ANALYSIS OF THE AL-QAEDA TRAINING TAPES

摘要

I have obtained two sets of Al-Qaeda video tapes; the first set was purchased by a CNN reporter on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border. This is the one that most readers are familiar with, as they have seen incomplete snippets on various news channels. ('Incomplete' being the key word—the clip they show on the news may only be about a tenth of the entire segment.) These tapes were believed to be used for the recruitment of new jihadists and for training purposes. They are oftentimes professionally edited, with the use of multiple cameras and background Islamic music. The second set of tapes was found in a cave in Afghanistan. These tapes are differentiated by a date code stamp at the bottom of the screen. This set of tapes was most likely used for training purposes only.