Jihad Watch: Al-Qaeda's propaganda jihad compromised due to technical glitch, "marring al-Qaeda's usual celebration of its attacks on U.S. cities in 2001"

September 20, 2008

Al-Qaeda's propaganda jihad compromised due to technical glitch, "marring al-Qaeda's usual celebration of its attacks on U.S. cities in 2001"

This is what happens when your company hires a great many jihadists at the expense of technical support: "Web problems hit release of al Qaeda 9/11 video," by Firouz Sedarat for Reuters, September 20:

DUBAI (Reuters) - An al Qaeda video to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks has appeared on the Internet more than a week late, after Islamist websites it uses went down and a technical glitch further delayed its distribution.

The delay of the much-touted 87-minute video, and the disappearance of the main Islamist sites -- possibly after being targeted by hackers -- have marred al Qaeda's usual celebration of its attacks on U.S. cities in 2001.

Excerpts from the video -- a compilation of documentary footage and messages by al Qaeda leaders including its deputy head Ayman al-Zawahri -- were aired on September 8 by Al Jazeera television, which did not say how it obtained them.

But the full version hit websites only on Friday, eight days after the anniversary. Al Qaeda has marked the date in the past with timely releases, including a tape on September 7 last year in which leader Osama bin Laden appeared on video for the first time in nearly three years, addressing the American people.

Al Qaeda attaches great importance to spreading web-based propaganda and know-how through its specialist media arm as-Sahab, whose productions are often highly professional.

It was unclear why the websites normally favored by the group had gone down. By Saturday, the two most popular were still out of action.

[...]

When less popular Islamist websites finally managed to post links to the much-hyped video -- which includes a "last will" recording by one of the September 11 hijackers -- downloaders noted that the password given to them was wrong.

This further delayed the release and unnerved al Qaeda sympathizers, one of whom wrote: "May God bless you my brothers, but the password is wrong."...

Posted by Raymond at September 20, 2008 8:40 AM
Print this entry | Email this entry | Digg this | del.icio.us |

Comments
(Note: The Comments section is provided in the interests of free speech only. It is mostly unmoderated, but comments that are off-topic, offensive, slanderous, or otherwise annoying stand a chance of being deleted. The fact that any comment remains on the site IN NO WAY constitutes an endorsement by Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch, or by Robert Spencer or any other Jihad Watch or Dhimmi Watch writer, of any view expressed, fact alleged, or link provided in that comment.)

I wonder if this means Adam Yahiye Gadahn has assumed room temperature...

Posted by: Zorro

at September 20, 2008 9:04 AM

ha
:)

Posted by: TS

at September 20, 2008 9:36 AM

These al Qaeda celebrations are SO tiresome!
Don't they have anything better to do?
Like BUILDING UP THEIR OWN COUNTRIES?

All they can do is "celebrate" past victories.

Given that the 9/11 attacks resulted in the "infidel" pushing even further into the Islamic world rather than withdrawing from it, what exactly are they celebrating?

Infidel troops are in two countries where they were not seen prior to 9/11. A third country, Pakistan, is coming apart at the seams. The only country we have "withdrawn" from is Saudi Arabia and there are still plenty of infidels working in the oil fields.

Posted by: PMK

at September 20, 2008 9:53 AM

OOPS! It looks like ASS-ahab f'ed up big time!

But, wait, I thought Allah was all-powerful! How could this happen if He's on the jihadists' side?

Posted by: Mo Foe

at September 20, 2008 10:01 AM

Given that the 9/11 attacks resulted in the "infidel" pushing even further into the Islamic world rather than withdrawing from it, what exactly are they celebrating? --PMK

The gruesome deaths of over 3,000 Infidels on September 11, 2001.

But, wait, I thought Allah was all-powerful! How could this happen if He's on the jihadists' side?

Posted by: Mo Foe at September 20, 2008 10:01 AM

LOL. Funny how "allah" didn't help the 1967 Six-Day Arab-Israeli War Jihadists, either. I NEVER see any Mohammedans mention the aforementioned. I guess they wonder why their Jew-hating pagan moon deity permitted the Jews to WIN, and in short order, too. Must be a huge source of shame for the Mohammedans, as I never see it mentioned.

