Al Qaeda Training Manual

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XavierBreath

New member
The manual on the DoJ website was located by the Manchester (England) Metropolitan Police during a search of an Al Qaeda member's home. The manual was found in a computer file described as "the military series" related to the "Declaration of Jihad." The manual was translated into English and was introduced earlier this year at the embassy bombing trial in New York. The Department is only providing the following selected text from the manual because it does not want to aid in educating terrorists or encourage further acts of terrorism.

I'm not sure if this is on topic, but I am sure it will be of interest.
 
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tyme

Administrator
I haven't looked at it, but I'm sure anyone interested in guerilla tactics can find much better resources than an Al Qaeda training manual.
 
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LawDog

Staff Emeritus
*snort*

FM 31-20, FM 31-20-5, FM 34-2-1, FM 90-8, TM 31-200-1, TM 31-201-1; not to mention FM 31-21, catchily titled: GUERILLA WARFARE AND SPECIAL FORCES OPERATIONS.

All of which can be bought from Amazon.com, Paladin Press, various Internet sources and the guy in the aviator glasses, the black beret and the "Kill 'Em All, Let God Sort 'Em Out" t-shirt at the flea market or next gun show.

The CIA -- I'm sorry, some dude named Tacayán -- distributed literally thousands of texts on guerilla warfare to the contras, more than a few are probably floating around.

US sources don't float your boat?

The Science of Guerilla Warfare by T.E. Lawrence

Guerilla Warfare (1961) and Guerilla Warfare: A Method (1962) both by Ernesto "Che" Guevara

Guerilla Warfare by Vladimir Ilich Lenin

The Mini-Manual of the Urban Guerilla by Carlos Marighella

How To Master Secret Work an anthology of sorts published by the African National Congress

and last, but certainly not least:

On Guerilla Warfare (1937) by Mao Tse Tung.

All of these books or manuals can still be found throughout the world, not to mention the fact that I found all of them re-printed on the Internet after a brief search.

Yay! We've got a mimeographed copy of the Al Queda Rover Scout manual!

By God, we've ham-strung them now! Without their manual they'll be helpless!

*sigh*

LawDog
 
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LawDog

Staff Emeritus
Any book is worth reading, Jonathon.

The US military manuals have good technical details.

The other books were written by the guys who had Been There/Done That/Got The T-Shirt, but they can be a bit esoteric.

LawDog
 
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Rojoe67

New member
neighbor

My neighbor is always reading fishing magazines. I would think he knows from his constant reading a few things about how, when, where and so on's of hooking the big one???? Yet, each nice day that goes by he sits in his lawn chair on the porch and continues to read. His boat hasn't been in the water in 3 years. I think he is just getting a real good understanding before he goes out on the big adventure?

I enjoy reading a little too but I would think hands on for experience and practice help the real expert write books. That much said, I have read too many books by the guy that never got his boat wet, so to say..... ;)


Many, many, many and more field manuels and how-to books are out there. Some value can and will get extracted. Rambo didn't get to be that dude by reading Soldier of Fiction alone........ ;)
 
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Eghad

New member
One of the serious problems in planning the fight against American doctrine, is that the Americans do not read their manuals, nor do they feel any obligation to follow their doctrine...
- From a Soviet Junior Lt's Notebook
 
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Tamara

Moderator Emeritus
Total Resistance, by Major H. von Dach is a wonderful little primer on how to make Switzerland (or anyplace else) a sucky place to occupy.
 
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LawDog

Staff Emeritus
I'd trade all the above for Sun-Tzu's "The Art of War". But that's just me.
Click to expand...

Sun-Tzu heavily influenced Mousey Tongue (sorry, family joke).

Mao Tse Tung, in turn, heavily influenced a lot of the other books ... particularly the ones from Latin American sources.

LawDog
 
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tanstaafl4y

New member
I read an al queda manual while I was still on active duty (army) over 3 years ago. A quick look at the first few pages of the ones in the link make me think that these are the same documents I read. From what I remember it was all pretty much "common sence". You'd be better off reading a book by Mossada Ayoob. The alQueda doc is, imho, worthless. It just goes to show how little trainng the terror cells really have.
 
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butch50

New member
The current terrorist warfare mode depends heavily on recruiting people willing to commit suicide. Not a new wrinkle (think of kamikaze pilots) but certainly one of limited value to leaders who cant recruit suicidal people. It is heavily cultural dependent.

How many suicidal militamen do you think you could find?
 
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LAK

Moderator
It may not just be culture; the m.o. for some or perhaps many of these "suicide" bomb attacks might well be people unwittingly carrying (or driving vehicles) explosive devices set up with remote triggers.
 
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butch50

New member
You wouldn't think that they would be able to pull that one off too many times before the general population was aware of it. But hey, those don't seem to be the brightest people around.
 
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LawDog

Staff Emeritus
How many suicidal militamen do you think you could find?
Click to expand...

Depends on what they thought they were fighting for, and how charismatic a leader I could dangle in front of them.

Not a new wrinkle (think of kamikaze pilots) but certainly one of limited value to leaders who cant recruit suicidal people. It is heavily cultural dependent.
Click to expand...

Standard tactic taught in the old Soviet insurgency academy was to set your suicide device up with two switches. Tell the putz -- sorry, patriot -- that one of the switches activates a 30 second (or 60 second or ten minute) delay to give him time to escape the area. Tell him that the other switch is only to be used in emergencies, since it immediately detonates the device.

Of course, both switches are on the exact same circuit: ie., no time delay, but there's no need to burden the spear-carriers with that knowledge.

Have your Head Insurgent In Charge memorize about three speeches, 1)concerning the Devotion To The Cause shown by the Recently Departed, as evidenced by his choice to Stay With The Device And Ensure The Success Of The Mission;
2) reminding all spear-carriers to remember which switch is which, and to be careful not to make a mistake (don't snicker during this one, it ruins the atmosphere); and
3) about the Dearly Departed almost getting snatched by The Opposition At The Last Moment And Heroically Going To His Reward to Prevent Capture And Interrogation.

Given your average insurgent, these three speeches in rotation can keep can keep you hip-deep in suicide bombers, not a one of whom is actually planning on commiting suicide.

LawDog
 
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LAK

Moderator
Butch50
You wouldn't think that they would be able to pull that one off too many times before the general population was aware of it.
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Maybe. But maybe not; to avoid such a thing everyone would have to refuse to do any work that involved driving cars, trucks or any work that involved taking what might appear to be the most seemingly innocuous item anywhere, any specified address etc for any reason. Something that would bring the country to a standstill. A sort of "general strike".
 
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butch50

New member
I was under the impression (wrongly?) that these bombers were knowningly committing suicide. Obviously the ones who wear bomb vests are. Driving a car into a barricaded area would seem to be a known situation as well.

Seems like it would be difficult to get anyone to drive a vehicle that wasn't their own in that environment. I can see fooling a few people, but not very many. It wouldn't take me more than a day of being there to start thoroughly checking over everything I was driving, every time I drove it. No way would you get me to deliver a big box to a police station :D
 
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XavierBreath

New member
I was under the impression (wrongly?) that these bombers were knowningly committing suicide.
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It is certain that the Palestinian girl whose bomb failed to detonate in the Israeli hospital (where she was treated a year or so ago for burns) knew that she was going there to die. It is on videotape, and she was quite angry that the bomb did not detonate. she kept screaming and pulling her cord until she was apprehended.
"My dream was to be a martyr," she said, adding that she was recruited by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a violent offshoot of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement. "I believe in death." ................Israeli military spokeswoman Maj. Sharon Feingold expressed outrage that Palestinian militants used a humanitarian case as a suicide bomber. "These terror organizations are not only the enemies of the Israelis, but also of the Palestinian people themselves, who suffer as a result of this abuse of the young, the sick, the wounded," she said.
At one point al-Biss agreed with a reporter that she might have been a victim of the militants, breaking down and sobbing, "Forgive me, mother."
Palestinian Woman Heading for Treatment at Israeli Hospital Caught Carrying Explosives

I guess her family won't get paid.
 
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