By TIM KILLEEN
Well this is about the creepiest thing you can think of. Marc Ambinder wrote last night about "Inspire," Al Qaeda's brand new English-language magazine. The magazine, which includes messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahari, is an attempt to reach out to English-speaking Muslims and, one assumes, to recruit new fighters into its fold. To further that attempt, the magazine seems to have a fairly typical layout and an eerily appealing look to it. Besides the messages from terrorist leaders, "Inspire" also offers features on such important topics as homemade bomb-making.
Ambinder suggests some possibility that the magazine is actually being put out by a Western intelligence agency to undermine Al Qaeda's efforts, but considering its already prominent place on the internet, it wouldn't be a huge stretch for the terror organization to go to this length. If it is true that terrorists are now offering their message in an easily digestible format like this, it doesn't seem wise to simply chuckle about how odd it is and dismiss it. Obviously, they've figured out how to recruit and have found this to be a useful tactic to try. What is necessary to combat that glossy message is a similar publication (or many) from moderate and liberal Muslim voices and logical reasoning from Western countries as to why Al Qaeda is worth ignoring- and fighting against. Sure, it seems obvious to most, but clearly there's someone out there who's being taken in by this message of hatred.
Well this is about the creepiest thing you can think of. Marc Ambinder wrote last night about "Inspire," Al Qaeda's brand new English-language magazine. The magazine, which includes messages from Osama Bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahari, is an attempt to reach out to English-speaking Muslims and, one assumes, to recruit new fighters into its fold. To further that attempt, the magazine seems to have a fairly typical layout and an eerily appealing look to it. Besides the messages from terrorist leaders, "Inspire" also offers features on such important topics as homemade bomb-making.
Ambinder suggests some possibility that the magazine is actually being put out by a Western intelligence agency to undermine Al Qaeda's efforts, but considering its already prominent place on the internet, it wouldn't be a huge stretch for the terror organization to go to this length. If it is true that terrorists are now offering their message in an easily digestible format like this, it doesn't seem wise to simply chuckle about how odd it is and dismiss it. Obviously, they've figured out how to recruit and have found this to be a useful tactic to try. What is necessary to combat that glossy message is a similar publication (or many) from moderate and liberal Muslim voices and logical reasoning from Western countries as to why Al Qaeda is worth ignoring- and fighting against. Sure, it seems obvious to most, but clearly there's someone out there who's being taken in by this message of hatred.
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