Video still of al-Qaeda spokesperson Adam Gadahn speaking in 2008. [Ho New/Reuters]
Al-Shorfa is publishing excerpts from 17 documents discovered during the Abbottabad raid in Pakistan that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The documents consist of electronic letters or draft letters written between September 2006 and April 2011, authored by bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders.
Some of the letters highlight the tense relationship between some al-Qaeda leaders and their regional affiliates and allies. Many leaders were displeased with the actions of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the Pakistan Taliban.
The documents also show significant divergence between al-Qaeda's leadership and the forces on the ground over the targeting of civilians and waging war against local targets.
In a letter addressed to an unidentified recipient in late January 2011, Adam Gadahn, an al-Qaeda spokesman and media advisor, criticised the tactics of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Pakistani Taliban and advocated for al-Qaeda to publicly dissociate itself from both groups.
Commenting on the attack on a Baghdad church in 2010 by the Islamic State of Iraq, Gadahn wrote:
Praise to God, where is the stand of the Islamic State of Iraq on Christians, from the stand of sheikh Osama in his speech (The Solution) three years ago?
Strange, I swear the conflict between the statements of our leaders and scholars, and the acts of those allied with them, or you may say: those claiming to follow them!
I do not see any obstacle or bad act if the al-Qaeda organisation declares its discontent with this behaviour and other behaviours being carried out by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq without an order from al-Qaeda and without consultation from al-Qaeda leadership… and that their independent decision has caused a split in the mujahideen ranks and their supporters inside and outside Iraq.
This is the only solution facing the al-Qaeda organisation, otherwise its reputation will be damaged more and more as a result of the acts and statements of this group, which is labelled under our organisation (the blessed with God's will).
And among the repulsive issues -- and certainly forbidden -- are the targeting of mosques with explosives and other, such as what is happening in Afghanistan and Pakistan and sometimes in Iraq. We still need to clarify our justifications to the Muslims before we clarify it to the Europeans…
Gadahn mentioned a long list of attacks the Pakistani Taliban committed against civilian targets and mosques and attacks by al-Shabaab in Somalia that killed doctors who were graduating from medical school in Mogadishu.
This is a drop from a flood, and a little from plenty, as I have tried to concentrate on events that I am sure are truly attributed to the mujahideen and those who are allied with them, or events that I believe are truly attributable. Otherwise the list is quite long; also, I did not talk about events related to robbery, kidnapping and other crimes committed by those corruptors.
It is known that taking over of mosques and spilling the (blood) of innocents was known through history to be associated with the worst groups and individuals…
Now, the people famous for such acts are those associated with jihad and the mujahideen, like the Hamas movement and the Taliban movement in Pakistan and Afghanistan!
I have no doubt that what is happening to the jihadist movement in these countries is not misfortune, but punishment by God against us because of our sins and injustices, or because the sins of some of us and the silence of the rest of us…
In a section devoted to al-Qaeda's media strategy on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, Gadahn called on bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to reach out to international journalists to "explain our mission in their newspapers and channels" and not to rely exclusively on Al-Jazeera and "repulsive" jihadist forums.
To rely only on Al-Jazeera and the jihadist forums on the internet is not useful. Al-Jazeera seems to impose conditions like other channels, agencies and papers to cover al-Qaeda announcements, namely to include a threat or to claim responsibility for an act. As for the messages of diplomatic tone, like the sheikh's two messages about the flooding [in Pakistan], is [deemed] unsuitable for publication in their media, as this is an aspect of al-Qaeda [they believe] should not be exposed to people.
As for the jihadist forums, it is repulsive to most of the Muslims, or closed to them. It also distorts the face of al-Qaeda, based upon what you know about bigotry and the sharp tone that characterises most of the participants in these forums. It is also biased towards (Salafists) and not any Salafist, but the Jihadi Salafist. Salafism is but one trend among the Muslims trends, and Jihadi Salafism is a small trend within a small trend!
Gadahn also called for bin Laden to make a public appearance to "raise the morale" of the jihadists.
