Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Ladin Sidelined? May 03, 2012. Authors: Don Rassler, Gabriel Koehler-Derrick, Liam Collins, Muhammad al-Obaidi, Nelly Lahoud
“This report is a study of 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC)/West Point. They consist of electronic letters or draft letters, totaling 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation. The earliest is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011. These internal al-Qa`ida communications were authored by several leaders, most prominently Usama bin Ladin. In contrast to his public statements that focused on the injustice of those he believed to be the enemies of Muslims, namely corrupt apostate Muslim rulers and their Western overseers, the focus of Bin Ladins private letters is Muslims suffering at the hands of his jihadi brothers. He is at pain advising them to abort domestic attacks that cause Muslim civilian casualties and focus on the United States, our desired goal. Bin Ladins frustration with regional jihadi groups and his seeming inability to exercise control over their actions and public statements is the most compelling story to be told on the basis of the 17 de-classified documents. Letters from Abbottabad is an initial exploration and contextualization of 17 documents that will be the grist for future academic debate and discussion.”
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