establishment of a functioning Financial Intelligence Unit and pressing for the UAE to finally crack down on the illegal flights of arms merchant Viktor Bout, Kelly has been quietly leading another fight that may have angered the State Department.
She had been pressuring the State Department and others to pressure Qatar to get rid of Interior Minister Abdullah bin Khalid al Thani, who reportedly befriended both Osama bin Laden and 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He features somewhat prominently in the 9-11 Commission report.
This is something few want to address. The U.S. needs the military facilities loaned by Qatar.But it would be useful if, from time to time, these royal regimes were reminded that someone is actually trying to pay attention to those in their governments that might have ties to the enemy.
Below is a short open source summary of al-Thani's relationship with al Qaeda and its leaders.
Abdallah al-Thani
Since Operation Bojinka was uncovered in the Philippines (see January 6, 1995), nearly all of the plot's major planners, including Ramzi Yousef, are found and arrested. The one exception is 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He flees to Qatar in the Persian Gulf, where he lives openly using his real name, enjoying the patronage of Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, Qatar's Interior Minister and a member of the royal family. [ABC News, 2/7/03]
In January 1996, he is indicted in the US for his role in the 1993 WTC bombing, and in the same month, the US determines his location in Qatar. FBI Director Louis Freeh sends a letter to the Qatari government asking for permission to send a team after him. [Los Angeles Times, 12/22/02]
One of Freeh's diplomatic notes states that Mohammed was involved in a conspiracy to "bomb US airliners" and is believed to be "in the process of manufacturing an explosive device."
[New Yorker, 5/27/02]
Qatar confirms that Mohammed is there and is making explosives, but they delay handing him over. After waiting several months, a high-level meeting takes place in Washington to consider a commando raid to seize him. However, the raid is deemed too risky, and another letter is sent to the Qatari government instead. One person at the meeting later states, "If we had gone in and nabbed this guy, or just cut his head off, the Qatari government would not have complained a bit. Everyone around the table for their own reasons refused to go after someone who fundamentally threatened American interests..." [Los Angeles Times, 12/22/02]
Around May 1996, Mohammed's patron, Abdallah bin Khalid al-Thani, makes sure that Mohammed and four others are given blank passports and a chance to escape. Qatar's police chief later says the other men include Ayman al-Zawahiri and Mohammed Atef, al-Qaeda's number two and number three leaders, respectively. [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/02; ABC News, 2/7/03] Bin Laden twice visits al-Thani in Qatar. [ABC News, 2/7/03; New York Times, 6/8/02]
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
The Diamond Smuggling Goes On
Russian authorities in Moscow's Domodedovo airport this week arrested a Russian national carried 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) of diamonds strapped to his body, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. The unidentified man was traveling from Dubai. It was reported to be the largest confiscation of diamonds ever.
It is interesting that the diamonds come from Dubai, one of the most rapidly growing diamond cutting and sales centers in the world. In light of the ties between al Qaeda and diamonds in the past, this development should be closely watched.
Dubai is a center of the world gold trade and has one of the least regulated financial centers in the world. It is, according to its own literature, actively seeking to draw in diamond dealers from Africa.
This is the latest in a series of diamond and jewelry heists and smuggling actions that point to the value and ease of using the stones for criminal and/or terrorist activities.
On December 13, 2005, three Serbian nationals were indicted in
Belgrade on charges that they stole jewelry worth some $30 million. The three Serb nationals and a British national who
is the subject of an Interpol red notice, are accused of committing the major heist in the Ginza shopping district in March of that is year. The operation was carried out in broad daylight.
Diamonds are valuable as currency for numerous reasons. They are easy to transport, easy to sell and retain their value over time. They do not rot and do not need to be held in special conditions. Al Qaeda, as I have written about extensively, has a long history of using diamonds and pursuing diamond deals. It will be interesting to see if there is a real investigation into this latest batch of hot ice.
It is interesting that the diamonds come from Dubai, one of the most rapidly growing diamond cutting and sales centers in the world. In light of the ties between al Qaeda and diamonds in the past, this development should be closely watched.
Dubai is a center of the world gold trade and has one of the least regulated financial centers in the world. It is, according to its own literature, actively seeking to draw in diamond dealers from Africa.
