As Al-Qaeda's As-Sahab media planned on releasing a video commemorating the 7th anniversary of 9-11, the group's online media infrastructure appears to have come under a cyber-attack this past week, according to Will McCants's Jihadica blog. Several of the pro-Qaeda internet forums (i.e. Ekhlaas and Al-Firdaws) have been down for the past week, while the the group's audience also reportedly experienced difficulty using the necessary passwords to access the video. (Update: for the AP's coverage of these developments see here)
However, the English-subtitled video, dubbed “Results of Seven Years of the Crusades”(banner pictured below), was posted earlier today on As-Sahab's newly created YouTube channel, while password-free versions have been made available on the al-Hesbah forum. In fact, it appears that this YouTube channel was created for the sole purpose of disseminating this video since its creation coincided with the temporary dismantling of several pro-Qaeda internet forums last week.
In his opening address, Al-Zawahiri stresses that the movement is engaged in a media war against a 'satanic alliance’. He urges viewers to seek out media issued directly by Mujahideen, rather than relying on second-hand (mainstream) reporting. Thus, it appears Al-Zawahiri is advocating for audiences to rely on internet-based media, which ‘Mujahideen’ ostensibly would have the most control over in terms of its content and dissemination.
The video also features footage of an interrogation undertaken by the infamous counter-terrorism vigilante Jack Idema. While Idema has been labeled a con man and was sentenced to prison, As-Sahab uses the footage as an example of ‘official’ US policy in Afghanistan, claiming Idema's ‘mission’ was commissioned by the Pentagon. As-Sahab's utilization of content derived from Idema's ‘missions’ is perhaps indicative of its desperation and the lengths it is willing to go to in order to provide negative representations of the US for its viewers.
Al Jazeera English, who received a copy of the video last week in advance of the anniversary, highlights Al-Zawahiri's attack against Iran in the video, whereby he accuses it of facilitating US efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The film concludes with video footage of one of the 9-11 hijackers, Ahmad al-Ghamdi, reading his will. This dated presentation of al-Ghamdi provides the documentary with perhaps its most powerful moment, reminding us that however much al-Qaeda has evolved over the past 7 years as an organization/movement, it still continues to derive its legacy largely from the destruction it brought on 9-11.
The content of the video is perhaps marked by several arguments previously made by al-Zawahiri (i.e. his rants against Hezbollah) and its other commentators. However, more interestingly, the difficulties that Al-Qaeda enthusiasts have faced in the online dissemination of the video suggest that the organization/movement may be facing new challenges to a form of media infrastructure to which it has become increasingly dependent upon. At the same time, the fact that the video has made its way into the public online sphere reminds us that, as a platform for dissemination, internet-based media remains resilient.
