Yoram Schweitzer and al Qaeda's Internationalization of SuicideTerrorism

A functional review of the 2005 paper, "Al Qaeda and the Internationalization of Suicide Terrorism," and a hard look at one of its authors, Yoram Schweitzer (Yoram Swayser):

Online access to the paper: http://www.labat.co.il/articles/memo78.pdf

1. Al Qaeda's main function is a study of the ideological, organizational and strategic elements that distinguish al Qaeda from its precursors. It performs that function well on the whole, with two signal exceptions, which I will discuss later in this post.

2. Al Qaeda's second function is to analyze how those disting-uishing elements are exemplified in al Qaeda and al Qaeda-affiliate attacks, for example: the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; the USS Cole in Yemen; the Djerba Synagogue in Tunisia; Israeli tourists in Kenya, as well as others.

3. Al Qaeda's third function is to describe both the relation-ships, and the differences, between al Qaeda and its "affiliated" organizations and networks.

It appears to me that the paper performs the second and third functions very well, brilliantly, even.

Al Qaeda performs most poorly in its three persuasive and problem-solving functions:

4. that killing Osama bin Laden is of critical importance in def-eating al Qaeda;

5. that, "beyond" intelligence and counter-terrorism operat-ions, the primary solution for eradicating suicide bombing lies in "mobilizing" authorities "throughout the Muslim world" to "unite and offer non-violent Islamic alternatives that decry the path of bin Laden as contradictory to the spirit of Islam;" [p. 7 - 8]

6. that, "the serious consequences of failing to take tangible steps against the radicalization influencing wide circles of Muslims is what creates the urgency for pragmatic forces in the Muslim world" to "take concrete and effective action to defend their religion's good name. These forces hold the key to suc-cess." [p. 85]

I will be addressing in-depth the functional deficiencies of al Qaeda in a few days from now (I hope), on my spaceslive blog: http://fakirscanada.spaces.live.com/blog/

Al Qaeda also has a number of subsidiary functions, such as an effort to psycho-analyze Osama bin Laden, which it performs with mixed results, in my opinion.

I really think it takes quite a lot of chutzpa to suggest that one has successfully psycho-analyzed any total stranger from another culture, - much less one whose manifestations are as unprecedented in history as Osama bin Laden's have been.

The sounding note which becomes the refrain in Al-Qaeda is its claim that what distinguishes bin Laden & Co from its precur-sors is their glorification of what the paper's authors call "the ideal of self-sacrifice" [Ar. istishhad] - by which the latter and, arguably, the former, mean "suicide terrorism" "in the name of Allah."
From their equation of istishhad with suicide attacks, the paper's authors, Yoram Schweitzer and Sari Goldstein Ferber, conclude that the key to defeating al Qaeda lies, "beyond in-telligence efforts and operations to thwart the suicide terrorism of al-Qaeda and its affiliates, [in] primary efforts to prevent proliferation of the concept of istishhad, [which] should be in-vested by mobilizing spiritual leaders with religious and instit-utional authority throughout the Muslim world to unite and offer non-violent alternatives..." [p. 7 - 8]

Here are some of the problems with that sounding note and refrain:

1.1 Although Schweitzer and Ferber define a "suicide attack:"

"a violent, politically motivated action executed consciously, actively and with prior intent by a single individual who kills himself together with his chosen target"

they nowhere address the concept of 'terrorism' itself; and the above definition minus the element of suicide is too narrow to work as a definition of terrorism - except in the context of suicide terrorism.

(I have elsewhere defined "terrorism" as being "the threat or use of violence to extract changes in the form of concessions from another entity:" http://fakirscanada.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BCDFFB6F4CF5AAB!1028.entry)

1.2 Schweitzer and Ferber nowhere examine what the concept of istishhad, "self-sacrifice," means in Islam, outside of of the meaning that al Qaeda & Co have given to it. In fact, the former clearly equate istishhad with 'suicide terrorism.' I will examine this critical deficiency in their thinking and its significance, in the third part of this series, on my spaceslive blog: http://fakirscanada.spaces.live.com/blog/

- August 02 update: here is an outline of part 03 on the theme of terrorism in the name of Allah, radicalization and possession: http://fakirscanada.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BCDFFB6F4CF5AAB!1070.entry

(The first part of this three-part series, a special request from one of my siblings, is here: http://fakirscanada.blogspot.com/2009/07/life-and-times-of-exorcist-fr-malachi.html )

1.3 Schweizer and Ferber play into al Qaeda's hand with their insistence that the chief onus for defeating terrorism in the name of Islam is on Muslim authority figures.

