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.”…