Hello, 

- I need a complete list of countries that support/supported Al Qaeda.  
- I need a complete list of countries that suffered from Al Qaeda attacks.
- I need a complete(or as complete as possible)list of websites
supporting Al Qaeda (official and non-official Al Qaeda sites)
- I need a list of Al Qaeda official spokesmen for the past 10 years
(if such a position actually exists)

I'm already aware of the fact that it is better to split the questions
above into 4 individual question but I prefer to leave my question as
is.  Good info=good price, great info = Tip.  Please include citation
URLs if possible.

---

Request for Question Clarification by nancylynn-ga on 02 Nov 2005 08:54 PST

Hello who3ver-ga:

Please clarify: "a complete list of countries that support/supported Al Qaeda."

Al Qaeda has had cells in an astonishing number of countries; that in
no way means that all of those countries' governments supported the
terrorists.

Do you want a list of all countries in which Al Qaeda has had cells,
or only those countries where the government clearly, or very
apparently, supported/endorsed Al Qaeda?

Best regards,
nancylynn-ga
Google Answers Researcher

---

Clarification of Question by who3ver-ga on 02 Nov 2005 19:39 PST

nancylynn-ga,

I found an almost complete list of governments that support/supported
Al Qaeda.  I also found the list of countries that Al Qaeda targeted
in the past 25 years.

I don't have the spokesmen (again, only if they do exist, and 
I don't have the list of official/non-official sites

A comprehensive list of websites would be sufficient.  The better the
list the better the tip.

---

Request for Question Clarification by nancylynn-ga on 02 Nov 2005 20:28 PST

Thank you for responding.

Actually, I'd planned to ask you about that aspect: "I need a complete
(or as complete as possible list) of websites supporting Al Qaeda
(official and non-official Al Qaeda sites)."

I realize that anyone with even moderate Web search proficiency can
hunt down Al Qaeda sites, but I, personally, don't care to make it
easier for people to find those sites. I have asked the editors for
guidance on that point, but have not yet heard back.

If I were to post those sites, I would do it only if that information
could be removed after you'd notified me you'd had a chance to copy my
listing for your records. I realize there are valid reasons for
needing that information -- such as researching a report for school,
or writing a book or article; but I cannot, in all good conscience,
leave a permanent listing of those sites.

I would feel the same way about listing Neo-Nazi or KKK sites; sites
that promote their twisted causes. Again: there are perfectly
legitimate reasons for researching those groups; I just feel very
uncomfortable about leaving a permanent listing of such organizations'
promotional Web sites here, where they're accessible to anyone.

Btw, I've noticed that many respected news organizations that have
reported on Al Qaeda's Web sites, also refrain from printing or airing
those URLs. (My background is journalism, which may be why I'm seeing
ethical red flags all over this point!)

Again, I am waiting for Google Answers editors to advise me on this matter.    

As for the other issue, I can probably identify a few spokespersons,
such as  Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, in Iranian custody as of 2003. Lately,
most Al Qaeda spokespersons have been anonymous. Of course, we just
saw an American Al Qaeda spokesperson, Adam Gadahn, emerge last month.

According to Wikipedia, which I consider a good, but not a primary, source:

 "The chain of command":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda#The_chain_of_command 

" In the late 1990s there was a publicly known Media committee, which
ran the now-defunct newspaper Nashrat al Akhbar (Newscast) and did
public relations. It is currently assumed that media operations are
now outsourced to internally redundant [I believe that means
"defunct," in this context] parts of the organization."

One possible compromise: I could list resources on how Al Qaeda has
used the Internet to promote itself and bring in new recruits, and I
could provide information and names for now defunct sites.

So, I will let you know how the editors advise me re: listing of Al
Qaeda Web sites, and get back to you. We can then take it from there.
Once that's decided, I will also try to list as many known Al Qaeda
spokesmen, past and present, as possible.

nancylynn-ga
Google Answers Researcher

---

Clarification of Question by who3ver-ga on 02 Nov 2005 23:55 PST

nancylynnn-ga, 

"If I were to post those sites, I would do it only if that information
can be removed after you'd notified me you'd had a chance to copy my
listing for your records" 

You don't even have to post them....just post a blank reply and send
me an email with the information (if that's against Google's
procedure, I'm sure that something can be worked out so that other
don't take advantage of the information).

I slacked for the past month thinking that I can research this in a
couple of hours....the paper is due Fri.  I will basically not need
the answer if you're not able to get it to me by 9:00pm tonight (that
will give me a few hours to edit the midterm paper w/new info).  I
appreciate all your effort :-) I will be monitoring my email for
updates every hour or so.

---

Request for Question Clarification by politicalguru-ga on 03 Nov 2005 00:58 PST

Dear Who3ver, 

I have a site that lists of active sites that are associated with
Al-Qaeda, but must know beforehand, that you're still ready to accept
that as an answer.

---

Clarification of Question by who3ver-ga on 03 Nov 2005 01:15 PST

Yes, that will be accepted as an answer

Dear Who3ver, 

No wonder you were having problems finding official Al-Qaeda
spokespersons or sites. Those don't officially exist, and one could
say that Al-Qaeda itself doesn't officially exist.

Provocative statement? 