In the third part of this series (on my spaceslive site), I will address the reasons why what they're demanding from the Muslim world is never going to happen in any case, and why it's a really bad idea to demand it.

1.4 Although the authors of al Qaeda claim that "the study's conclusion will stress the need for an ideological response to the concept of self-sacrifice in the name of Allah," in fact they fail to posit a framework for the response they are demanding from the Muslim world - and small wonder, that - since they are asking the wrong questions with respect to al Qaeda's ideolog-ical triumph, they have no hope of discerning where the hope lies of defeating al Qaeda ideologically.

I will address this point also in depth in the third part of this series.

1.5 The authors crucially fail to ask themselves the question: "If the answer to defeating terrorism in the name of Allah lies in "moblizing and unifying Muslim leaders to offer non-violent alternatives to terrorism" - then why hasn't it happened before now?

I will ask that question and look at the reasons why it hasn't happened and why it ain't gonna happen, in the third part of this series.

1.6 (and 3.) What Al Qaeda does really well is the descriptive aspect of its primary function: to set out in brilliantly penetrat-ing depth, the multi-valented relationships between al Qaeda and its affiliates, as well as the psychological and other strate-gies used both to reinforce those relationships, as well as to recruit and control 'suicide candidates.' [The term is mine, not the authors'].

2. Carrying on with the descriptive kudos: Schweitzer and Ferber painstakingly analyze every recent well-known sucide attack in the name of Islam.

4. - 6. With respect to the poor performance of Al Qaeda in its problem-solving and persuasive functions, see the third part of this series (I will post the link here, when it has been pub-lished.)

The serious functional deficiencies in the paper "Al Qaeda and the Internationalization of Suicide Terrorism" compelled me to take a closer look at its authors.

Sari Goldstein Ferber appears to have moved on from this field into medical research.

Yoram Schweitzer claims on his web-site: http://www.labat.co.il/ to be a "senior consultant to NATO on matters of counter-terrorism." His web-site is riddled with broken and dead links, (although the ones to the book he's hawking work very well). Moreover, the site even has a booby-trap: click on the top-right-hand link, "The Limitations on Fighting Terrorilla," and bad things are going to happen to the web-page.

I have no doubt, however, that the mere appearance of his being able and willing to share considerably more knowledge than he does, or, possibly, has, is enough to gain him an entree into many confidential briefings on counter-terrorism initia-tives.

Additionally, his web-site uses a highly invasive visitor tracker: http://my8.statcounter.com/project/standard/visitor.php?project_id=1030253&PHPSESSID=216c6bbadabf35608c2505f1d737e40d

which tracks - and publishes to the world - every visitor's: home IP address; pages visited; time spent on the site; number of return visits; operating system and browser, as well as the usual page referrals and exit pages.

The site showcases a video of conversations Schweitzer had with what he claims are "failed" suicide terrorists. Don't speak Arabic? Too bad for you, then, because there are no sub-titles for the conversations, or transcript.

As part of my preparation for this blog-post some days ago, I sent Yoram Schweitzer two emails, one asking about a trans-cript for the video, and one asking him if he is aware that there are a number of issues with respect to his site. I have never received a reply to either email. From his non-responsiveness, and, given the context of the extremely poor quality of his web-site, I think it is fair to surmise that Yoram Schweitzer probably doesn't do anything along the lines of counter-terrorism - unless he can see something in it for him - first and foremost.