We should also not forget the mujahideen brothers on the front who are passing through crucial times and facing disaster after disaster. They also will be happy to see the sheikh again. His appearance will raise their morale with the help of God. I would think that it is suitable for the sheikh to deliver a video address to the mujahideen in all the arenas, consoling, urging them to endure, confirming their steps and guiding them.
See also: Bin Laden documents reveal tension between al-Qaeda and its affiliates
ADD A COMMENT (COMMENT POLICY) * DENOTES REQUIRED FIELD
READER COMMENTS
ابو بكر عماد
2012-7-27
I confirm that the end of Al-Qaeda has not come yet and even after the death of Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda’s thought, its method of work and its strategies do not end with the demise of its leaders. Perhaps it would become more active in search of revenge or it may evolve its style and its retaliation after the killing of a new leader similar to the killing of the last leader of Al-Qaeda, Abu Yahya al Libi, the last murdered leaders by an American attack that targeted him and led to his killing. This increases the impact on Al-Qaeda itself, but rather in terms of weakening it, putting it out or being with the worst which reflects the idea of the United Nations that killing more of Al-Qaeda leaders increases the operations and the quest to avenge them as happening in the websites. They urge revenge in order to avenge for all the leaders who have been killed and they will seek to spread chaos for them.
هشام كاظم
2012-7-26
If there is blame, it should be upon us, the Arabs, as governments and homes rather than those oppressors and tyrants. We cannot blame the dogs if they harmed a person, but such a person is blameworthy for allowing this attack against him. A weak coward is much worse than the brave, yet weak, person is. That is because the courage releases the power in the human soul. This is the time for the Arabs to be united in the face of any aggression.
[email protected]
2012-7-26
O God!
نعيم العتبي
2012-7-26
Every person that incites others to kill peaceful people is a disbeliever by God's command, regardless of belonging to a group or a party.
يوسف سرحان
2012-7-24
The death of bin Laden is not likely to mark the end of violence and terrorism of his organization. It may even lead to an escalation in order to take revenge. However, his death would certainly represent a real moral setback to al-Qaeda members. In fact, this organization is directly linked, since its inception, to some Arabs who took part in the Afghan jihad. Bin Laden was the only commander in chief of al-Qaeda. Therefore, none could possibly replace him as a leader. In other words, he will never have a real successor. The death of bin Laden greatly impacted al-Qaeda since he was the spiritual father of the other members. Bin laden was also the leader, the mastermind and the savior of the other members. They depended on him in everything till he died. Nevertheless, this does not mean that al-Qaeda has become vulnerable. This organization lost a “great” man who was an intelligent mastermind. His death has weakened al-Qaeda.
جميل
2012-7-23
For Afghanistan, Pakistan and all these countries, what we see is that the movement of Taliban is the strongest and most visible, not Al-Qaeda. Even some American officials and experts have talked and have said that the number of the members and the affiliated to the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan was more than some hundreds. During the recent period, we have witnessed an escalation in the move of the Taliban movement in all the countries, especially in the Arabic and Islamic countries. There is talk of many Iranian, Pakistani, Afghan, and American attempts, and that they cannot and are unable to reach a military solution in Afghanistan only. There must be profound political solutions, but only with the moderate and mature forces among the Taliban.
سعيد جمال
2012-7-20
The Taliban movement has split from al-Qaeda. They are separated at present. This separation is attributable to the severe disagreement between the Afghani movement and al-Qaeda. In fact, this disagreement goes back to the beginning of the liberation of Afghanistan from the Soviets. The great controversy was over the globalization of the objectives, the fundamentals and the methods of al-Qaeda. The Taliban movement was seeking the liberalization and development of Afghanistan and the transition of power from the military. Thus, the dispute was clear even as early as the beginning of the preparations for the military operations and war against the peacekeepers and U.S. Forces. However, al-Qaeda's defamatory organization sought to take advantage of the current unrest in many Arab countries in order to revitalize and renew its ambitions at the regional level through national policies. In fact, the aspirations of the Arabs turned to be mere illusions in the wake of the Arab revolts. Some of these revolts were doomed to utter failure. Thus, the social and political atmosphere seems to be in favor of the rise of the Islamic trends, except for al-Qaeda members. There is a reasonable possibility to see the Islamic trends succeed to power in a well organized way in order to fill the political vacuum.
