Al-Qaeda / Osama bin Laden / The Taliban

Directory of Online Resources for the Study of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden & The Taliban

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Al-Qaeda

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U.S. Military Commissions
Military Commission Act of 2006
"This legislation gives the US president authorization to set up military commissions to try enemy combatants, and sets some limits for their interrogation and prosecution based on Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Defendants may not invoke the Geneva Conventions during trials or file habeas corpus petitions in federal court, and cannot prevent hearsay evidence from entering the court. Defendants may receive the death sentence."
- [Description from Council of Foreign Relations website.]

Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
- Official opinion from the Supreme Court of the U.S.

Council on Foreign Relations

• The Impact of Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
  "...the Court ruled that the military commissions do not comply with U.S. military law, the laws of war, or the Geneva Conventions, which protect the rights of detainees during wartime."
  Backgrounder by Lionel Beehner, September 2006.

War Crimes
US Code: Title 18,2441.

PBS FRONTLINE - Return of the Taliban
Companion website to the October 2006 broadcast.
"FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith returns to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and presents a rare look inside this secret sanctuary..."
Sections include: Watch Full Program ; Pakistan: Jihad's Seedbed ; Inside the Lawless Tribal Areas ; The Region's New Fighters ; Interviews ; Readings & Links ; Transcript ; Teacher's Guide.

Washington Post

• e-Qaeda
  A Special Report on How Jihadists Use the Internet and Technology to Spread Their Message
  Sections include: Overview ; Babar Ahmad and Azzam.com ; Zarqawi and Al Qaeda in Iraq ; Videos ; Web Sites ; Documents.
• Letter Give Glimpse of Al-Qaeda's Leadership
  Letter Shows Worry Over Iraq Infighting
  By Karen DeYoung, October 2, 2006.

U.S. Senate - Select Committee on Intelligence - Iraq Intelligence Reports

• Postwar Findings about Iraq's WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How they Compare with Prewar Assessments (September 8, 2006)
  No link between Saddam's government and al-Qaida.

U.S. Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

• al-Qaeda: The Many Faces of an Islamist Extremist Threat (September 6, 2006)

Chatham House
"Chatham House is one of the world's leading organizations for the analysis of international issues.It is membership-based and aims to help individuals and organizations to be at the forefront of developments in an ever-changing and increasingly complex world."

[The 9-11 Commission] National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
"...is chartered to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks. The Commission is also mandated to provide recommendations designed to guard against future attacks."

• Hearings
  "Staff statements, prepared testimony, archived video, and transcripts will be posted in the online archive as they become available.

Foreign Affairs
Published by the Council on Foreign Relations.

• Saving Afghanistan
  "Summary: With the Taliban resurgent, reconstruction faltering, and opium poppy cultivation at an all-time high, Afghanistan is at risk of collapsing into chaos. If Washington wants to save the international effort there, it must increase its commitment to the area and rethink its strategy -- especially its approach to Pakistan, which continues to give sanctuary to insurgents on its tribal frontier."
  By Barnett R. Rubin, January/February 2007.

George Washington University - The National Security Archive

• Electronic Surveillance: From the Cold War to Al-Qaeda
  Wiretap Debate Deja Vu: Documents show Ford White House embraced wiretap law instead of claiming "inherent" Presidential authority in 1976 despite objections from Rumsfeld, G.H.W. Bush, Kissinger. Web posting includes Justice report on criminal liability for 1970s warrantless wiretapping, 1990s directives on US surveillance."
• Bush Administration's First Memo on al-Qaeda Declassified
  "Document Central to Clarke-Rice Dispute on Bush Terrorism Policy Pre-9/11."
  Edited by Barbara Elias, National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 147, February 2005, Updated September 2006.
• The President's Daily Brief
  Documents: The 6 August 2001 PDB headlined "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US."
• The September 11th Sourcebooks
  National Security Archive Online Readers on Terrorism, Intelligence and the Next War
  • Volume II: Afghanistan- Lessons from the Last War (October 9, 2001)
    "...Archive experts John Prados and Svetlana Savranskaya draw on declassified records and the memoirs of former Soviet officials to examine Soviet policymaking, military operations, and lessons learned from the last war in Afghanistan, a bloody, ten-year conflict that pitted Soviet military forces against CIA-backed Afghan rebels."
  • Volume IV: The Once and Future King?
    From the Secret Files on King Zahir's Reign in Afghanistan, 1970-1973
    National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 59
    Edited by William Burr, October 26, 2001
  • Volume VI: The Hunt for Bin Laden
    Background on the Role of Special Forces in U.S. Military Strategy
    National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 63, December 2001.
  • Volume VII: The Taliban File
    National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 97.
    Edited by Sajit Gandhi
    "Marking the second anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the National Security Archive at George Washington University today posted on the Web a new collection of recently declassified U.S. documents covering the controversial rise to power of Osama bin Laden's former hosts in Afghanistan, the Taliban. "
  • Taliban File Part III
    U.S. Pressed Taliban to Expel Usama bin Laden Over 30 Times - Only Three Approaches in First Year of Bush Administration.
  • Taliban File Part III
    Pakistan Aided the Taliban in the 1990's
    Edited by Sajit Gandi
  • Taliban File Part IV
    Mullah Omar Called Washington in 1998
    National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book, No. 134.
    Edited by Barbara Elias.

