Friday, June 01, 2007

Web Savvy al-Qaeda

Back in April we showed you translated messages from terrorists that trained their followers to use the internet, specifically forums and comment sections to spread false information.

Following are a couple of excerpts from that post:

From MEMRI.

Fostering anti-war sentiment by posing online as citizens.

In the past few months, Islamists engaged in "media jihad" have increased their efforts to expose as broad a Western audience as possible to their jihad films, which purport to document the growing success of the mujahideen in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of this endeavor, they have posted jihad films on popular free video-sharing websites such as YouTube, LiveLeak, and Google Video, hoping that such films will tip public opinion in the West against the war in Iraq and Afghanistan - thus pressuring Western governments to withdraw their troops from these countries.

As part of the campaign to foster anti-war sentiment among Westerners, and more specifically among Americans, a member of the Al-Mohajroon Islamist website with the username Al-Wathiq Billah instructed mujahideen in how to infiltrate popular American forums and to use them to distribute jihad films and spread disinformation about the war.

The following are excerpts:

"Raiding American Forums is Among the Most Important Means of Obtaining Victory in the Fierce Media War… and of Influencing the Views of the Weak-Minded American"

"There is no doubt, my brothers, that raiding American forums is among the most important means of obtaining victory in the fierce media war... and of influencing the views of the weak-minded American who pays his taxes so they will go to the infidel American army. This American is an idiot and does not [even] know where Iraq is... [It is therefore] mandatory for every electronic mujahid [to engage in this raiding]."

"It is better that you raid non-political forums such as music forums and trivia forums... which American people... favor... Define your target[ed forum]... and get to know it well... Post your contribution and do not get into... futile arguments..."

Indicate You Are an American

"Obviously, you have to register yourself using a purely American name... Choose an icon that indicates that you are an American, and place it next to your nickname [in the forum]."

"In my experience, the areas most visited in American forums... [are titled] 'Random Thoughts' and 'What's going on in your mind?'... [The former] takes priority in the American forums, and is highly popular. You should post your contribution there... This should include films of the mujahideen in Iraq, mujahideen publications in English, and images and films of the Americans' crimes, [such as] killing unarmed civilians in Iraq... etc."

"Invent Stories About American Soldiers You Have [Allegedly] Personally Known"

"Obviously, you should post your contribution... as an American... You should correspond with visitors to this forum, [bringing to their attention] the frustrating situation of their troops in Iraq... You should invent stories about American soldiers you have [allegedly] personally known (as classmates... or members in a club who played baseball and tennis with you) who were drafted to Iraq and then committed suicide while in service by hanging or shooting themselves..."

"Also, write using a sad tone, and tell them that you feel sorry for your [female] neighbor or co-worker who became addicted to alcohol or drugs... because her poor fiancé, a former soldier in Iraq, was paralyzed or [because] his legs were amputated... [Use any story] which will break their spirits, oh brave fighter for the sake of God..."

How to Make Americans Feel Frustrated With Their Government

"You should enter into debate or respond only if it is extremely necessary... Your concern should [only] be introducing topics which... will cause [them to feel] frustration and anger towards their government..., which will... render them hostile to Bush... and his Republican Party and make them feel they must vote ton bring the troops back from Iraq as soon as possible."

"Do not... discuss issues pertaining to Arabs or Muslims at all, whether negatively or positively... because this could be a trap for you... In addition, do not ask people to circulate the material [you have posted] in other forums... as these types of requests will expose you..."

[...]

One example of this comes from American Congress for Truth:

"It is also important to urge forum members to follow up some of the more suspicious postings in order to expose lies," Alshech said. "This will make other members skeptical about the postings."

A few months ago, for example, jihadists posted a video message showing a military ID of one soldier they claimed was killed in Iraq, he said.

U.S. bloggers, however, followed up the story and discovered the soldier was alive – he suffered identity theft in Iraq, but he had not lost his life.


The left ate it up and the right dug and proved it wrong, exposing the left for the gullible idiots they were for believing it without verifying it.


Today we see that al-Qaeda is getting very internet savvy and using the internet to encourage and train others, one prime example being the men that targeted Fort Dix just recently as well as a every day ordinary citizen that made the effort to report his suspicions and managed to foil that plot.

From AP:

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Al-Qaida's latest offensive appears to be taking place on computer and television screens, and uses techniques associated more with Madison Avenue than Fallujah.

Although viewership is difficult to measure, analysts say the group's videos seem to be reaching a wider audience than ever, piggybacking on the popularity of blogs and video-sharing programs like YouTube. Key to the operation are two broadcast anchors, Libyan firebrand Abu Laith al-Libi and an American fugitive, Adam Yehiye Gadahn.

[...]

Al-Qaida's as-Sahab media wing already has released 48 videos this year, on a pace to double last year's output of 58 videos, according to Virginia-based IntelCenter, a firm that tracks and analyzes the material. In 2005, the terror group released 16 videos.

Groups in Iraq's predominantly Sunni Arab insurgency, including an al-Qaida affiliate, are also boosting video output and quality. Even the Taliban, which frowned upon cameras when it ruled Afghanistan, has been issuing videos.

"They're all ramping up their propaganda campaigns," said Jeremy Binnie, a terrorism analyst with the Jane's military affairs consultancy in London.

Although no in-depth studies have been done on the impact of such videos, Binnie said, "We've got enough case studies that show the jihadist media does play a role in radicalizing people."

He cited the New Jersey case in which young men were charged with plotting to kill soldiers at Fort Dix. Officials said the men had watched terror training videos, clips featuring Osama bin Laden and tapes of armed attacks on U.S. military personnel.


Read the whole thing.

The fact of the matter is, al-Qaeda as well as other terrorist organizations use our media and our web/internet against the U.S. and this is one reason I keep telling everyone to NOT let stupidity in their comment sections go unanswered.

They count on that.

They do not only hijack planes and plant bombs and hide behind women and children or infiltrate liberal websites to spread misinformation, they use every method available to attack us and to influence our politics.

They use the liberals to spread lies, knowing that they rarely verify anything if it matches their ideology and politics, they run with it and say OOOOOPS when it blows up in their faces.

They use our Democratic politicians to issue their speaking points for them, then they follow up with videos that repeat the Democratic lines, sometimes word for word.

The liberals and the Democrats do not challenge them, they often use them to their benefit and partner with them, for lack of a better term, but conservatives need to call their hands on it, conservatives need to challenge and verify and debunk, as was done with Jessie MacBeth, the "supposed" Army Ranger that the left held up as their proof that our military were horrible people, just to be humiliated when they found out he was a fruad and all his lies came to light and has since been arrested for falsifying his military record.

The liberals never bothered to verify his information, they simply spread it as far and wide as they could, then claimed ignorance when he was exposed.

Never let stupidity go unanswered on your site or blog comment sections, leave that to the liberal left websites.

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