عراقي
2012-7-19
I salute this attack and applaud it, because it exposes the "non Islamic state of Iraq" group, which has done crimes against Islam, the Koran, the prophet and the blood of people.
احمد زكريا المليجي
2012-7-10
The stick (punishment) to the disobedient, Mr. President! Abu Said!
احمد زكريا المليجي
2012-7-10
May God help you, O president, and give you strength over tyranny!
نوح
2012-7-8
The threat from the terrorism, which the world nowadays is witnessing, gives the right to any country that gets rid of it to celebrate, since terrorism causes the destruction of any country. One of the most important graces for the humans is the boon of security. If it is nullified, everything else will disappear. Humans cannot be creative or enjoy anything when they are unsafe. Therefore, it was our duty to congratulate and to applaud the Iraqi Forces for their great efforts to eliminate terrorism, to achieve the country’s interests and to provide the citizens with security. The achievement of security is an accomplishment in itself. Since the brutal American Forces’ occupation of Iraq and the spread of terrorism as well as the disappearance of security, Iraq has been bleeding from massive terrorism and the lack of security. However, the Iraqi Forces, which lost their cohesion at the start, returned to cohere with the passage of time until they triumphed over this brute force called terrorism. Thus, this achievement is credited in favor of the valiant struggling Iraqi troops because the response to terrorism and the achievement of security and safety for the citizens are part of the most important necessities for any person’s life. Is it possible for a person to live in a place wherein he cannot feel safe from himself, his wife, his sons, or his daughters? He does not know whether he will be back if he goes out and he does not know if his sons, when they are out late, will be killed or not. It is a life without security. It is a tragedy. However, what is more important than victory against terrorism is to fight it continuously and that we use the media, the television, and the radio programs to alert the Iraqi people, and make them aware of the threat of terrorism to the country and the citizens.
ابو ماجد
2012-7-5
Whoever trusts God, God makes a way out for him!
محمد الغريب@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
2012-7-5
May God lead the Egyptian people to faith! I pray to you, God, not to make them fight each other. I pray to you to give us victory over our oppressors!
ياسمين الشبراوي
2012-7-5
May God protect Egypt and the people in it. Yasmin al-Shabrawy, Jordan!
نورالدين الفكي خلف الله
2012-7-4
President Mursi won unanimously. He has the right to pass new laws and cancel other laws, in order for Egypt to rise and progress towards the better!
محمود محمد كمال
2012-7-4
God help Dr. Morsi and enable him to achieve the goals of the Revolution, and elevate and develop Egypt, so it will be among the developed countries!
حيدر علي
2012-7-4
How can I watch Al Jazeera on my own computer?
مصرى
2012-7-4
We all witnessed the ferocious attack against Islam in Egypt these days. God elevate Islam!
مصرية
2012-7-4
Egypt is above all! God will protect and elevate Egypt over her enemies, and preserve it! Amen.
; محمود tuger
2012-7-4
May God lead Egypt to the best!
tetocabo
2012-7-1
Congratulations, Morsi!
يتحسس الجواسيس
2012-7-1
How much do the Americans pay you?
باسم جمال الجناينى
2012-6-30
O God, spare the following days.
منصور
2012-6-30
Mohamed Morsi is the President of Egypt now.
حسين عبدالنبى عثمان
2012-6-29
I ask God to crant us a reformer as ruler.
ابراهيم
2012-6-29
May God bless you, Dr. Morsi, and make you a blessing for Egypt and its people.
هشام صادق
2012-6-29
May God help all who do well.
مصطفي غريب
2012-6-29
O Almighty God! Help Mohamed Morsi to reform the nation!
محمود حسين
2012-6-29
2012-6-21 O God, the land is your land, the creation is your creation and no one rules in Your sovereignty except by Your will. O God, give authority to the best of your creation so that You become satisfied with us, O Generous One!