Foreign Policy

• Think Again: Al Qaeda (May/June 2004)
  By Jason Burke

Jihad Monitor
"...is a guide to open internet resources on Islamist radicalism and Jihadism. It was created by a group of university researchers. Members of the Jihad Monitor also provide analysis in the JMA section of the website."

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press

• A Year After Iraq War (March 2004)
  Mistrust of America in Europe Ever Higher, Muslim Anger Persists
  [Include stats on Muslim views of Osama bin Ladin.]

South Asia Analysis Group

• Al Qaeda Kills Its Mentor & Godfather?
  By B. Raman, Paper No. 1018, June 7, 2004.

The President's Daily Brief
Documents: The 6 August 2001 PDB headlined "Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US."
- National Security Archive, George Washington University

Tape Urges Muslim Fight Against U.S. (12 February 2003)
- From CNN.com

Full Text: bin Laden's 'letter to America' (24 November 2002)
"This letter appeared on the internet in Arabic and has since been translated and circulated by Islamists in Britain."
- Guardian Unlimited Observer

Afghanistan Watch (Blog)
Sections include: Afghanistan Index ; Key Articles ; Blog Archive; Newsletter Archive ; Afghanistan News Feed ; Links.
Prepared by Carl Robichaud.

• Taliban

Air University Library Publications - Al-Quida (The Base / bin Laden)
Bibliography includes: Internet Resources ; Books ; Documents; Periodicals.

The Atlantic Monthly

• Prophetic Justice
  "The United States is now prosecuting suspected terrorists on the basis of their intentions, not just their actions. But in the case of Islamic extremists, how can American jurors fairly weigh words and beliefs when Muslims themselves canít agree on what they mean?
  By Amy Waldman, October 2006

War on Terrorism - Osama bin Laden, the Taliban and Terrorism
"It provides a selected list of online sources about the suspected perpetrator of these atrocities: Osama bin Laden and his loose knit network known as al Qa'ida (The Base). Resources on Afghanistan, whose Taliban regime currently shelters bin Laden, and on terrorism in general, are also included."
By David Durant, Joyner Library, East Carolina University

BBC News

• Who are the Taleban? (December 2000)
• Osama bin Laden: America's most wanted (August 1999)

BBC NEWS Special Reports - War on Terror
In Depth: Investigating al-Qaeda
Sections include: Timeline: Al-Qaeda ; Top Stores ; Resources ; Controversy Camp ; Who's Who ; Where is Osama ; Analysis ; Worldwide Threat ; Overview ; Money Trail ; Day of Terror ; Custody and Trials ; Background.

• Who's Who in al-Qaeda

Before Taliban : Genealogies of the Afghan Jihad
By David B. Edwards
California E-Editions - browse for free.

Brookings Institution

• Afghanistan: The Taliban Resurgent and NATO
  Op-Ed by Bruce Riedel, November 2006.

The Buddhas of Bamiyan
Destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001
Sections include: Location & History ; Buddhism ; The Statues ; Animations ; Destruction ; Computer Reconstruction ; Links.
By Prof. Dr. A.Gruen, Fabio Remondino, and Zhang Li
- Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing IGP-Eth Zurich, Switzerland

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

• Opinions - Bin Laden and the Bomb (Jan./Feb. 2002)
  By David Albright, Kathryn Buehler & Holly Higgins

Christian Science Monitor

• The Jill Carroll Story (August 2006)
  "Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, was held hostage in Iraq for 82 days. This is her story."

