Contrary to Obama's claim, Gitmo is not al-Qaeda's "number one recruitment tool"

Actually, the Zionist-Crusader conspiracy against Islam wins that prize. That recalls, incidentally, what Al-Qaeda's Adam Gadahn, the first American to be charged with treason since World War II, called me: a "Zionist Crusader, missionary of hate, counter-Islam consultant."

"Gitmo Is Not Al Qaeda's 'Number One Recruitment Tool,'" by Thomas Joscelyn in the Weekly Standard, December 27 (thanks to Weasel Zippers):

During a press conference on December 22, President Obama was asked about the difficulties his administration has encountered in trying to close Guantanamo. The president explained (emphasis added):

Obviously, we haven't gotten it closed.  And let me just step back and explain that the reason for wanting to close Guantanamo was because my number one priority is keeping the American people safe.  One of the most powerful tools we have to keep the American people safe is not providing al Qaeda and jihadists recruiting tools for fledgling terrorists.
 
And Guantanamo is probably the number one recruitment tool that is used by these jihadist organizations.  And we see it in the websites that they put up.  We see it in the messages that they're delivering.

President Obama and his surrogates have made this argument before, but they have provided no real evidence that it is true. In fact, al Qaeda's top leaders rarely mention Guantanamo in their messages to the West, Muslims and the world at large.

No journalist in attendance had the opportunity to challenge President Obama's assertion. The president should have been asked: If Guantanamo is such a valuable recruiting tool, then why do al Qaeda's leaders rarely mention it?

THE WEEKLY STANDARD has reviewed translations of 34 messages and interviews delivered by top al Qaeda leaders operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan ("Al Qaeda Central"), including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri, since January 2009. The translations were published online by the NEFA Foundation. Guantanamo is mentioned in only 3 of the 34 messages. The other 31 messages contain no reference to Guantanamo. And even in the three messages in which al Qaeda mentions the detention facility it is not a prominent theme.

Instead, al Qaeda's leaders repeatedly focus on a narrative that has dominated their propaganda for the better part of two decades. According to bin Laden, Zawahiri, and other al Qaeda chieftains, there is a Zionist-Crusader conspiracy against Muslims. Relying on this deeply paranoid and conspiratorial worldview, al Qaeda routinely calls upon Muslims to take up arms against Jews and Christians, as well as any Muslims rulers who refuse to fight this imaginary coalition.

This theme forms the backbone of al Qaeda's messaging - not Guantanamo....

What a shock, considering that the Qur'an commands Muslims to fight against and subjugate "the People of the Book," i.e., primarily Jews and Christians.