Posted by: darcy

at September 20, 2008 10:23 AM

Imagine a culture where you brag about murdering innocent civilians in a sneak attack.

This is part of a continuous trend in a 1400 year old desert warrior ethos.

Posted by: tanstaafl

at September 20, 2008 10:48 AM

I'm surprised the blame wasn't put on the "Zionist-owned technological infrastructure."

'Cuz it's always someone else's fault.

Posted by: Elian Gonzalez

at September 20, 2008 11:58 AM

I saw on FOX news that the US and Germany sabotaged the release of the AQ tape, spoiling AQ annual 9/11 celebration.It makes AQ look rather weak and incompetent if their website can be hacked so easily.

Posted by: Roxane

at September 20, 2008 12:49 PM

late in news, but their aim to destroy remains the same. US and allied forces will kill terrorists more now than ever, since Gitmo will be closed after this year. better islamists room temperature than us.

Posted by: ZenaWarriorPrincess

at September 20, 2008 2:39 PM

there are two types of hackers the white hat that are considered to be the good guys and the black hat the ones that break laws i wounder if some black hats finally got mad and took these loosers down

Posted by: ISLAMSNOTFORME

at September 20, 2008 3:28 PM

Given that the 9/11 attacks resulted in the "infidel" pushing even further into the Islamic world rather than withdrawing from it, what exactly are they celebrating? --PMK

The gruesome deaths of over 3,000 Infidels on September 11, 2001.

by darcy

Sure but those deaths were meant to drive us out of the Muslim world. Instead we're just dug in deeper. They didn't have their intended effect.

They are celebrating a Pyrrhic victory.

History may well record 9/11 as the beginning of the end of Islam.

Posted by: PMK

at September 20, 2008 6:34 PM

"May God bless you my brothers, but the password is wrong."...

BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Posted by: PorkFatRules

at September 20, 2008 7:28 PM

I just have to wonder who was behind the hack. The government has an unofficial policy of letting Al Qaeda and other terror groups do their thing on the Internet, and for good reason.

I suspect it was someone at Internet Anthropologist doing it for kicks, God bless 'em. Technical skills were never an Islamic strong suit.

And Zena, you're right. Just like when the Nazis stopped taking prisoners of war so did we, when the Left stopped letting us detain terrorists that meant we just had to kill them all, which is infinitely more effective, both because they never get released to the world and because the Left can't rush out to defend them, plus it's so much cheaper. I can't stand the idea of my government spending my tax dollars on the defense of terrorist war criminals. We shouldn't even pay to bury those monsters in shallow graves. It's also fine by me because I will never get over how we let them not only have Korans, but that we validate their belief that we are najis by handling them with rubber-gloved-covered hands instead of dogs' mouths. Can you imagine giving Nazi war criminals their own copies of Mein Kampf? Besides, we need Guantanamo for internment camps, not prisons.

Posted by: jdamn

at September 20, 2008 7:37 PM

Check out Rod Liddle's article in last week's "Spectator" mag (the UK one) at: "Have we ever faced an enemy more stupid than Muslim terrorists?"......

Not sure I fully agree with the notion, as it downplays the otherwise grave existential threat of the Islamic Cult, in particular the Stealth Jihad. But it doesn't harm to hurl a bit of derision and mockery at these idiots.... Still... I'd prefer it if Liddle would have a go at "British Sharia"....

http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/features/2075071/have-we-ever-faced-an-enemy-more-stupid-than-muslim-terrorists.thtml

Posted by: Meeker

at September 20, 2008 9:47 PM

PMK:

The pedant in my must take you up on your use of "Pyrrhic victory". This is still a victory, just that the losses of the victor are as great or greater that those of the vanquished. I think you mean that it (9/11) wasn't a victory at all.

And that may be, at least insofar as the infidels are ensconced ever more in Dar Al-Islam.

But they may be having other "victories" of the Stealth sort: witness "British Sharia" (op. cit.), the censorship of any critique of Islam (OIC's efforts at the UN and elsewhere) and self-censorship of the MSM, the appalling sight of W. "celebrating" Iftaar (op cit)....