حسام
2012-6-28
May God protect Egypt from what will happen in the presidential Palace! Morsi, do not live in the Palace!
محمودعبده محمود عدلي
2012-6-27
My fellow citizen, Saturday will be a joyful day! You will wake up to see that Dr. Mohamed Mursi has won the presidential elections.
محمد حامد
2012-6-27
God willing, Morsi will win. God willing!
ابوحامد الجامد
2012-6-27
Will Morsi compensate us for what was lost? Everything except the blood of the martyrs!
محمد حامد
2012-6-27
O God, make Morsi win. O God, make Morsi win! OK, Morsi won. I hope he does something good for the country!
عمار العراقي
2012-6-27
Congratulations to my beloved people in God, my Egyptian brothers, on the victory of Mohamed Morsi!
محمود السعيد
2012-6-27
We are against the military ruling! Down with the ruling of Murshid, i.e. the Muslim Brotherhood leader! Egypt will only be rules by its people.
غريب
2012-6-25
O what a loss for the beloved Iraq! May God make it end well! O Lord!
محمد
2012-6-23
A great match!
أبو حسام
2012-6-23
May God give you peace of mind!
علاء ا لعدل
2012-6-23
You misleading, Egyptian media…Stop the hypocrisy!! We are fed up with watching you and your lies.
الاسكندرانى
2012-6-22
May God put the best in authority!
محمد عباس
2012-6-22
Morsi's friends!
احمد
2012-6-22
Ahmed Shafeek is the president of Egypt, God willing; no one else!
عاطف سمير
2012-6-22
Everyone must be aware that God created human beings because He loves them all. He created us in His image… We must learn love, charity and patience from God. We must help others as much as we can, regardless of their religion, color, language, race, or beliefs, because God loves all people, and wants all of them to be loyal and to walk in the right path…We must repent of our sins and go back, walk in the path of light and stay away from darkness. All who walk in darkness are with the devil and his associates. Eternal torture is the destiny of everyone who walks in darkness, where the fire is everlasting and the worm never dies…So we must save ourselves from the evil world; we must know Jesus, because he is the only savior.
الملك العقرب
2012-6-21
Fellows! What flag, Morsi, Shafiq? May God bring one who will bring reforms and let these days pass safely! You see what is being done by Ethiopia? They are building a damn on the Nile River! You are expecting hard days! Stay in Tahrir.
محمد لطفى
2012-6-21
Down with the military rule! Egypt is a country, not a camp!
فتحى عبده
2012-6-21
Egypt has had enough! May God protect Egypt in the coming days!
محمد مبروك
2012-6-21
You Egyptians, fear God and beware of strife.
عماد ماهر
2012-6-21
O God, make us prevail over our enemies.
عبدالفتاح عبدالمنعم عبدالفتاح
2012-6-21
O God, the land is yours, the creatures are yours and no one rules without your permission. O God, may the best of your creatures rule so we could deserve your blessing.
لميس
2012-6-21
Guys, all of us have to calm down for Egypt.
عبدة حسن
2012-6-20
O Lord, let Mohamed Morsi win! With love, we support Mohamed Morsi! Abdu Hassan, al-Sharqiyah Governorate!
محمود الحطاب
2012-6-20
I want Dr. Morsi, Mahmoud from al-Mansoura! God is the Arbiter of success!
الجوكر
2012-6-20
I love Egypt. May God clothe the best one with authority! O Lord, make Colonel Ahmed Shafiq win! Abu Zaid, the Joker.
ابو لؤا
2012-6-20
God willing, the free Egypt will remain well.
اسلام عبد النبى
2012-6-19
Abu Islam Abdel Nabi, from Beni Suwaif. My heart is with you Egypt, I support you Mursi and support all those who want to develop this country.
محمودسعد
2012-6-19
I don't support Mohamed Morsi a president of Egypt. What is the result of elections until now?
[email protected]
2012-6-19
God willing, Morsi!
محمود المصري
2012-6-19
By the will of God, the Lord of Majesty… Muhammad Morsi will win!
