Commentary on “Azzam the American’s” Diatribe
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Following every significant (or markedly different) statement or video issued by al-Qa'ida (AQ) personalities, American media and government officials grapple with myriad concerns such as whether cryptic signals were included in the message to encourage specific attacks, whether the AQ...
Re-thinking an Iran-Hizballah-al-Qa’ida Axis
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Reports that Usama bin Laden’s son, Sa’ad, has been released from “house arrest” by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) to organize “Islamist terror cells” in Syria and Lebanon should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism. Such a move...
The Alleged NYC Tunnel Plot: Preliminary Points for Consideration
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Although details of an apparent jihadi plot to bomb the Holland Tunnel, attack subways in NYC and flood Manhattan are just emerging--rendering analysis at this stage far from scientific--several points have already presented themselves that seem worthy of further exploration...
Reading between the lines of the latest bin Laden statement
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Reading between the lines of bin Laden’s recent eulogy of al-Qa’ida in Iraq’s leader, Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, several themes emerge that are worthy of analysis in an otherwise rote statement. Though not entirely novel, the manner in which these themes...
Scheuer Vs. Burke: Where do we really stand in the fight against al-Qa'ida?
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Michael Scheuer and Jason Burke last week published very different assessments of whether the West is gaining the upper-hand in the fight against the global jihad of al-Qa’ida (AQ) and its Emir, Usama bin Laden (UBL). Both authors are highly...
Bin Laden's May 2006 Statement: Not "Competition" or a "Bid for Status"
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Many expert commentaries on bin Laden’s recent spate of talkativeness assert matter-of-factly that he is seeking to regain standing lost to Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi, or is seeking to re-assert his personal relevance to the global jihad. However, both of these...
Fighting Jihad in the West
By Jeffrey Cozzens
In the wake of the release of the 7/7 inquiry reports, American analysts should take stock of how well they are applying the lessons learned by Her Majesty’s Government (and other European regimes) in dealing with our own homegrown jihadi...
On the arrest of Mustafa bin Abd al-Qadir Setmariam Nasar
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Mustafa bin Abd al-Qadir Setmariam Nasar. Despite Mustafa Setmariam Nasar’s (“Abu Mus’ab al-Suri”) arrest, which likely happened months ago, his work as one of the most important (and few) jihadi strategic thinkers of this era will continue to inspire...
The six degrees of al-Muhajiroun
By Jeffrey Cozzens
Evan Kohlmann's and Steven Emerson’s posts concerning the recent New York City demonstration of the Islamic Thinkers’ Society call to mind the involvement of other al-Muhajiroun-linked personalities in aiding and abetting the global jihad beyond the oft-discussed British suicide bombers...
Dr Brynjar Lia's "The al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus'ab al-Suri: A Profile"
By Jeffrey Cozzens
I would like to direct the readership's attention to Dr Brynjar Lia's (Norwegian Defence Research Establishment) recent contribution to the body of literature devoted to understanding jihadi strategic thought: "The al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus'ab al-Suri: A Profile." Lia's masterfully-researched work...
Engage the Muslim Brotherhood against global jihad?
By Jeffrey Cozzens
As my colleagues have indicated, the USG’s engagement of individuals and groups associated with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is highly-controversial—and rightfully so. However, in the process of weighing the merits of this engagement, we should be careful not to throw...