Perhaps. But Al-Qaeda is not an organisation in the traditional sense.
The word means "base" in Arabic, and Al-Qaeda serves as a "base", a
foundation, for all sorts of "branches". It doesn't have a structure:
it is a loose association of organisations and people sharing the same
Jihadist ideology. So, you cannot find "Al Qaeda" websites, but
rather, websites associated with Al-Qaeda, or supporting its actions.

Lots of information regarding its structure, and the fact that it's
hard to pinpoint Al Qaeda because of it, is available at Wikipedia:
Al-Qaeda
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda> 

Such a database of al-Qaeda sympathetic websites could be found at : 

Internet Haganah 
<http://haganah.org.il/jihadi/salafy.html> 

(Internet Haganah is a blog/website monitoring Jihadist terrorist
activity online. Their main webpage is:
<http://haganah.org.il/haganah/index.html>). 

Researcher Bob Cromwell also lists sites that are associated with
Al-Qaeda on his website:
Al-Qaida, Osama bin Ladin, the Taleban, and their supporters 
<http://www.cromwell-intl.com/security/nu/aq.html> 

Al-Qaeda's most notorious website was Al-Neda, about which you can
read at Wikipedia:
Wikipedia - AlNeda
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alneda> 
The article also includes a link to a screen-shot of Al-Neda when it
was active, which might prove useful for your research.

As for spokespersons (naturally, spokesmen, as we all know their
position regarding gender equality...), the following names pop to
mind:

-  Sulaiman Abu Ghaith 
Wikipedia <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulaiman_Abu_Ghaith> 

-  Thabet bin Qais 
(See at: Google search for [ Thabet bin Qais] 
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+Thabet+bin+Qais%2C&btnG=Google+Search> 

- Adam Yahiye Gadahn 
<http://www.fbi.gov/terrorinfo/gadahn.htm> was mentioned in oen source
as being an Al Qaeda spokesman:
Names Los Angeles and Melbourne as Next Targets, ABC News,
<http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Investigation/story?id=1115448&page=1>

- Abu Dujan al-Afghani
Wikipedia, Abu Dujan al-Afghani
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dujan_al-Afghani> 


Further Information
===================
"E-Qaeda", an interview with BROOKE GLADSTONE on the difficulty of
"keeping in touch" with Al Qaeda websites
"E Qaeda", On The Media,
<http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/transcripts_061804_al.html>
(2004).

Reuven Paz, "Sawt al-Jihad: New Indoctrination of Qa`idat al-Jihad",
<http://www.intelligence.org.il/eng/g_j/rp_h_11_03.htm> - incorporates
lots of information about Al Qaeda's cyber activity, including website
addresses.

Jihad Unspun 
<http://www.jihadunspun.com/home.php> - republishes Jihadist
literature in English.

I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
further clarification on this answer before you rate it. I also
suggest you'd search on Google Answers for my name (politicalguru) and
the terms "Al Qaeda", "terrorism" or "Bin Laden" for further answers I
have given on this subject before (please note that an old answer
given on the subject of Al Qaeda websites is no longer relevant):
"answered by politicalguru" "qaeda OR terrorism OR bin laden" 
<http://answers.google.com/answers/search?q=%22answered+by+politicalguru%22+%22qaeda+OR+terrorism+OR+bin+laden%22&qtype=all&btnG=Google+Search>

Thank you, life saver :-)  until the next paper.

I knew it would only be a matter of time before the CIA turned to
Google Answers for help.  :)

tutuzdad-ga

Nice one, Tutu must be proud of her father

@who3ever

Very few countries actually support, or have ever supported Al Qaeda.

The rulers of Saudi, where a lot of it originates, utterly detest it
as they would be first to the guillotine.
Personally I suspect that wealthy Saudis have made 'compulsory
donations' but that does not mean that they liked doing so
- just that they are not keen on seeing their close relatives assassinated.

Pakistan is not that much in favour of it, yet their Intelligence
Service has strong historical links with the Taliban dating back to
the days when the US was providing arms to make the Russians' lives
miserable
- note that the Russians spotted the trend back in 1979

There are supposed to be links with Chechenya, but they are not a 'government'.

Al Qaeda is supposed to be Sunni, Iran is Shi'ite, the Sunni and
Shi'ite fanatics do not get along with each other.

There is no evidence that The Sudan, Libya or any other 'historical
grandstanders' have anything to do with Al Qaeda.

Certainly Syria has been letting nutters pass through into Iraq, but
it is very likely that they dislike doing so
- Ba'athists and Fundamentalists do not mix that well

In some ways there are certain parallels between Iraq and the Spanish
Civil War, where the 'Republicans' had a lot of rather unpleasant
allies who mutually detested each other, yet were magnetically drawn
to a trouble spot.

For the record, Saddam would have been a lot more effective at mopping
up deranged Fundamentalists than most people.

What we currently see as 'Al Qaeda' is probably a dis-organization
funded by involuntary contributions and a spot of dope running, and
using disenfranchized young males as cannon fodder.

Pretty nasty - but nothing new.

politicalguru-ga and nancylynn-ga, 

I already copied the much needed info.  If you would like, you can
delete the question/answer at this point.

Thanks again

Dear Who3ver, 

Thank you for the rating and the tip, and good luck with your paper!