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Facebook Fatwa: Saudi Clerics, Wahhabi Islam and Social Media
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies has released the first-ever study of what radical Saudi Wahhabists are preaching to their followers about the United States and non-Muslims on social media sites.
Learn MoreAnalysis & Commentary - Thomas Joscelyn
The Washington Post’s Jihadist Op-Ed Contributor
In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden’s death, the Washington Post ran a four-part series by men and women who had their “lives shattered and transformed by” the terror master. One of the contributors was especially curious: former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg. more...
Did Enhanced Interrogation of the 20th Hijacker Help Identify Bin Laden’s Courier?
The exact identity of Osama bin Laden’s courier, who unwittingly led to his boss’s demise, remains to be confirmed, but CNN reports that it was a Kuwaiti known as Abu Ahmad al Kuwaiti. more...
Another Version of the Osama Bin Laden Courier Story
Yet another version of how U.S. intelligence officials identified Osama bin Laden’s courier has been published. Again, we need confirmation from intelligence officials to determine which details are true. It is not at all clear at this point how this went down. more...
Osama Bin Laden’s Death a Victory for Joint Task Force-Guantanamo
A lot of parties inside the American government, from President Obama on down, will rightly claim credit for the demise of Osama bin Laden. But one party, in particular, deserves mention because its members have been repeatedly demonized in the press: the Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO). more...
WikiLeaks: The ‘Opportunity to Martyr Himself’
Predicting which Guantanamo detainees will, or will not, become a recidivist is a tricky business. more...
WikiLeaks: Journalist, Al Qaeda Jihadist, or Both?
There are two competing versions of former Guantanamo detainee Sami al Hajj’s story. more...
WikiLeaks: The Iraq-Al Qaeda Connection Confirmed, Again
A former Guantanamo detainee “was identified as an Iraqi intelligence officer who relocated to Afghanistan (AF) in 1998 where he served as a senior Taliban Intelligence Directorate officer in Mazar-E-Sharif,” according to a recently leaked assessment written by American intelligence analysts. more...
A False Martyr
Late last year, Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr agreed to a plea deal that will require him to serve a maximum of eight years, with just one of those years in Cuba. Khadr is then set to be returned to Canada – his family’s adopted home, which they left for the Taliban and al Qaeda’s Afghanistan prior to 9/11. more...
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group Leader Ambushed by Qaddafi’s Forces
A top Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) leader was reported to have been killed in an ambush by Colonel Muammar Qaddafi's forces earlier this month. more...
Ex-Gitmo Detainee Deported From Italy to Tunisia
Italy has deported a former Guantanamo detainee who was convicted of terrorism-related charges to Tunisia. The ex-detainee, Adel Ben Mabrouk, was convicted by an Italian court after being transferred from Gitmo in 2009. more...
Supreme Court Shuts Door on Gitmo Detainees’ Appeal
On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal filed by five Uighur detainees held at Guantanamo. A D.C. District Court granted the Uighur detainees their freedom inside the U.S. A D.C. Circuit Court ruling overturned the District Court’s decision. And so the Uighurs attempted to appeal the Circuit Court’s decision. That is, they continued to seek their freedom inside the U.S. more...
The New York Times Gets Basic Facts about KSM Wrong
In its editorial denouncing the Obama administration’s decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his 9/11 co-conspirators before a military tribunal, instead of a federal court, the New York Times writes... more...
What the Obama Administration Didn’t Say About Gitmo
Yesterday, the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held a hearing on “Guantanamo Detainee Transfer Policy and Recidivism.” None of the witnesses claimed that Guantanamo is a major recruiting tool for al Qaeda. That omission is refreshing. more...
U.S. Won’t Interrogate Top Al Qaeda Terrorist
Late last month I asked, who will interrogate top al Qaeda terrorist Umar Patek? Patek, who was captured in Pakistan, is wanted for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings, among other attacks and plots. He is easily one of the most important international terrorists captured in the past few years. Indeed, Marc Thiessen argued that Patek is the “biggest terrorist catch of the Obama era.” more...
Two Former Gitmo Detainees among Afghanistan’s Most Wanted
Newsweek’s Sami Yousafzai and Ron Moreau have published a list of the “12 of the most-hunted insurgent commanders on the front lines” in Afghanistan. The list is made up “of lesser-known lieutenants who include some of the insurgency’s most important and aggressive operatives.” But one of the “dirty dozen” is former Guantanamo detainee Maulvi Abdul Rauf Khadim. more...
Al Qaeda Fighter Properly Detained at Gitmo, Court Finds
The DC Circuit Court recently affirmed a district court's decision to deny Guantanamo detainee Yasein Khasem Mohammad Esmail's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. more...
Ex-Gitmo Detainee Training Libyan Rebels in Derna
A former Guantanamo detainee who spent nearly six years in detention at Cuba is training Libyan rebels in the city of Derna, according to The Wall Street Journal's Charles Levinson. more...
Ex-Gitmo Detainee Criticizes Saudis in Latest Edition of Inspire
The fifth and latest edition of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's Inspire magazine contains an article written by Ibrahim Rubaish, a former Guantanamo detainee, who criticizes the Saudi government. more...
Still Looking for Gitmo
If Guantanamo were really one of al Qaeda’s principal recruiting tools, as President Obama and members of his administration have repeatedly claimed, then the facility would probably be referenced regularly in the terror group’s propaganda. It is not. Instead, other themes dominate Osama bin Laden’s and Ayman al Zawahiri’s messaging. more...