Posted by: Meeker

at September 20, 2008 10:00 PM

I like to think that some of the Editors and Producers had been paid a visit by Hellfire. Requiring others to pick up the peaces and cob something together.

Posted by: flowerknife_us

at September 20, 2008 10:28 PM

Meeker,
I don't disagree with what you say but I think they are separate issues. What the British do in their own country with their own citizens and their own immigration and welfare laws is beyond our control.

This is a war with many fronts. There are many battles. Can you imagine us celebrating (I use that term loosely - another is "observing") the anniversary of D-Day if Germany had won the war?

The attack that was launched on 9/11/01 had an objective that wasn't attained. The US remains in the Middle East. Most of the regimes allied with it remain in place. The al-Saud regime has yet to be brought down. (Not that I would mind seeing that but it was one of Osama's goals and it hasn't been met and a lot of his key aides are dead or in Gitmo.) Not only that, two Sunni regimes in conflict with the US were themselves brought down - after Sunnis attacked America.
Al Qaeda achieved a victory of sorts, with the deaths of thousands of people and the destruction of large swaths of property but it came at a high cost. They won the battle, but it might cost them the war. That is the definition of Pyrrhic victory. It's a victory or a goal that is attained but at great cost. In return for seeing Americans in shock on 9/11, Osama has had to live on the run and many of al Qaeda's top people have been eliminated. He thought the US would withdraw support from Saudi Arabia but that still hasn't happened. He hoped for a large-scale war against the US but that also hasn't happened. Did anyone expect Saddam to be brought down two years later? So what was gained from one day of death and destruction?

Given that Bush was praising Islam even as the bodies were still being retrieved from WTC, his "celebration" of Iftaar means nothing. He's the president of the US and he had an official function to perform. Unless and until the president and Congress decide that ALL Muslims must be removed from the US, he cannot ignore them. They have as much right to have their observances noted as do any of us.
Either all Muslims are the enemy or they're not. Either American Muslims have as much right to the president's attention as any other group or they don't.
Is every Muslim living in the US an enemy of all other Americans? If the answer is yes then our policies need a drastic overhaul. If the answer is no then we need to find new ways of combatting sharia.

Posted by: PMK

at September 20, 2008 11:11 PM

I'm wondering if the "glitch" was caused by a couple of recent US excursions into northern Paki territory. If so - booyah!

Posted by: charlie

at September 20, 2008 11:41 PM

An al Qaeda video to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks

-Why would a peaceful religion celebrate that?

which includes a "last will" recording by one of the September 11 hijackers

- But troofers and most muslims still insist that they didn't do it.

Posted by: Borg

at September 21, 2008 6:19 PM

In the interests of taking the mickey out of Osama - has anyone else here seen *this* little piece of internet mockery?

http://www.buttafly.com/originals/friendster3.php

Posted by: dumbledoresarmy

at September 21, 2008 9:15 PM

Some counterterrorism experts are concerned about what's happening, or rather not happening, in cyperspace on the al-qaeda websites and other known terrorist venues. It seems that all of the chat rooms, etc. have become very quiet with nothing of any significance going on, and this is exactly what happened prior to the attacks in London. These normally buzzing sites have been abnormally quiet for several weeks.

The 9-11 statement may have been deliberately delayed but now that it's out, it is full of the usual threats and it could contain coded instructions to sleeper cells. One U.S. counterterrorism official is very concerned about the lack of activity on the internet, the length of time since the last attack, and some intel regarding "brothers" that have allegedly been sent to Europe and the U.S. Anyway, this guy is worried, especially since a major attack now could have devastating effects on our shaky economy. He even mentioned "depression", their dream come true.

Everyone is convinced they won't strike before the elections in case an attack would work in McCain's favor, but I think they'll attack when it is least expected. With everyone's mind on AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mack, Wall Street, and banks dropping like flies, combined with their arrogance and certitude that a big enough and catastrophic enough attack would render the elections irrelevant, the present looks real good.

Posted by: Susanp

at September 22, 2008 1:27 AM