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Al-Qaeda's Growing Online Offensive
andy1307 brings us a story from the Washington Post about al-Qaeda's technological capabilities and the methods they use to protect themselves and their networks from opposing military forces. Quoting:
"US and European intelligence officials attribute the al-Qaeda propaganda boom in part to the network's ability to establish a secure base in the ungoverned tribal areas of western Pakistan. Analysts said that as-Sahab (AQ's propaganda network) is outfitted with some of the best technology available. Editors and producers use ultralight Sony Vaio laptops and top-end video cameras. Files are protected using PGP, or Pretty Good Privacy, a virtually unbreakable form of encryption software that is also used by intelligence agencies around the world. [Al-Fajr, a propaganda distribution network] is heavily decentralized, with its webmasters generally unaware of one another's true identities for security reasons, intelligence analysts said. It also has separate 'brigades' devoted to hacking, multimedia, cybersecurity and distribution."
Yawn. Proof please. Next.
Proof for what? That they're producing propaganda? Do you really doubt that?
> And this is coming from a government that can't even catch organized gangs spamming and selling prescription drugs online....presumably
> where it is a LOT easier to follow the money trail.
And..uh..the same government who created/were responsible for the rise of groups like Al-Queda in the first place through its policy of arming/training fundamentalists in Afghanistan in the 1980s.
As a Muslim, I'm calling you on that one.
After having lived in Saudi Arabia for a year (admittedly 14 years ago, but I doubt the view has changed hugely since then) I can tell you that the primary gripe the population have there is the U.S. propping up an unpopular monarchy that is mismanaging and/or stealing the country's wealth. The U.S. could make friends of the Saudi people by simply telling the Saudi government that they're on their own. Then the Saudi royal family would need to either make the people happy, or prepare to be overthrown as soon as the last shipment of U.S. supplied weapons started rusting.
I don't know *anyone* (with the possible exception of that crazy lunatic in charge of Iran, who is about as representative of Iranians as the Saudi royals are of the Saudi people) who thinks the West is some evil regime that needs to be toppled. Heck, I live in a Western country quite happily. I've traveled extensively to Middle eastern countries and (remember I'm Muslim, with Muslim friends and relative and we all travel to Muslim countries, so I'm not pulling this out my backside) it's utter BS that Muslims have some kind of chip on their shoulder with regards to the West. The problem is Western interference in Muslim countries' politics, and that primarily is the propping up of the Saudi government. I think I can speak for the majority of Muslims when I say that Muslims don't like the Saudi government. They call themselves "custodians of Islam", yet they are a corrupt, self-serving bunch of monarchical fascists.
Oh, and we don't need the U.S. to come in and "liberate" the place. Just butting out will do the trick. They'll save the hundreds of millions spent on military support and they'll make friends of the majority of the Arabian peninsula to boot. Bargain!
I hate printers.
And.. if it did affect you, chances are that your back yard is in Iraq.. ... or new york (twice) ... or in london (twice) ... or in madrid ... or in barcelona ... or amsterdam ... or paris ... or ...
Or, merely this week :
6/28/2008 (Khyber, Pakistan) - A sectarian disagreement leaves eight dead.
6/28/2008 (Tripoli, Lebanon) - Shia terrorists detonate a bomb in an apartment building, killing two residents.
6/27/2008 (Pattani, Thailand) - A 64-year-old man is murdered by Islamic gunmen.
6/27/2008 (Narathiwat, Thailand) - A 36-year-old civilian is shot to death by Mujahid after dropping his children off at school.
6/27/2008 (Jijel, Algeria) - Six security personnel are taken out by al-Qaeda gunmen.
6/27/2008 (Vedeno, Chechnya) - Four police are ambushed and killed by Jihad fighters.
This week alone there have been 173 dead bodies due to terrorism (in the name of a certain religion). Denying the problem is as stupid as saying it affects everyone.
America is free of terror because it only has a tiny amount of muslims.
If you worship a massacring terrorist like mohamed, that apparently causes a tendency to randomly kill. Especially if you believe "all muslims are slaves of allah, their orders are to kill for islam" (quran 9:111, and this specifies explicitly that it is to be interpreted literally)
Terrorists are caught all the time in the US and elsewhere in the Western world. I also wouldn't say the 9/11, Madrid and London attacks constitute a "nonexistent" problem. Outside the Western world, Islamic terrorism is a much bigger problem, with many people dying on a daily basis. Since 9/11, there have been over 10,000 attacks all over the world (that's a low estimate). There are many problems that don't directly affect me, but that doesn't mean they aren't problems. I don't suffer from poverty, hunger or disease, but obviously a lot of other people do.
Or in Thailand, Lebanon, Algeria, Chechnya, Pakistan, Somalia, Israel, Bangladesh, India... Islamic terrorism is a bit more widespread than you think.
Both are true. There are many organizations and networks, but there are also people who act on their own initiative. The terrorists aren't "tired of what the US is doing," they're Jihadists. They're fighting a holy war against infidels and heretics, a holy war that has been more or less in progress for the past 1600 years. The amount of Islamic terrorism occuring in or against the US is a drop in the ocean, unless you count Afghanistan and Iraq.
Example: Menachem Begin, orchestrator of the bloodiest terrorist attack of the 20th century in King David Hotel in Jerusalem, with a death toll of around 90 people, men women and children both Jew and Muslim.
I think there were quite a few larger terrorist attacks in the 20th century. Air India flight 182 resulted in 329 deaths by itself (1985). Of course since it was mostly Canadians who died and was masterminded by Sikhs instead of Muslims it has been ignored by American media.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_India_Flight_182
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
FYI: The Koran is the most widely memorized book ever. There is only one version, the original of which is in Arabic and has been translated to many languages. To my knowledge, there is no reputable printing of it in any language without the original Arabic side by side with the translated text. Such is the concern with keeping the message accurate and unchanged. The original Arabic is actually poetry with a highly coherent syntax, which makes obvious any attempt to modify it. Furthermore, given the massive number of people who know the book by heart, any altered version of it would immediately be noticed and pointed out.
Belief in the Koran as it is, is a core tenet of Islamic belief, and changing it or any of the other 4 core tenets (or "pillars") results in a different religion entirely. Just because a sect calls themselves "Muslims" doesn't make it so any more than Scientology calling itself a "Church" makes them a valid member of the family of Christendom. It is an illegitimate and unwelcome adoption of the word, and those who decide to change the Koran or use it for their own purposes really should stop calling themselves Muslims and come up with some new name for their religion. The guys at www.submission.org is one such group. They really aren't as friendly as you may think.
I hate printers.
Its not an argument against "free press". If you actually RTFA you'd see it was an article detailing the extent to which Al-quaida has evolved tecnologically speaking. The content of the web forums etc is unquestionably "kill all infidels". In case you didnt know, you're an infidel.
HTH
Get Torpark, the completely idiot-proof way to get onto the Tor network. While you have to have a high conspiracy-theory tolerance, you'll find information on the .onion sites. Just use your own judgement on its reliability.
You're making me think. You won't like me when I'm thinking.
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