Al Qaeda's "oil spot" startegy

Austin Bay continues his series on captured al Qaeda documents:

...

Pirates got the black spot, Lady MacBeth had the damned spot. I’ll title this document “the Oil Spot”
— a curious phrase but genocidal fanatics are curious people.

The website’s synopsis is a good introduction and survey of the document:

The author writes to his honored mentor and presents his views on the leadership skills and tactics that Al-Qa’ida must use to achieve victory. Emphasis is given to the political and military methods as well as public relations strategies and information management techniques that can produce positive results for Al-Qa’ida.
Key Themes: The writer emphasizes a leadership style that calls for reflection, self-knowledge, and the development of a database on Al-Qa’ida members and programs. The movement must be guided by the study of its people and the development of practical conclusions.
Next is a review of the public relations assets. Osama Bin Laden is considered a “…star similar to the fortress of Saddam” who has used the Al-Jazeera channel very effectively. Insufficient effort was made to exploit the success of the Mujahideen in Somalia against the Americans. The bombings in Dar es Saalam and Nairobi likewise were not exploited successfully for their promotional value in the Saudi peninsula and are described as a “horrible informational and political shortfall.”
Al-Qa’ida should emulate Hamas and have the statements of “martyrs” videotaped prior to their operations. If the efforts of martyrs from the Peninsula were publicized, this would have a tremendous impact on recruitment in Saudi Arabia.

I’ve added the emphasis.

The synopsis ends with this paragraph:

The fight against the Americans (Jews and Crusaders) is characterized as a series of battles; the struggle with Saudi Arabia is a war. An oil spot strategy must be pursued against Saudi Arabia, with the goal of expanding the circle of jihad through successful operations that break down the fear barrier which keeps Mujahideen from fully engaging the Saudi state.

What’s the oil spot?

...


You can find it on page 43 of the document which Bay excerpts. Take a look.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

29 % of companies say they are unlikely to keep insurance after Obamacare

Bin Laden's concern about Zarqawi's remains