Al-Qaida manual
prescribes patience

By Paul Sperry

WASHINGTON – Osama bin Laden’s terrorists around the world are trained to endure military defeats and continue to fight their “jihad against tyrants” – no matter how long it takes, according to the al-Qaida war manual, a copy of which was obtained by WorldNetDaily.

“Patience” is listed in the 180-page how-to guide for terrorists as one of the 14 qualifications for membership in the militant Islamic network.

“The member should have plenty of patience for enduring afflictions if he is overcome by the enemies,” says the secret manual, which was first confiscated by British police during a raid on an al-Qaida safehouse and later translated from Arabic by U.S. officials.

“He should not abandon this great path and sell himself and his religion to the enemies for his freedom,” it adds. “He should be patient in performing the work, even if it lasts a long time.”

Muslims under 15 need not apply. It says they lack the “great psychological, mental and intellectual fitness” the job demands.

Members who are taken prisoner are instructed to complain about “torture” and “mistreatment,” and to go on a “hunger strike” as a last resort for public sympathy. They’re also told to “shout Islamic slogans” while being transported in public places, and spend their time in jail creating “Islamic programs for themselves” and “memorizing the Qur’an,” the Muslims’ sacred book.

Some of the detainees at Camp X-ray in Guantanamo, Cuba, have already followed this formula.

The instructions on patience are a chilling reminder that this breed of terrorist is hardy and disciplined, as well as cunning, and that America’s war on terror – despite recent successes in Afghanistan – is far from over.

It’s all but official now that bin Laden and his top henchmen escaped from Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in early December, meaning al-Qaida has had more than four months to regroup and plan new attacks against Americans here and abroad.

Even President Bush, still reluctant to admit bin Laden got away, warns that Americans are entering a dangerous zone of likely rekindled terrorism.

“As the spring thaw comes, we expect cells of trained killers to try to regroup, to murder, to create mayhem and try to undermine Afghanistan’s efforts to build a lasting peace,” Bush said Wednesday – as a new video surfaced showing bin Laden alive and news reports quoted angry administration officials ripping the early high-level decision to rely on Afghan Muslim proxy forces, rather than U.S. troops, to hunt down bin Laden when intelligence had a bead on him last year.

American troops in Afghanistan aren’t the only ones in harm’s way.

U.S. intelligence and law-enforcement officials say cells of al-Qaida sleeper agents are still active in the U.S. Evidence of their activity has been found in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan and California, among
other states. And they may be waiting for orders to launch new attacks.

Remarkably sophisticated

Their manual, though it does not include specific operations planning against the U.S, has been a must-read for Pentagon, counterterrorism and intelligence officials here. It provides a general profile of the al-Qaida enemy, his degree of religious motivation, his methods of operation and his level of sophistication – which officials call remarkably high.

When communicating, for example, the manual tells the terrorists to use transceivers near places with high wireless frequency, such as TV and radio stations and embassies, “in order to prevent the enemy from identifying its location.”

It also instructs them to always memorize phone numbers, but “if the brother had to write them, he should do so using a code so they do not appear as telephone numbers (figures from a shopping list, etc.).

Contacts among members are kept so secret that terrorist trainers don’t even know each other’s names – a standard that CIA operatives don’t even have to meet, officials say.

When traveling on a mission, the terrorists are told to do so during the day. At night, “travelers are few, and there are search parties and checkpoints along the way,” the guidebook warns.

Every base is covered. It even has rules for conduct on “special missions.”

“The brother traveling on a special mission should not get involved in religious issues (advocating good and denouncing evil) or day-to-day matters (seat reservation …),” it says.

Blending in

The manual also instructs al-Qaida sleeper agents on how to blend in with Western societies by avoiding Muslim appearances.

“Have a general appearance that does not indicate Islamic orientation,” it says.

They are told to cut their beards, lose the long shirts and shelve their pocket-sized Korans used for recitation. This is how the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers fit in.

In addition, they are told to make excuses for fasting, such as saying they feel ill. And they are told they can combine their noon and afternoon prayers, as well as sunset and evening prayers, to avoid drawing the attention of “the polytheists,” as they refer to Christians.

Spying

The manual reminds terrorists that 80 percent of intelligence about “the enemy” can be gleaned from public sources.

“Through these means, it is possible to learn about major government events, and about the news, meetings and travel of presidents, ministers and commanders,” the document says.

It adds, quoting a Muslim general: “The nation that wants to achieve victory over its enemy must know that enemy very well.”

Al-Qaida encourages the recruitment of agents who work as “employees at borders, airports and seaports.”

At one point recently, 87 percent of security
personnel at Washington Dulles International Airport,
site of one of the hijackings, were foreign nationals
– most of them from the Middle East.

By Nov. 19, the U.S. government will officially employ all security guards at the nation’s 429 commercial airports. They have to be English-speaking U.S. citizens, under the new aviation security law.

Regarding surveillance, the manual recommends photographing and videotaping attack targets – but only where it is permitted.

“We discourage taking pictures where it is forbidden,” it instructs.

Targets

Targets listed for “blasting and destroying” include:

  • “Places of amusement;”
  • Embassies;
  • “Vital economic centers”;
  • “Bridges leading into and out of the cities”;
  • “Strategic buildings”;
  • “Important establishments”;
  • “Military bases”;
  • “Important ministries such as those of defense and internal security”;
  • “Airports”;
  • “Seaports”;
  • “Land border points”;
  • Radio and TV stations.

Torture

Human-rights activists and media wringing their hands over the treatment of terrorist detainees might be interested to know that al-Qaida members are trained to torture their captives to pry away secrets.

“Information is collected by kidnapping the enemy individual, interrogating him and torturing him,” the al-Qaida guide says.

They say Islam sanctions it.

“Religious scholars have permitted beating,” the guide says. “The religious scholars have also permitted the killing of a hostage if he insists on withholding information from Muslims.”

Citing the Koran

The manual quotes liberally from the Koran to justify violent goals and methods.

The “main mission” of the “Islamic movement,” it says, is to “overthrow godless regimes” and replace them with “an Islamic regime.” Regarding “the oppressors,” members must pledge “to slaughter them like lambs, and let the Nile, al-Asi and Euphrates rivers flow with their blood.”

It says “Islam is not just performing rituals, but a complete system: Religion and government, worship and jihad, ethics and dealing with people, and the Koran and the sword.”

The manual says the hypocrites of the faith have strayed from “Allah’s course” and fallen in “love with the world.” It criticizes their “loathing of death and their abandonment of jihad,” or holy war against “infidels” or “unbelievers,” which it defines as “Christians, Jews.”

Citing the Koran and Hadiths – the stories passed down about their prophet Mohammed – the manual exhorts the faithful to fight and die “for the cause of Allah,” and exalts martyrs. It says members should be willing to “sacrifice” themselves “for the purpose of achieving the goal, and establishing the religion of majestic Allah on earth.”

Negotiating

State Secretary Colin Powell, who recently failed in his truce negotiations with PLO leader Yasser Arafat, might want to take note. (On the very day Powell arrived in Israel, incidentally, a Palestinian suicide bomber killed several Israelis. Asked by a reporter if it was terrorism, Powell dodged the question, refusing to define it for what it was, ostensibly to not offend Arafat, with whom he was due to shake hands.)

“Islamic governments have never and will never be established through peaceful solutions and cooperative councils,” the terrorist manual says. “They are established as they always have been … by pen and gun … by word and bullet … by tongue and teeth.”

“Islam does not make a truce with unbelief,” it continues, “but rather confronts it.”

“It knows the dialogue of bullets.”

That frame of mind reflects much of the text and interpretations found in the Koran itself.

Consider, for one, this footnote in “The Meaning of the Holy Qur’an” by the widely respected Muslim scholar Abdullah Yusuf Ali: “Mealy-mouthed compromises are not right for soldiers of truth and righteousness.”

Previous stories:

Airport-security firm, Argenbright, at mercy of Muslims

Flying United (gulp) out of Dulles (gulp)

U.S. delayed blacklisting Paki al-Qaida group

Osama bagman tied to Pearl kidnapping

Did ally Pakistan play role in 9-11?

GOP senator questions war results

Bush security adviser hints at broader use of nukes

Pentagon began picking bin Laden targets Sept. 11

Tactical nukes may be needed to bust Afghan caves

Paul Sperry

Paul Sperry, formerly WND's Washington bureau chief, is a Hoover Institution media fellow and author of "Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives have Penetrated Washington." Read more of Paul Sperry's articles here.