Christian Science Monitor - A Changed World: Combating Terrorism

• Mullah Omar: The reclusive ruler who runs the Taliban (10/10/01)

CNN.com In-Depth - Osama bin Laden

• Bin Laden Lashes Out at U.N., U.S. Attacks in Taped Message (11/03/01)
• CNN interview with Osama bin Laden [.pdf]
• What Proof of Osama bin Laden Involvement?
• Bin Laden Expert Reflects on Elusive Terrorism (09/21/01)
• Bin Laden Exploits Technology to Suit His Needs (09/21/01)

CNN.com In-Depth - Terror in the Philippines
"Abu Sayyaf, al Qaeda-linked Muslim extremists fighting for an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines..."
Sections include: Features: Timeline, Al Qaeda Pulls Strings ; Video ; Latest Reports ; Links.

Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)

• Online Debate: Is Pakistan Doing All It Should to Secure Its Afghan Border?
  Discussants: Bill Roggio and Kathy Gannon, February-March 2007.
• American Muslims and the Threat of Homegrown Terrorism
  Backgrounder by Eben Kaplan, September 2006.

Federation of American Scientists

• The Islamic Taliban Movement and the Dangers of Regional Assimilation
  By Abu Abdul Aziz Al-Afghani, Kabul - Afghanistan, 1997.
• Whither the Taliban?
  by Mr. Ali A. Jalali and Mr. Lester W. Grau, Foreign Military Studies Office, Fort Leavenworth, KS.
  This article appeared in the 6 March 1999 issue of The Cyber-Caravan Under the title Taliban - a Model for "Islamicising" Central Asia?

Foreign Policy

• Think Again: Al Qaeda (May/June 2004)
  By Jason Burke

Guardian Unlimited (UK)

• Special Report: al-Qaida
  Interactive Guide - Terrorist Attacks Around the World Since September 11
  • Timeline: The Osama bin Laden Tapes
• Mullah Omar - in his own words (September 26, 2001)
  "This12-minute interview with Mullah Omar Mohammad, the Taliban leader, was conducted in Pashtu for the publicly-funded radio channel Voice of America. The broadcast was pulled last Friday, following objections from the US deputy secretary of state and senior officials of the National Security Council."

Institute for Afghan Studies
"...is a non-profit, non-political and independent organization, founded and run by young Afghan scholars from around the globe. The mission of the Institute is to be a center for research and a credible source of information about Afghanistan."

• An Introduction of the Taliban
  By Kawun Kakar, Institute for Afghan Studies, Fall 2000.

Human Rights Watch

• Human Rights in the U.S.: Guantanamo Detainees

Library of Congress - Portals to the World - Terrorism
Selected Internet Resources
Sections include: General Sites on Terrorism ; Osama bin Laden ; Mullah Omar ; Al Qaeda.

Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
"This site was created by the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) to provide an arena for American Muslim activists to share information, network, and work on causes that impact the American Muslim community."
Contains sections on networking, opinion, analysis, resources, and current events.

• MPAC Rejects Bin Laden's Call for Global War
  Position Statement, April 2006.

nthposition.com (electronic journal)
"...is a free online magazine/ezine with politics & opinion, travel writing, fiction & poetry, reviews & interviews, and some high weirdness."

• Manual of a Raid (July 2002)
  "Michael Griffin traces Mohammed Atta's transformation from quiet but brilliant graduate student of urban conservation to Al Qa'ida terrorist."

PBS - America at a Crossroads
Companion website to the April 2007 series.
"...is a major public television event premiering on PBS in April 2007 that explores the challenges confronting the post-9/11 world ó including the war on terrorism; the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan; the experience of American troops serving abroad; the struggle for balance within the Muslim world; and global perspectives on Americaís role overseas."
Films include: JIHAD: The Men and Ideas behind Al Qaeda ; Warriors ; Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience ; Gangs of Iraq ; The Case for War: In Defense of Freedom ; Europe's 9/11 ; The Muslim Americans ; Faith Without Fear ; Struggle for the Soul of Islam: Inside Indonesia ; Security versus Liberty: The Other War ; The Brotherhood.

PBS - Frontline - Email from the Field: In Search of Al Qaeda
"Web surfers can follow veteran FRONTLINE producer Martin Smith and his production team's journey through email dispatches and photos posted on the FRONTLINE Web site. Working on a FRONTLINE documentary scheduled to air on PBS in November [2002], the FRONTLINE investigative team set out two weeks ago [August 20, 2002] on a two-month trip that will take them from the United States to London, the Persian Gulf, across Afghanistan and Pakistan, and points beyond in search of Al Qaeda operatives."

PBS - Frontline - Hunting bin Laden
"Investigating Osama Bin Laden, His Network, and His Role Terrorist Attacks on America." Includes an interview with Bin Laden.
Website to accompany PBS Frontline Special

PBS - Frontline - Son of Al Qaeda (April 2004)
Companion web site to the TV broadcast.
"The inside story of a young Canadian who grew up with bin Laden's children and was groomed to be a terrorist -- but became instead a CIA informant."
Sections include: Interviews ; Inside the Khadr Family ; Readings ; Correspondent's Notebook.

