The latest issue of Inspire, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s English-language propaganda magazine that is marketed to Westerners, has excerpted from a report written at The Long War Journal on March 1, 2013. The LWJ report discussed an article that was authored by Adam Gadahn, the American propagandist who worked for al Qaeda’s central command and is believed to be based in Pakistan. Inspire published the excerpt, and headlined a quote from it, on page 7 in the ‘Inspire Reactions – Government and Media’ section.
In case you cannot read the text from screen print of the page above (the copy of Inspire was provided by the SITE Intelligence Group), the excerpted portion is reproduced below. It is not clear if AQAP is citing the LWJ report, which noted that AQAP is still connected to al Qaeda’s “core,” approvingly or disapprovingly.
The release of the latest edition of Inspire shows that al Qaeda’s core in Pakistan is not cut off from its affiliates, and that AQAP retains the ability to produce the magazine despite the loss of two Americans who were thought to be important to its continuation.
AQAP touted Gadahn’s article as an “exclusive,” which means the group was either able to contact Gadahn to solicit and receive it, or that Gadahn contacted the publishers of Inspire to offer the article. Gadahn is believed to be based in Pakistan and is known to work with As Sahab, al Qaeda’s primary propaganda production outfit. He also releases propaganda via As Sahab on occasion.
The Obama administration has claimed that al Qaeda’s “core” leadership cadre in Pakistan is cut off and disconnected and isolated from its affiliates, and that the terror group is on the verge of defeat. But as Gadahn’s latest article and numerous propaganda tapes and communiques by al Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri and other top leaders show, the terror group is intact and capable of producing propaganda and communicating with its affiliates worldwide.
On another note, this is not the first time al Qaeda has used LWJ material in its propaganda. The first instance that we’ve detected was in 2008, when al Qaeda in Iraq used photographs taken by me in the immediate aftermath of a suicide attack on Combat Outpost Inman in Mosul on Easter Sunday [the LWJ report and photos are here and here]. In that massive blast, which tore the facades off three buildings, 13 Iraqi soldiers were killed. The attack was executed by Abdullah Salih al Ajmi, a former detainee at Guantanamo Bay. Ajmi is the first former detainee confirmed to have conducted a suicide attack against US forces [see LWJ reports, Released Guantanamo detainee behind March suicide truck bombing at Combat Outpost Inman in Mosul and Ex-Guantanamo detainee suicide bomber fought at Tora Bora].
Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
2 Comments
Well, I guess it’s true that most intel comes from open sources…
if nothing else, unlike many MSM outlets in the US, Inspire Magazine has a good ‘eye’ for sourcing reliable information(TLWJ)