"By their signs ye shall know them."
- the Quranic version of a slogan for micro-analysts

Apropos of nothing in particular, here is a very interesting article from today's edition of the NYTimes on the shadowy world of corporate spying:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/01/business/global/01iht-spy.html?pagewanted=1&ref=global-home

My two-bit's worth on the Northern B.C. pipe bombings

News articles, such as these two by the Edmonton Journal:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Pipeline+bomber+actions+incredibly+risky+terrorism+expert/1797599/story.html

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Extra+police+threat+bomber+mayor/1805003/story.html

purport to provide "expert opinions" by a "graphologist" and a "terrorism expert" on the psychology of the Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada Encana pipeline bomber. The recent bombings and threatening letters have been billed as Canada's only recent case of domestic terrorism.

I am going to have the unmitigated cheek to predict that the "experts" cited in the above Journal articles are going to be found to be wrong in at least one very important respect: their supposition that the bomber is one person acting alone.

The community of Dawson Creek is coming across to me as surprisingly hostile to the R.C.M.P. investigation. They complain they are being "pressured" to give DNA and fingerprint evidence. This to me is a red flag that something is wrong in the community. If there was a bomber in my community and the RCMP asked for my cooperation to eliminate me as a suspect and move on with their investigation, I would willingly give it. The fact that many in Dawson Creek trust the RCMP so little that they are not willing to provide that information - even in the situation of having a terrorist in their midst who could target them next - says to me that those individuals have an extraordinary distrust of law enforcement - right in keeping with the general mindset of vigilantes, radicals and terrorists. I'm not saying that those people are all involved in the bombings - but there is a social context there, which is perhaps not being addressed. Another red flag is the reports that the prevailing attitude in the community down at the town watering-holes and coffee-shops is one of levity, "tongue-in-cheek humour." I wouldn't be making jokes if there was a bomber in my midst - unless I felt some sneaking sympathy for the bomber. Something is wrong in Dawson Creek - and the bomber is just the most horrible symptom.

(August 02, update: I recently did another post on the Encana pipelinebombings here: http://fakirscanada.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!BCDFFB6F4CF5AAB!1028.entry

Security Intelligence Review Committee Slams CSIS over Omar Khadr

The Security Intelligence Review Committee, (SIRC), an "independent external review body" which reports to Parliament on the performance of Canada's Security Intelligence Service (CSIS or "the Service,") has released its report today on just how badly CSIS managed those "interviews" in the early part of the past decade with Omar Khadr, while the unfortunate youth was in U.S. custody:

http://www.sirc-csars.gc.ca/opbapb/2008-05/index-eng.html

http://www.sirc-csars.gc.ca/pdfs/2008-05-eng.pdf

The report confirms the role of CSIS as a willing tool of U.S. investigators.
From pages 21 - 22 of the 32-page report:

"SIRC's concern that Khadr's age did not appear to factor into CSIS's decision to interview him, nor influence its interview methodology, is compounded by the fact that CSIS was aware that Khadr had been kept incommunicado since his arrival at Guantanamo Bay. In the aftermath of the Khadr tapes being made public, CSIS declared that it had clear policy with respect to operational interviews. Indeed, the right to counsel is set out in operational policy.

"When SIRC asked how CSIS considered this policy in light of the fact that US uthorities refused to grant detainees access to lawyers, we were told that CSIS would not put off or deter an interview if the conditions outlined in policy could not be met...

"SIRC believes that CSIS failed to take into account that while in US ustody, Khadr had been denied certain basic rights which would have been afforded to him as a youth. As well, prior to his interview with the Service, Khadr had received no guidance or assistance from any adult who had his best interests in mind since he had been kept incommunicado and been denied access to legal counsel, consular representation or family members."

Tarek Fatah: The Devil is in the Hijab

I have previously reviewed Tarek Fatah's book, "Chasing a Mirage - the tragic illusion of an Islamic state," on this site:
http://fakirsca.blogspot.com/2009/04/tarek-fatah-chasing-mirage-and-salman.html

At that time, I said I wanted to like Fatah and his anti-Islamist book, Mirage, because I am opposed to sharia.

I don't even want to like him, anymore.