This is the latest in a series of diamond and jewelry heists and smuggling actions that point to the value and ease of using the stones for criminal and/or terrorist activities.
On December 13, 2005, three Serbian nationals were indicted in
Belgrade on charges that they stole jewelry worth some $30 million. The three Serb nationals and a British national who
is the subject of an Interpol red notice, are accused of committing the major heist in the Ginza shopping district in March of that is year. The operation was carried out in broad daylight.
Diamonds are valuable as currency for numerous reasons. They are easy to transport, easy to sell and retain their value over time. They do not rot and do not need to be held in special conditions. Al Qaeda, as I have written about extensively, has a long history of using diamonds and pursuing diamond deals. It will be interesting to see if there is a real investigation into this latest batch of hot ice.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
ARY Gold and Terrorist Finance
In early 2002 I wrote a story in the Washington Post outlining the role Dubai-based ARY Gold had in helping the Taliban and al Qaeda move their assets out of Afghanistan before U.S. troops took control. The leader of ARY Gold, Abdul Razzak, threatened to sue me, but the story prompted a multinational investigation into the company and the use of gold and other commodities by terrorists and transnational criminal organizations.
Because the investigation was highly classified after it was underway, I have heard little of it in recent years. But now the Asia Timesbrings news of new developments in the case. The most interesting is tying ARY and Razzak to financial network of A.Q. Kahn, the Pakistani nuclear scientist who sold nuclear secrets and technology to Libya, North Korea, Iran and others.
On Aug. 30, 2005, ARY's status as an associate member of the London Bullion Market Association was revoked. Razzak's group of ARY companies (ARY are the initials of its owner, Abdul Razzak Yacoub, and most of his companies use the name in some form) are under investigation for large-scale money laundering and the operation of illegal _hawalas_, or money transfer systems.
Razzak is a leader of the _Memons_, the descendants of low-caste Hindus in Pakistan who converted to Islam many years ago. The _Memons_ are known as businessmen. Among them and "closely connected" to Razzak is Iqbal Memon, also known as Iqbal Mirchi, who is the right-hand man of Dawood Ibrahim, one of the most wanted criminals in the world. Ibrahim is also closely associated with financing radical Islamists, and in 2003 was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a supporter of terorism for his ties to al Qaeda.
Investigators told Asia Times that it is now up to the authorities of Dubai to take further action. This is not likely, but would be a good barometer of Dubai's seriousness in combatting terror finance.
Razzak bragged to me that his ties to the Dubai ruling elite were so close that he was the first, and one of only a few, foreigners to be allowed to own his own building in Dubai. Given the promises of the UAE to take terror finance seriously, the ARY-Razzak case would be a good benchmark to measure success or failure.
Because the investigation was highly classified after it was underway, I have heard little of it in recent years. But now the Asia Timesbrings news of new developments in the case. The most interesting is tying ARY and Razzak to financial network of A.Q. Kahn, the Pakistani nuclear scientist who sold nuclear secrets and technology to Libya, North Korea, Iran and others.
On Aug. 30, 2005, ARY's status as an associate member of the London Bullion Market Association was revoked. Razzak's group of ARY companies (ARY are the initials of its owner, Abdul Razzak Yacoub, and most of his companies use the name in some form) are under investigation for large-scale money laundering and the operation of illegal _hawalas_, or money transfer systems.
Razzak is a leader of the _Memons_, the descendants of low-caste Hindus in Pakistan who converted to Islam many years ago. The _Memons_ are known as businessmen. Among them and "closely connected" to Razzak is Iqbal Memon, also known as Iqbal Mirchi, who is the right-hand man of Dawood Ibrahim, one of the most wanted criminals in the world. Ibrahim is also closely associated with financing radical Islamists, and in 2003 was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department as a supporter of terorism for his ties to al Qaeda.
Investigators told Asia Times that it is now up to the authorities of Dubai to take further action. This is not likely, but would be a good barometer of Dubai's seriousness in combatting terror finance.
