Friday, August 25, 2006

Weaponizing Civilization and Managing Savagery

aug 24, 2006

white guy who 'gets' the whole idea of psychological warfare.

and this arabic paper is very much along the lines of the chinese manual of total war, and the pakistani manual of 'the quranic concept of war'. both rely on terror to a great extent.

although the white guy doesn't get it that the true axis of evil is: saudi arabia, china and pakistan. the poor russians, facing a population implosion, alcoholism, etc. are simply trying to survive. and i doubt if venezuela is such a big threat to 'western civilization' [sic].

also, the white guy does not realize that india has been facing this for a long time: since the first mohammedan invaders. the hindu ethics of war prohibited asuric war (killing civilian noncombatants, fighting between dusk and dawn etc.) but that was exactly what the mohammedans practised successfully.

whites, fortunately for them -- or perhaps i should say christists -- are equally asuric, so they may see off the mohammedan challenge with scorched-earth tactics. (their asuric nature was seen, for instance, in the nuclear attacks on hiroshima and nagasaki -- instances of pure state terrorism. which of course is what india is inviting by giving up its nuclear capability). it's us poor hindus who face extinction as collateral damage as the asuras fight it out.

many thanks to reader shahryar!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Shahryar

 
Weaponizing Civilization: The New Way of War
Terrorism Raymond S. Kraft
August 17, 2006
 





The Management of Savagery   Inbox



Shahryar 
<shah> to me
  More options  11:36 pm (7 hours ago)
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The Management of Savagery
By Abu Bakr Naji
Translated by William McCants

 
Translation of Major al-Qaeda Book that Outlines Its Plan for Defeating U.S. and Its Allies
 
The genre of "strategic studies"—the name given by jihadi ideologues to their books and articles on the strengths and weakness of the jihadi movement and those of its enemies—had, until recently, been neglected by Western governments and analysts involved with counterterrorism. In 2004, Hegghammer and Lia called attention to the genre (which they dubbed "jihadi strategic studies") and usefully commented on its features (Hegghammer and Lia, SCT, 2004). More recently, Brachman and McCants demonstrated how this genre can be used to identify and exploit the weaknesses of the jihadi movement (Brachman and McCants, SCT, 2006—a draft is available online). Despite this growing attention, a full translation of one of these books has not been publicly available.
 
One reason for the neglect of works in this genre is that they are written in Arabic and they are often quite lengthy. Moreover, they are much more difficult to translate than the usual diatribes by Bin Ladin and other prominent jihadi leaders. Unlike the latter, which are meant for popular consumption, jihadi strategic texts require translators to have a familiarity with Western strategic studies (from which they draw heavily), medieval Islamic history and theology, and contemporary developments in the jihadi movement. The reward for overcoming these obstacles is immeasurable—these works are brilliant (if diabolical) studies of global insurgency written by its most intellectually-gifted participants. While it is still an open question as to whether these texts guide the actions of foot soldiers, they are certainly read by the jihadi intelligentsia and they remain the best source for understanding the nature of the jihadi movement.
 
In recognition of their value, the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard commissioned William McCants in 2005 to translate one of the most recent and significant of these works, Abu Bakr Naji's Management of Savagery (some of its salient features are summarized in the Brachman and McCants article cited above). The Olin Institute, in collaboration with West Point's Combating Terrorism Center, is making this translation available online for free. Writing as a high-level insider, Naji explains how al-Qaeda plans to defeat the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East, establish sanctuaries for Jihadis, correct organizational problems, and create better propaganda. It is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the strategic thinking of al-Qaeda's leadership and the future of the jihadi movement.
 
 
The translation is available at the Olin Institute website ( www.wcfia.harvard.edu/olin/) and the Combating Terrorism Center website ( www.ctc.usma.edu).

1 comment:

Ghost Writer said...

To an earlier post by Kapidhwaja -

You may be onto something my friend! Ignore all the media sugary stuff in this news item . This comes a day after the King of Jordan (KoJ) met "General Sahib". KoJ is a known American stooge , in fact perhaps his is the only "Islamic" country with which the Yankees have some leverage. Also comes one day after Benazir takes General Sahib to the cleaners
KoJ may have taken the message to Mushy that time is running out. Of course, the funny thing is the Yanks actually think that someone like Benazir would do better ... what can I say? one day they will wake up to "Taliban East"