Al-Qa’ida on al-Qa’ida

Prepared by Staff for Why War?

The following is a timeline of statements made by al-Qa’ida and al-Qa’ida affiliated groups between May 2004 and September 2003. I have also included a few documents released prior to September 2003. This collection of documents is 131 pages long and is the most complete collection of English translations of al-Qa’ida speeches available to the public. The collection includes two full length books, two audio recordings, and two al-Qa’ida-produced movies.

The American government is able to disseminate propaganda globally while suppressing al-Qa’ida’s response. Thus, the English speaking world is forced to trust known deceivers.

I am releasing these documents to allow access to al-Qa’ida’s explaination of its actions and motivations. I believe that it is a travesty that an English-language news source has never published the full set of documents released by al-Qa’ida. This situation has allowed the American government to disseminate propaganda globally while suppressing al-Qa’ida’s response. Thus, the English speaking world is forced to trust the analyses of al-Qa’ida provided by those who have shown themselves willing to lie in their pursuit of an unjust war. This situation is wrong and has considerable consequences. It seems obvious that the control of information only strengthens support for war.

Ironically, tax payer money was used to translate nearly all of these documents but they require considerable amounts of time and money to retreive. The main producer of English language translations of Arabic material is the Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). The FBIS is “the information gathering arm” of the Central Intelligence Agency (citation). Material translated by the FBIS is then given to the National Tecnical Information Service, “an agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce”, who then sells access it as the World News Connection product. Somewhere along the way, the taxpayer’s original investment was privatized. The World News Connection was purchased by a private corporation – The Thomas Corporation (NYSE: TOC). The Thomas Corporation now offers limited access to the World News Connection via Dialog to those who can afford the substantial subscription costs.

In compiling this timeline I relied on one published by the IntelCenter, available here (pdf). You may wish to consult that timeline which provides dates, names, and summaries. Unfortunately, IntelCenter only releases full versions of its materials to Law Enforcement agencies. I have chosen to provide neither analysis nor summaries of these documents in the hope that you will read them for yourself. My goal is purely the release of information. In the hopes that this will aid further research I have provided the official U.S. Government transliterations of Arabic names and titles.

The connections between al-Qa’ida and Iraqi resistance organizations is explained in great detail in “Jihadist Movements in Iraq” which is marked “FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY” by the U.S. Government.

As always, skepticism is a virtue when reading these documents. Some may be disinformation disseminated by the U.S. government. Be particularly wary of statements attributed to al-Zarqawi who was reportedly killed in March 2003.

Download this collection of translations as pdf or txt (131 pages). Help us distribute this by hosting it on your website and emailing it to your friends.

Timeline Start

5 August 1999: Usama Bin Laden

(Book) 1 September 2002: “The Raid on New York and Washington,” Majallat al-Ansar.

22 June 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj, al-Qa’ida official in charge of training.

3 August 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

August 2003: Yusuf Bin-Salih al-Ayiri (summary)

(Video) 2004: Rap video produced by the British rapper Sheikh Terra

Timeline is synchronized with IntelCenter after this point

3 September 2003: Abdel Rahman al-Najdi statement is unavailable. However, of historical interest is this statement by Saddam Husayn denying responsibility for the death of Mohammed Baqer al-Hakim

(Book) 3 September 2003: “The Operation Of 11 Rabi al-Awwal: The East Riyadh Operation and Our War With the United States and its Agents” Islamic Studies and Research Center.

10 September 2003: Unavailable

21 September 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

17 October 2003: “The Wills of the Heroes: The Martyrs of the Two Holy Places”, Sahab Institute for Media Production. Partial translation.

18 October 2003: Unavailable

24 October 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

27 October 2003: Sayf-al-Adl al-Masri, al-Qa’ida Chief of Military Operations

30 October 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

13 November 2003: Unavailable

15/16 November 2003: Unavailable

21 November 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

(Video) 3 December 2003: “The Martyrs of the Confrontations in Bilad al-Haramayn (Saudi Arabia),” The Sahab Institute for Media Production. Partial translation, additional translation (pdf), full video: 1.ram 2.ram 3.ram.

19 December 2003: Unavailable

28 December 2003: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

4 January 2004: Usama Bin Ladin

6 January 2004: Abu-Mus’ab al-Zarqawi

(Video) 4 February 2004: “Badr al-Riyadh: The Assault on the Crusader al-Muhaya Settlement and Discovering Important Details,” The Sahab Institute for Media Production. Full video, divided into 6 parts: 1.ram 2.ram 3.ram 4.ram 5.ram 6.ram. Partial translation (pdf).

24 February 2004: Ayman al-Zawahiri

6 March 2004: Abu-Muhammad al-Ablaj

13 March 2004: Unavailable

25 March 2004: Ayman al-Zawahri, #2 in al-Qa’ida

29 March 2004: Abu-Hajir Abd-al-Aziz Al-Muqrin, and others. Full Arabic copy (pdf), translation (pdf).

15 April 2004: Usama Bin Ladin