His atrocious June 08, 2009 article in the National Post, on the murder of a head-scarf-wearing woman in Germany, Marwa el-Sherbini, seeks to reduce an evil act with serious unanswered questions to a a forseeable act of "backlash" against women who wear the hijab (Islamic head-scarf and modest dress) as a "political statement:
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/07/08/tarek-fatah-covering-up-for-the-hijab.aspx?CommentPosted=true#commentmessage

In his article, Fatah makes no mention of any facts likely to disturb his theme, such as the facts that: the murder victim was giving testimony against her assailant in court, when the latter walked across the floor and stabbed her 18 times, in front of her husband and three-year-old son. When her husband rushed to try to save her, he was shot by police.

Fatah does not once mention the obvious legal and security issues: how did the murderer get into the court-room with a knife? How could police reasonably have mistaken her husband for the assailant? Why was there no heightened security for a case involving previous extreme verbal violence against the victim, in a first-world country that is no stranger to racist tensions and violence. What, if anything, is Germany doing to ensure a tragedy like that one never happens again?

Instead, Fatah makes the appalling assertion that the murder happened as a result of a foreseeable "backlash" against women who wear head-scarves as a "political statement."

(He gives no evidence, either, to support the idea that Egyptian-born Marwa el-Sherbini, a pharmacist, was wearing a head-scarf for political reasons; and I found none to warrant his supposition.)

For me, Fatah's June 09 NP article reveals the man's profoundly anti-Islamist bias, - to the point that, as one NP commentator points out in so many words: if he's the 'good guy,' when it comes to Islamism, many may be moved closer to throwing their lots in with the 'bad guys.'

A quick search of the Internet pulls up what appear to me to be more reliable versions of the tragedy:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/07/german-trial-hijab-murder-egypt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marwa_El-Sherbini

Dennis Edney's fight for Omar Khadr: It's a Scottish thing...

I admire the way that Dennis Edney is grimly slogging on to the bitter finish, knowing, as he must, that: any victory in the latest Court of Appeal battle to force the Harper government to demand Omar Khadr's repatriation will be a Pyrrhic one. John McCain had said that, if elected, he would repatriate Omar Khadr if asked to do so; Barack Obama of a certainty will not.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/leave-khadr-decisions-to-pmo-and-cabinet-ottawa-tells-courts/article1193432/

His battle is in the spirit of the Scottish legend, Robert the Bruce, who fought off the predations of two English kings.

The Scots are like that. Once set upon a course of action, we don't give it up.

As for Barack Obama, he really should give up listening to the advisors he's got now, and get new ones. That whole July 4 BBQ party invite to the Iranians? Big mistake. And now the U.S. State Department has had to make an ignominous withdrawal of the invite:
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/withdraws+July+party+invitations+Iranians/1728924/story.html

- because the Iranians failed to RSVP, no doubt assuming that any invite so stupid must be some kind of spying manoeuver.

Abousfian Abdelrazik: Stephen Harper's on a roll, today

Stephen Harper and Lawrence Cannon are on a roll today. (I may even vote for them again.) They've decided to do the right thing by Abousfian Abdelrazik and end the Kafkaesque travesty of justice, which, the Privy Council has just had the grace to admit for the first time, was instigated by the United States government, aka "Homeland Security" and "Joint Terrorism Task Force:"

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Feds+agree+bring+Abdelrazik+back+from+Sudan/1709573/story.html

Can't help wondering, though, if it's because somebody at the Privy Council noticed a discrepancy between what they were preaching to the Iranian dictatorship - and what they were practicing with the unfortunate Abdelrazik.

Three Cheers for Stephen Harper and Lawrence Cannon:

for taking a firm stand on the election debacle in Iran, instead of wimping out like Barack Obama:

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/News/Iran+reprimands+Canadian+envoy+amid+fears+Tiananmen+style+tragedy/1706155/story.html

Anyone hated and feared by the Iranian 'religious' autocracy that is oppressing its own people's legitimate demands to be counted in the recent election, can't be all bad.

Today, I am proud of Stephen Harper and Lawrence Cannon, for going where Barack Obama fears to tread. Some principles don't take a back seat to pragmatism. Not at least, if we want to keep a hold on who we are as a people.