2013 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of al-Qaeda and twelve years since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States. Despite the global counterterror campaign conducted against al-Qaeda, the organization and its affiliates are still responsible for the vast majority of terror attacks in the world, which kill and wound thousands of people every year. In addition to their involvement in terrorist attacks, al-Qaeda and its affiliates exert much influence in the international system, far more than their numbers and military power suggest. This memorandum explains how one terrorist organization, which at the height of its activity numbered a few hundred operatives, established a worldwide, highly influential phenomenon called the "global jihad movement" and succeeded, more than any other terrorist organization in modern history, in harming, harassing, and exhausting a hegemonic superpower and its allies and entangling them in bloody and costly military campaigns around the world.

Leading jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State dominate through cooperation in the form of knowledge sharing, resource sharing, joint training exercises, and operational collaboration. They build alliances and lesser partnerships with other formal and informal terrorist actors to recruit foreign fighters and spread their message worldwide, raising the aggregate threat level for their declared enemies. Whether they consist of friends or foes, whether they are connected locally or online, these networks create a wellspring of support for jihadist organizations that may fluctuate in strength or change in character but never runs dry. Nexus of Global Jihad identifies types of terrorist actors, the nature of their partnerships, and the environments in which they prosper to explain global jihadist terrorism's ongoing success and resilience. Nexus of Global Jihad brings to light an emerging style of "networked cooperation" that works alongside interorganizational terrorist cooperation to establish bonds of varying depth and endurance. Case studies use recently declassified materials to illuminate al-Qaeda's dealings from Iran to the Arabian Peninsula and the informal actors that power the Sharia4 movement. The book proposes policies that increase intelligence gathering on informal terrorist actors, constrain enabling environments, and disrupt terrorist networks according to different types of cooperation. It is a vital text for strategists and scholars struggling to understand a growing spectrum of terrorist groups working together more effectively than ever before.

Dr. Kamolnick's book is a meticulously documented investigation and comparison of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State across three key strategically relevant dimensions: essential doctrine, beliefs, and worldview; strategic concept, including terrorist modus operandi; and in the final chapter, specific implications, and recommendations for current U.S. Government policy and strategy. Contents: Belief-System, Creed, Worldview, Doctrine The Al-Qaeda Organization Sunni Islamic Orthodoxy Sunni-Salafism/"Fundamentalism" The Muwahhidun/Wahhabism/Salafi-Wahhabism Muslim Brotherhood-Salafi-Wahhabi The "Base of the Jihad"; Al-Qaeda From Qa'idat Al-Jihad to Bin Ladenism From Bin Ladenism Back to Qa'idat Al-Jihad Post-Arab Spring Qa'idat Al-Jihad "What is Qa'idat Al-Jihad?" In a Nutshell: Fazul Abdullah and Adam Gadahn III. Islamic State Organization "Zarqawism" vs. AQO: Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi's Worldview and Doctrine: 1989-June 7, 2006 From Non-Religious Violent Street Tough to Ultra-Sectarian Salafi-Wahhabi Jihadist Prison Tough: 1980-1999 Al-Zarqawi's Private Jihasist Armies of the Levant: 1999-2004 The History, Doctrines, and Worldview of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi's "Caliphate": From ISI to the Caliphate: Brief Organizational History Self-Proclaimed Emir Al-Muminin Abu Bakr Al-Hussaini Al-Qurayshi Al-Baghdadi: The Caliphate Now! The "Final Solution" to the "Shia Problem" Terrorist Modus Operandi Terrorist Quadrangle Analysis The Al-Qaeda Organization The "Classical" Base First Bin Ladenist Lone Mujahid" "Far Enemy" Strategy Islamic State Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations for U.S. Government Key Findings Belief-Systems, Worldviews, Doctrines, Creeds Strategies and Terrorist Modus Operandi Implications for U.S. Government Policy and Strategies Implications for Existing USG Policy and Strategy to Permanently Defeat AQ and its Affiliates Implications for Existing USG Policy and Strategy to Permanently Defeat the IS

Aukai Collins Has Been Described As A Beefylinebacker Blue-Eyed All-American Mujahid Holy Warrior Who Has Led A Life Of Faith, Danger, And Espionage In Some Of The Most Perilous War Zones On The Face Of The Earth. His Amazing Journey Started In 1993, When A Fellow Worshiper In His San Diego Mosque Suggested That He Go To Bosnia To Stop The Serb-Sponsored Genocide That Was Taking Place There. This Eventually Led Him To Usama Bin Laden'S Training Camps In Afghanistan, Where He Trained With The Most Aggressive And Terrifying Mujahideen In The World. But When Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh - The Man Accused Of Luring Wall Street Journal Journalist Daniel Pearl To His Death - Asked Him To Raid A Town In Kashmir That Would Include Hostage Taking And The Killing Of Civilians, Collin'S Life Took Another Turn. Although He Saw Jihad As The Highest Level Of Faith, And Would Even Lose A Leg While Fighting Jihad In Chechnya, Worldwide Attacks By Islamic Terrorists Shocked Him And He Became Disillusioned By The Way Some Were Using Islam To Further Their Own Ends Or Attack Innocents. He Was Recruited By The Us Government As An Undercover Operative In The Fight Against Terrorism. His Callous Treatment By Inept Members Of The Law Enforcement And Intelligence Community Provides Insight Into Why The Us Government Can'T Fight Against Something It Doesn'T Understand. The Fbi And Cia Have Now Spent Millions Of Dollars To Understand The Events That Led Up To September 11, Even As The Information Was Theirs For The Taking. Collins Not Only Became Acquainted With One Of The Hijackers, He Was Also Invited By Usama Bin Laden To Return To Afghanistan. My Jihad Is A Personal Story About The Biggest Threat To World Peace And Stability In Our Generation, As Told By An Insider On Both Sides Of The Conflict. (Published In Collaboration With The Globalpequot Press, U Sa)

Three to four dozen international and local organizations, up to one hundred thousand individuals, and millions of supporters are part of the phenomenon of Global Jihad. The Global Jihad Movement endeavors to name and differentiate these organizations and to explain their infrastructure, operational capabilities, and activities. It also analyzes their mutual and multi-lateral relations inside and outside the “jihadi framework.” In essence, this is a “who’s who” in the Global Jihad. The first section deals with ideology, focusing on the emergence of the Salafi and the Salafi-jihadi ideologies, which are still the most important factors behind the operational performance of Global Jihadi elements. The second section addresses the “affiliate groups” of al-Qaeda, such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, and al-Qaeda in Iraq. This section focuses mainly on the groups that adopted al-Qaeda’s Global Jihad strategy by incorporating Western targets in their vicinity of operations in their targeting policies. The next section discusses the different jihad arenas that have emerged over the last three decades, absorbing jihadi fighters from Islamic communities around the world. Finally, tThe last section examines the long process of radicalization, from regular and normative lifestyle patterns to the final jihadi stage—which in many cases involves martyrdom as suicide bombers in the name of radical Islam.

Kepel has traveled throughout the Muslim world gathering documents, interviews, and archival materials, in order to give readers a comprehensive understanding of the scope of Islamist movements, their past, and their present. 7 maps.