مراد
2012-6-19
God willing, the rebels of Syria will have victory over the tyrant!
روضة
2012-6-18
This is beautiful, al-Jazeera. May God bless you! My name is Rawdah. If you want to enter Paradise, read my message, for God's sake! You sweet channel!
عمار من الجيزة
2012-6-17
O Lord, I hope Muhammad Morsi wins! I support him!
مصطفى
2012-6-17
We support Lieutenant General Ahmed Shafiq. Mustafa al-Shaer, Abu Zaabal!
jskl
2012-6-16
I thank al-Jazeera Channel very, very, very much. Thank you!
احمد علي
2012-6-16
The offense against Islam is committed by al-Qaeda and their outrageous actions, in the first place. Al-Qaeda is fighting other groups in Iraq and executing them, because they did not give their allegiance to their alleged country. Now, their truth is revealed for ahl al-Sunnah wal Jamma'ah through their strong link to Iran……
احمد عبد الرحمن
2012-6-16
I hope we make our slogan: “We are not going to vote for Mursi; we are going to make Shafiq fail!” Down with the remnants of the former regime!
ahmed
2012-6-16
May God protect Egypt with you, Morsi!
نورا
2012-6-16
I am for Shafiq, God willing! May God give him success!
ابومحمود
2012-6-15
O God, give the ruling to a good person!
صبحى زهره
2012-6-14
I refuse both of them, Shafiq and Morsi!
اركان الدليمي
2012-6-13
What is this nonsense? People go in this direction and others go in the opposite one? I just want to say one thing: I denounce oppressors
nada kelany
2012-6-3
We support Dr. Muhammad Mursi. Ahemd Kilany from al-Sharqyah.
يوسف احمد عبد القادر
2012-5-31
I am with you, Egypt!
عربي مسلم
2012-5-31
May God never bless them! Those are criminals! May God punish them! They are a despicable minority that declares 2 billion Muslims as infidels!
ملاك محمد
2012-5-22
Flag* Flag* Ali* Mursi, by the Will of God, will win/ Fatimah Mahmoud* Alexandria
ياسر سهيل
2012-5-22
You said, and your words are true, call me and I will respond to you. Here we are, calling you as you ordered us; respond to us as You promised and do not disappoint us of your mercy and favor, O Lord of the universe, and prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and all praise be to Allah. O Allah Amen, O Allah Amen. Here is America, coming with its army and holding the tyrannical slogan, I am your Lord. O Allah, You are the highest, there is no God but you; grant us the victory that you promised. O Allah, scatter them and throw fear into their hearts. O Allah, kill them and do not leave any one of them.
صادق نوري
2012-5-20
These terrorist movements wage a relentless war on the Muslims. Let us consider Afghanistan, which is one of the states that suffer terribly because of the crimes of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, which left thousands of the victims every year. Have not they asked themselves about the suffering of the citizen who suffers from the lack of services and facilities? Have not they seen the humiliation that the citizen suffers at the hands of the governments? Have not they realized the pains of the children who suffer from diseases due to the lack of free medical services? Iraq suffers from many factors of torment and they are satisfied but they just want to be relieved from the crimes of the terrorist movements that destroy everything including properties, souls, and public facilities. Likewise, Somalia suffers from the acts of the branch of al-Qaeda there, al-Shabaab. The people in this state suffer from the acts of this terrorist movement, which demolished the facilities and killed the innocents. They destroyed the country and made it sink into a bloodbath. If they had really adopted Islam, they would not have killed or robbed the Muslims. If they are Muslims, then why do they steal when they know that theft is prohibited in Islam? They must execute the religious penalties against themselves first if they are true Muslims rather than executing them against the others. However, they are too cowardly to put themselves in this situation, because they consider that they have purified their works from the mean acts as if they are prophets. May God curse them. If we went to Afghanistan and Pakistan, we will find that they suffer from severe social problems because of the behavior of the Taliban, which is the main wing of Al-Qaeda and which applies the religious penalties against the Muslims and the non-Muslims. O God! Mislead them because of what they did to us and to our brothers and have mercy upon our martyrs.