Thread by @ibn_alJad

A brother who is very active on here supporting IS and who has a lot of knowledge about history suggested there is no evidence for bin Laden working with Iran on the US embassy bombings in East Africa, so I thought I'd post some.

legaltimes.typepad.com/files/bates-op…

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He was trying to craft an idealized Taliban/AQ 2.0 narrative and then contrasting them to the current Taliban/AQ leadership, but there is actually a fairly high degree of consistency throughout the history of both movements.

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There are certainly arguments that can be made against the strategies of both Taliban and AQ, but the reality is that the biggest inconsistency in this story is from the followers and intellectual descendants of Abu Musab az Zarqawi, aka IS.

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They accuse AQ of "changing their manhaj," but the biggest change in manhaj was IS shifting from accepting to work with AQ despite differences of opinion, to condemning them as deviants for remaining upon the same views which they always held.

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We could argue that the events in Syria in particular shifted the strategic calculus, such that AQ should have reassessed their stance towards Iran and prioritized the Shia over America as a primary focus, as Zarqawi advocated.

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However, AQs strategy has long been to advise, but to support whatever decision leaders of local groups take even if it goes against the advise, based on the assumption that they better understand the realities on the ground in their areas of operation.

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So AQ supported Zarqawi and the early IS despite the differences of opinion, and his view makes sense in Iraq, but on the level of the entire ummah, there are a number of problems with giving it strategic priority.

For one, Zarqawi cited the fact that Salahuddin...

...al Ayyubi destroyed the Fatimid Ismaili state before moving against the Crusader kingdoms in Sham.

It's true that Shia can't be trusted, and as such it's necessary to assume treachery from them, but this move also had clear economic motivations.

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Egypt was the main economic base for fueling the war effort against the Crusaders, so attacking the Shia was as driven by material as much as ideological concerns. That is, the need to acquire the necessary force to effectively confront the Crusaders.

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Secondly, the entire purpose of the strategy formulated by AQ through a lengthy process of shura with scholars and mujahidin was to enable the Muslims to reclaim control of Muslim lands (which would serve as the economic base for liberating more lands) by weakening America.

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This strategy is not incompatible with removing the Shia, since the Shia in Iraq were major helpers of the Americans in their invasion of Iraq (as has been the case throughout the history of Christian invasions of Muslim lands), and this support continues until today.

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In fact, focusing on America makes much more sense than making Shia the primary focus, because until today, it's only with American support that the predominantly Shia government of Iraq is able to stay in power, in Sunni areas in particular.

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But more importantly, it is American influence, more than Russian, Iranian, or Chinese influence, which is preventing ahl us sunnah from liberating Muslim lands which have the capacity to provide an economic base sufficient to liberate other lands.

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The major industrial and agricultural power centers of the Muslim world - Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, and Iraq - are all major recipients of US military aid and/or support. Natural resource rich regions like the Gulf and Niger are also ruled by US proxies.

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Ashkenazi Jews, through centuries of experience as a minority in Christian Europe, have mastered the art of using debt and soft power to play their enemies off against each other.

The dynamic between the Gulf states and Iran is a classic example of this dynamic.

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Pulling strings to allow certain powers to grow stronger is a good way to cause insecurity in another potential enemy, forcing them to take on debt from Jewish-dominated financial institutions to buy expensive weapons manufactured by Christians.

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So it's worth trying to be aware of this geopolitical manipulation, and keeping a keen eye out for traps, and considering how to best avoid them.

And Allah is the the best of planners.

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