Razzak bragged to me that his ties to the Dubai ruling elite were so close that he was the first, and one of only a few, foreigners to be allowed to own his own building in Dubai. Given the promises of the UAE to take terror finance seriously, the ARY-Razzak case would be a good benchmark to measure success or failure.
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH
Tuesday December 19, 2006
How Does This Happen?
Senior Counterterrorism officials in several agencies are baffled by a little-noticed development last month: The State Department sent its head of counterterrorism, Ambassador Hank Crumpton, to be the keynote speaker at a conference co-sponosored by the International Institute for Islamic Thought (IIIT). Not only that, as FrontPageMagazine reports, the Pentagon footed the bill for most of the conference.
That is the same institution under investigation by prosecutors in Northern Virginia Safa case. And the main organization supported by Prof. Sami al-Arian, who just reached a plea agreement with prosecutors to admit engaging in a conspiracy to support the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated terrorist organization. Al Arian will likely be sentenced to time served and deported. PIJ just sent a suicide bomber to Israel yesterday, killing at least nine civilians. Not the first PIJ attack, and certainly not the last.
Al Arian's relationship to IIIT was not a passing one. In one letter, IIIT co-founder Taha Jaberl al-Alwani wrote that al Arian is "a part of us and an extension of us." IIIT is an intergral part of the Safa network, the group of Northern Virginia businesses, charities and think tanks that were all run out of one office and shared the same address, run by a group of men with long standing ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and its international financier, Yousef Nada.
This type of sponsorship of groups under investigation and with ties to radical Islamist groups cripples other Muslim groups and legitimizes some of the worst actors on the Muslim scene, both here and abroad. The constant outreach by FBI, DOJ and State to groups such as CAIR, IIIT and others gives undue legitimacy to groups that, at best, are questionable in their behavior and worst sympathetic to Islamist radicalism.
The legitimacy feeds on itself. If the FBI meets with them, despite ongoing investigations and questionable past activities, then the White House will meet with them. After all, the FBI must have cleared them. If the White House meets with them, then surely the State Department can too. And on it goes, crowding out the other voices of Islam that cry out to be heard and are ignored.
The worst thing, if FrontPage is right, is that the State Department and DOD knew of the IIIT ties to the conference and chose to go ahead. As Joel Mowbray wrote, "IIIT must feel very lucky. On the heels of the terror trial of a man it bankrolled, the two biggest power centers in government are working to rehabilitate IIIT's repuation."
That is the same institution under investigation by prosecutors in Northern Virginia Safa case. And the main organization supported by Prof. Sami al-Arian, who just reached a plea agreement with prosecutors to admit engaging in a conspiracy to support the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), a designated terrorist organization. Al Arian will likely be sentenced to time served and deported. PIJ just sent a suicide bomber to Israel yesterday, killing at least nine civilians. Not the first PIJ attack, and certainly not the last.
Al Arian's relationship to IIIT was not a passing one. In one letter, IIIT co-founder Taha Jaberl al-Alwani wrote that al Arian is "a part of us and an extension of us." IIIT is an intergral part of the Safa network, the group of Northern Virginia businesses, charities and think tanks that were all run out of one office and shared the same address, run by a group of men with long standing ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and its international financier, Yousef Nada.
This type of sponsorship of groups under investigation and with ties to radical Islamist groups cripples other Muslim groups and legitimizes some of the worst actors on the Muslim scene, both here and abroad. The constant outreach by FBI, DOJ and State to groups such as CAIR, IIIT and others gives undue legitimacy to groups that, at best, are questionable in their behavior and worst sympathetic to Islamist radicalism.
The legitimacy feeds on itself. If the FBI meets with them, despite ongoing investigations and questionable past activities, then the White House will meet with them. After all, the FBI must have cleared them. If the White House meets with them, then surely the State Department can too. And on it goes, crowding out the other voices of Islam that cry out to be heard and are ignored.
The worst thing, if FrontPage is right, is that the State Department and DOD knew of the IIIT ties to the conference and chose to go ahead. As Joel Mowbray wrote, "IIIT must feel very lucky. On the heels of the terror trial of a man it bankrolled, the two biggest power centers in government are working to rehabilitate IIIT's repuation."
POSTED BY DOUGLAS FARAH