Senior Fellow, @FDD
Editor, @LongWarJournal
Terrorism Analyst
"Never let us be guilty of sacrificing any portion of truth on the altar of peace." - J.C.Ryle
13 subscribed
Jun 13 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
1. Rewards for Justice has offered a $5 million bounty for Hamza al Ghamdi, a veteran Al Qaeda leader who has been waging jihad since the 1980s. He is currently a member of Al Qaeda's shura (executive leadership council). longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/…2. Hamza al Ghamdi fought alongside Osama bin Laden against the Soviets, led bin Laden's bodyguard, organized terror attacks in Tajikistan in the 1990s, and fought at the battle of Tora Bora.
Jun 9 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1. From @BRRubin, who competes with @realZalmayMK for the dishonor of being the greatest Taliban apologist: "[Sirajuddin Haqqani] no longer poses a threat to Americans." thediplomat.com/2024/06/why-di…2. Siraj Haqqani is a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and his Haqqani Network is a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Both designations are explicit that he and his network are avid supporters of Al Qaeda.
May 3 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) “the solution [in the Red Sea] is not a military solution” - Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Adm. Christopher Grady
This is what general officers and politicians say when they don't have the stomach and political will to deal with a difficult enemy. news.usni.org/2024/05/01/nav…2) The U.S. has barely tried to degrade the Houthis' military capability, and there has been zero effort to target Houthi military and political leadership. But there is no political will to do so. Instead, U.S. leaders are content with playing defense.
Mar 21 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
Yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee punted on its chance to grill retired generals Milley and McKenzie for their role in the failure of Afghanistan. My thoughts, and the questions they should have been asked, at Generation Jihad /1
The reality is that republicans are fearful of criticizing the military and can’t distinguish between grunts on the ground doing their jobs and political generals like Milley and McKenzie. The deferential treatment was disgraceful /2
Feb 7 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) @EFittonBrown joined @caleb_weiss7 & me to discuss the latest UNSC Monitoring Team report on Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. Give it a listen, Edmund is the go to source on this. longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/…2) @EFittonBrown explains the Monitoring Team’s process of gathering the information for the report and dispels the bad “analysis” on this subject.
Feb 2 • 18 tweets • 3 min read
1) Keep in mind that @JJSchroden couldn't have been more wrong about the effects of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. 180 degrees wrong in fact. And the fact that he defers to @US4AfghanPeace, who is eager to deal with the Taliban...
1) Al Qaeda is now running training camps in 10 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces, as well as 5 madrasa, a new base “to stockpile weaponry,” and facilitation network into Iran. All per the UNSC Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team. longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/…2) The raining camps are in the provinces of Ghazni, Laghman, Parwan, Uruzgan, Helmand, Zabul, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Badghis, and Kunar, per current and previous Monitoring Team reports. For previous report, see: longwarjournal.org/archives/2023/…
Jan 30 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) The Biden administration just can't stop themselves from signaling weakness, restraint and indecisiveness. “We don’t seek a war with Iran. We’re not looking for a wider conflict in the Middle East,” - John Kirby cnn.com/2024/01/29/pol…2) “In fact, every action the president has taken has been designed to de-escalate, to try to bring the tensions down.” - John Kirby
Jan 29 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
1) @JoeTruzman and I warned in early November 2023 that the @POTUS viion of "deterrence" against Iranian-backed militias had failed, and further attempts to reestablish deterrence would also likely fail. See: longwarjournal.org/archives/2023/…2) This is what we said then: "The Biden administration’s Oct. 27 attempt to deter Iran and its proxies from further strikes on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria has failed ... "
Jan 4 • 12 tweets • 2 min read
1) On the U.S. strike in Baghdad that killed Abu Taqwa Al Si’adi, a commander of the Iranian-backed Harakat Hezbollah al Nujaba militia. First, Si'adi is a mid-level commander. this strike clearly was a message to militias: we can go after your top leaders. longwarjournal.org/archives/2024/…2) The strike is the first by the U.S. that targeted an actual militia commander. The previous six strikes targeted weapons depots, safe houses, and vehicles used in attacks.
Dec 27, 2023 • 5 tweets • 1 min read
1) As bad as I thought. I missed this detail about Operation Prosperity Guardian, from Dec. 21:
"It's a defensive coalition meant to reassure global shipping and mariners that the international community is there to help with safe passage." defense.gov/News/News-Stor…2) The coalition, with the U.S. in the lead, is defensive in nature. That means that the coalition will not be targeting Houthis missile and drone launch sites, Houthis military and political leaders, or that Iranian intel ship providing targeting information for Houthi attacks.
