Counterterrorism Blog

(Co-Editor's Note: Evan was interviewed on MSNBC about this on November 19 - watch here.)

During several recent conferences concerning extremist radicalization and the web, I have frequently commented that the Internet can often serve as a double-edged sword for terrorist organizations: while it may certainly help facilitate their recruitment and communications, the web also offers a wide interactive arena for dissent within these organizations, and it increases the likelihood of overly-talkative terrorist leaders becoming ensnared in awkward Sarah Palin-like moments -- caught in the spotlight by virtue of their own language.

Perhaps no one within the senior ranks of Al-Qaida has demonstrated this trend better than its own Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Liberated from the shackles of Al-Jazeera by Al-Qaida's access directly to the Internet, Dr. al-Zawahiri has issued dozens upon dozens of audio and video recordings over the past seven years from various hideouts presumably along the Pakistani-Afghan border. Yet, seemingly, the more recordings he has issued, the more he has dragged himself into quarreling with other jihadi leaders around the globe. In the past two years, al-Zawahiri has strongly criticized the Palestinian Hamas movement for "abandon[ing] the movement of martyrdom operations" in exchange for a tense peace with Israel. For its part, Hamas has not taken kindly to Dr. al-Zawahiri's arrogant "advice." When asked about the frequent recordings from al-Zawahiri attacking Hamas, one Hamas spokesman replied, "We do not tell Al-Dhawahry [Al-Zawahiri] what to do in Afghanistan since we are not aware of his situation...His judgments and opinions are his; but they are not correct. More importantly, we are not awaiting approval or blessing from anyone except Allah." A second voice from Hamas, Osama Hamdan, was even quoted by the official website of the Muslim Brotherhood on the matter: "Al-Zawahiri's statements and criticism towards Hamas movement have no effect on the movement's attitude... What Al-Zawahiri said isn't a criticism, it is an unjustified defamation and attack against Hamas movement and its leaders."

Nor have the Palestinians been the only ones subject to the wrath of al-Zawahiri. In recent years, as Al-Qaida's hopes for the jihad in Iraq have abruptly faded into the sunset, Dr. al-Zawahiri has published a box set of multimedia messages condemning "secular" and "nationalist" Iraqi insurgents for abandoning their Al-Qaida brethren, and ordering them to "obey" Al-Qaida's local leadership in Iraq. One can only forgive their natural skepticism at why Al-Qaida would select a Jordanian, and then an Egyptian to lead its organization inside of Iraq. Earlier this year, I asked the Sunni insurgent group known as the "Al-Rashideen Army"--an avowedly jihadi group--to explain why it had failed to acknowledge Dr. al-Zawahiri's recorded orders. A spokesman from the group responded, “There is a problem in Tibet for China—is it possible for me to prescribe the solutions for their problem? We are a people in this region for 6000 year before Christ, end[ing] with Islam, and we are fully capable of rolling and managing our own affairs. We do not need others to tell us what to do.” When I posed the same question to the Islamic Army in Iraq (IAI), the insurgents scoffed, "The statements of al-Zawahiri do not obligate us whatsoever, and the errors of Al-Qaida in regards to spilling the blood of the innocent are more numerous than can possibly be covered in a single response, statement, or interview."

Now, Dr. al-Zawahiri has begun his assault on the U.S. President-Elect -- before Barack Obama has even taken office. Clearly, Al-Qaida is seeking to undermine the surge of popularity and enthusiasm for the Obama victory that has spread throughout the developing world, and particularly in Africa -- where Al-Qaida has strong vested interests in at least two ongoing military conflicts. There certainly are ways to accomplish this -- as was demonstrated by Al-Qaida's skillful use of imagery of Barack Obama at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. However, by indulging in divisive labels such as "House Slave" or "House Negro", Dr. al-Zawahiri has strayed from being merely disrespectful into being entirely disreputable and dishonorable. By playing the race card so quickly and so brazenly, al-Zawahiri may end up causing backlash against Al-Qaida in the very constituencies he is seeking to woo. It also invites the question, how is this a legitimate criticism coming from the senior leadership of Al-Qaida, which is dominated almost solely by Arab Egyptians and Saudis? Moreover, what would Malcolm X have thought of an organization, Al-Qaida, that at one time offered a higher salary to its Arab membership than its Black African adherents? One might imagine that the financial guru responsible for overseeing this inequitable arrangement -- Egyptian national Mustafa Abu al-Yazid -- would have been punished for his bigoted actions. In fact, al-Yazid has since been promoted to the number 3 position in Al-Qaida, right behind Dr. al-Zawahiri. This is hardly the type of image that Al-Qaida would like to see proliferate in critical regions adjacent to jihadi conflict zones in Somalia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania.