Austin Bay Blog

Call it Adl’s complaint– a letter from an Al Qaeda terrorist damning Bin Laden as a poor leader and strategist. Bin Laden comes off as aloof, arrogant and blind. (This column from 2004 noted Bin Laden’s elitism and “rich kid” legacy.) The letter dates from June 13, 2002.

The West Point center’s synopsis says Abd-al-Halim Adl “challenges the leadership of Osama Bin Laden and accuses him of being close-minded and oblivious to the great harm suffered by Al-Qa’ida in recent months.”

Indeed–by June 2002 Al Qaeda has had a tough six months. The fanatics have suffered terrible losses. Adl writes his friend Mukhtar:

STOP RUSHING INTO ACTION AND TAKE TIME OUT TO
CONSIDER ALL THE FATAL AND SUCCESSIVE DISASTERS THAT HAVE AFFLICTED
US DURING A PERIOD OF NO MORE THAN SIX MONTHS. THOSE OBSERVING OUR
AFFAIRS WONDER WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO US. PREVIOUSLY, THEIR ERRORS
WERE NOT DISCOVERED UNTIL SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS HAD BEEN COMPLETED.
BUT TODAY WE ARE EXPERIENCING ONE SETBACK AFTER ANOTHER AND HAVE GONE
FROM MISFORTUNE TO DISASTER. DURING (TN: THE PAST) SIX MONTHS, IT
HAS BECOME APPARENT TO THE OBSERVER THAT THERE IS A NEW HAND THAT IS
MANAGING AFFAIRS AND THAT IS DRIVING FORCEFULLY; EVERY TIME IT
FALTERS, IT GETS UP AND RUSHES AGAIN, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING OR
AWARENESS. IT RUSHES TO MOVE WITHOUT VISION, AND IT IS IN A HURRY TO
ACCOMPLISH ACTIONS THAT NOW REQUIRE PATIENCE BECAUSE OF THE SECURITY
ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT HE WHOLE WORLD. THIS HAND DOES NOT PAY
ATTENTION TO WHAT IS HAPPENING, AS IF WE WILL NOT BE SUMMONED T O
ACCOUNT BEFORE ALLAH FOR ALL THESE SOULS, THIS BLOOD AND THIS MONEY
(TN: THAT HAS BEEN EXPENDED)

That hand is Bin Laden. (I am not sure why this particular letter appeared as all capitals. The other ones I’ve copied did not.)

Another excerpt:

PERHAPS, BROTHER ABU MATTAR HAS WARNED YOU THAT HIS OPINION HAS
CHANGED A LOT SINCE HE GOT OUT OF HIS PREVIOUS SITUATION. HE HELD ME
RESPONSIBLE BY SAYING TO ME: FEAR ALLAH BECAUSE YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE
AMONG THE BRETHREN WHO IS NOW IN THE EXTERIOR AND THE WHOLE MATTER IS
ON YOUR SHOULDERS. I HAD THIS MATTER ON MY MIND, BUT I AVOIDED IT
BECAUSE THE TEACHER (TN: BIN-LADIN) CORRESPONDS DIRECTLY WITH YOU
(AND THAT, UNFORTUNATELY, IS HIS ABSOLUTE HABIT THAT HE WILL NOT
ABANDON. IF SOMEONE OPPOSES HIM, HE IMMEDIATELY PUTS FORWARD ANOTHER
PERSON TO RENDER AN OPINION IN HIS SUPPORT, CLINGING TO HIS OPINION
AND TOTALLY DISREGARDING THOSE AROUND HIM, SO THERE IS NO ADVICE NOR
NOTHING) . THE CONSEQUENCES THAT YOU SEE ARE NOTHING, BUT AN OUTCOME OF THIS
ONRUSH. VERY REGRETTABLY, HAD I TALKED BEFORE THE DISASTERS OCCURRED
-AND I DID TALK -I WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED A COVETOUS PERSON,
BUT NOW THAT THE MATTER HAS BECOME A REALITY, I HAVE ABSOLVED MY
CONSCIENCE. HE (TN: THE TEACHER) PUSHES YOU RELENTLESSLY AND WITHOUT
CONSIDERATION AS IF HE HAS NOT HEARD THE NEWS AND AS IF HE DOES NOT
COMPREHEND THE EVENTS. TO ABSOLVE MY CONSCIENCEB EFORE ALLAH, AND TO
ANNOUNCE MY INNOCENCE IN FRONT OF ALLAH, I SAY TODAY WE MUST
COMPLETELY HALT ALL EXTERNAL ACTIONS UNTIL WE SIT DOWN AND CONSIDER
THE DISASTER WE CAUSED.

Another slash at Bin Laden:

MY BELOVED BROTHER, STOP ALL FOREIGN ACTIONS, STOP SENDING PEOPLE TO
CAPTIVITY, STOP DEVISING NEWO PERATIONS, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ORDERS
COME OR DO NOT COME FROM ABU-ABDALLA (TN: BIN-LADEN). OUR
ADHERENTS HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN US AND IN OUR ABILITY TO MANAGE THE
ACTION, AND THEY WONDER, WHAT HAS BEFALLEN US.

Abu Abdalla (also Abu Abdullah) refers to Bin Laden.

Losing Afghanistan shook at least one of Al Qaeda’s faithful. The loss of Afghanistan suggested Al Qaeda did not have the mandate of Allah. This is why the strategic offense — taking the war to Al Qaeda, waging war in what A Qaeda calls “Muslim heartlands” — is absolutely necessary.

UPDATE: This link leads to the other posts in this series. Just keep clicking.