Dec 26, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Want to send a message to the Iranians about the costs of launching drones against commercial shipping and supporting Houthi attacks in the Red Sea? Take out this IRGC drone platform. While in port is just fine. Rinse and repeat with other IRGC naval assets.
However, the Biden administration fears escalation, and the Iranians know it. The administration and the military have been quite clear about this in public communications. This administration doesn't understand deterrence.
Dec 22, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) Putting aside the absurdity of the premise of this article, and the fact that Israel has joined the ranks of nations that lawyer up for war, one has to wonder how many lawyers Hamas consults on a daily basis. apnews.com/article/israel…2) For instance, prior to its Oct. 7 attack, did Hamas military commanders sit down with its legal team and ask the following questions:
Dec 21, 2023 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
1) John Kirby continues to dance on the head of a pin with respect to Afghanistan. The U.S. had zero plan to account for billions in weapons donated to the ANDSF & now in hands of terror groups.
Keep in mind Kirby previously call the withdrawal a "historic achievement."
2) Kirby was half right about his "historic achievement" comment. The Afghanistan withdrawal indeed historic. Just not an achievement. Unless you are the Taliban, Al Qaeda, Pakistan, Iran, etc. Then it was one hell of an achievement.
1) The son of influential Hezbollah commander Musa Ali Daqduq is reported to have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Syria last week. Hassan (the son) was a member of the "Golan Unit." Musa is the commander.
2) At the direction of Iran, Musa Ali Daqduq was tasked back in the early 2000s with establishing the Shia militias in Iraq, including the Mahdi Army and its offshoots such as Hezbollah Brigades, Asaib Ahl al Haq, and others along the lines of Lebanese Hezbollah.
Dec 10, 2023 • 7 tweets • 1 min read
1) “Hamas warned Sunday that no hostages would leave Gaza alive unless its demands for prisoner releases are met …” don’t hold breath for international condemnation over this. yahoo.com/news/israeli-f…2) Hamas threatens to kill the hostages it took during a barbarous act of war during its Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, and yet somehow Israel is the problem here.
Dec 4, 2023 • 9 tweets • 3 min read
1) "[Sirajuddin] Haqqani said that the power in Afghanistan is now in the hands of religious scholars and they understand the interests and priorities of the country." Of course Sirajuddin is on board with the Taliban's extremist religious regime. tolonews.com/afghanistan-18…2) Sirajuddin Haqqani is perhaps the most influential Taliban leader. His Taliban faction is one of the most powerful and has the full support of Pakistan's deep state (military and ISI). Sirajuddin is deputy emir and interior minister, a powerful figure by his own right.
Nov 28, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) Beware of Qataris bearing ceasefires, truces, and peace deals: Qatari spokesman Ansari "said the need of the hour was “to seize every opportunity we have for de-escalation” and exert international pressure on the Israelis “that enough is enough.”"
2) The Israels should ask the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan how trusting the Qataris worked out for them. The answer is: the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan no longer exists.
Nov 24, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) Can't prove this, but in a private conversation this morning, I predicted Hamas wouldn't release U.S. hostages at outset. It is in Hamas' interests to hold U.S. hostages. Hamas wants to keep these hostages so the U.S. can put pressure on Israel to extend a ceasefire.
2) If Hamas releases U.S hostages, it will be done in a trickle to keep the U.S. on the hook to pressure Israel to extend the ceasefire, which only benefits Hamas.
Nov 20, 2023 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
1) U.S. State & Treasury departments (finally) added Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, its secretary general, five members of terrorist organization Hezbollah Brigades, and an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps operative to its list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
2) Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, a notorious Iranian-backed militia, was formed in 2013 as an offshoot of Hezbollah Brigades. Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani is a dangerous commander & one of the key IRGC agents who was responsible for the creation of the militias. longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/…
Nov 14, 2023 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
1) There is a very simple solution to the Shifa Hospital situation. Hamas fighters embedded there can save everyone and surrender unconditionally. Hamas is the one using the hospital as a base of operations, in violation of the laws of war. yahoo.com/news/fighting-…2) if this war shows us anything, it is that Hamas cares nothing about the Palestinians it purports to protects. Hamas wouldn’t have launched the 10/7 attack to begin with if it did.
13 subscribed