PBS FRONTLINE - Return of the Taliban
Companion website to the October 2006 broadcast.
"FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith returns to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and presents a rare look inside this secret sanctuary..."
Sections include: Watch Full Program ; Pakistan: Jihad's Seedbed ; Inside the Lawless Tribal Areas ; The Region's New Fighters ; Interviews ; Readings & Links ; Transcript ; Teacher's Guide.

PBS - Frontline - The Man Who New (October 2002)
"When the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, among the thousands killed was the one man who may have known more about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda than any other person in America: John O'Neill."
Sections include: Watch the Video Online ; View A 1997 Interview with O'Neill ; Life and Career ; What If... ; "Connecting the Dots" - Map ; Interviews ; Timeline: Al Qaeda's Global Context ; Readings & Links ; Tapes & Transcripts.

PBS The Online NewsHour - Afghanistan and the War on Terror
Sections include: News ; Reports ; Profiles ; Resources ; Interactive ; For Students & Teachers.

• Al-Qaida in Afghanistan
  Background Report, October 2006.

Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA)
A project of the Commonwealth Institute

• Dislocating Alcyoneus: How to Combat al-Qaeda and the New Terrorism (June 2002)
  Briefing Memo #23, By Carl Conetta.
• Beyond bin Laden: The Temptations of a Wider War
  Briefing Memo, #22, 28 September 2001
  By Carl Conetta

RAND Publications (free downloads)

• Al-Qaida: Terrorist Selection and Recruitment
  Originally published in: McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook, 2006, Chapter 5, p. 73-89.
  By Sara A. Daly, and Scott Gerwehr.
• Al Qaeda, Trends in Terrorism and Future Potentialities: An Assessment
  By Bruce Hoffman, 2003.

South Asia Analysis Group (SAAG)

• The Raging Jihad - An Overview
  International Terrorism Monitor, Paper No. 162.
  By B. Raman, Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, and, presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies.
  SAAG Paper No. 2054, 7.12.2006.
  [Re: Afghanistan, Iraq, & Thailand]

Timeline: The Taliban
Key dates in the history of the Taliban from Infoplease.com

U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN) - Afghanistan

• AFGHANISTAN- Taliban condemns terrorist attacks in US (09/12/01)

UN Commission on Human Rights

U.S. Department of Defense

• Their Troops Quit When Taliban, Al Qaeda Leaders Break (11/28/01)
• Wolfowitz- Bin Laden Is 'A Man On The Run' (11/21/01)
• No. 2 Al Qaeda Terrorist May Have Been Killed (11/16/01)
• Rumsfeld Believes U.S. Can Get Bin Laden (10/25/01)

U.S. Senate - Select Committee on Intelligence - Iraq Intelligence Reports

• Postwar Findings about Iraq's WMD Programs and Links to Terrorism and How they Compare with Prewar Assessments (September 8, 2006)
  No link between Saddam's government and al-Qaida.
• The Use by the Intelligence Community of Information Provided by the Iraqi National Congress (September 8, 2006)

U.S. West Point - Combating Terrorism Center
"...the Center has been actively involved in supporting the Global War on Terror through education, research, and policy analysis."

• Teaching Terror
  "This website is dedicated to supporting the study of terrorism and counterterrorism. It is hoped that the information resources provided here will be of use to academics, students, policymakers, and others engaged in understanding and combating global terrorism."
• Ansar al-Sunnah Demands Retribution from Al-Qa'ida in Iraq for Killings - (dead link)
  "On January 13, 2007 a message demanding retribution for the killing of Ansar al-Sunnah (AAS) fighters by Al-Qaíida in Iraq (AQI) was transmitted by AASí Judicial Committee to AQIís Emir, Abu Hamzah al-Muhajir."

Washington Post

• Letter Give Glimpse of Al-Qaeda's Leadership
  Letter Shows Worry Over Iraq Infighting
  By Karen DeYoung, October 2, 2006.

World Public Opinion
"The Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) launched WorldPublicOpinion.org (WPO) in January 2006 to provide a source of in-depth information and analysis on public opinion from around the world on international issues."

• All Iraqi Ethnic Groups Overwhelmingly Reject al Qaeda (September 2006)
  "A new poll of Iraqis shows that al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden are rejected by overwhelming majorities of Shias and Kurds and large majorities of Sunnis."

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