Terrorists Take Recruitment Efforts Online

Scott Pelley On The Use Of The Internet To Recruit Jihadists

(CBS) 
Asked how he would describe what he does, Weisburd tells Pelley, "Part of it is, you know, rodeo clown, essentially. I jump into the ring and make the bulls angry and they come after me. And I do that to good effect. That's my own particular expertise, if you will."

"Tell me about that," Pelley says.

"Well, the Irhabi 007 case comes to mind. I simply publicized what he was saying, made fun of him, called him out and it worked," Weisburd says.

Irhabi 007 was the networking genius who helped al Qaeda regroup online after the U.S. forced them out of Afghanistan. With an ego to match, he was a legend in his own mind.

This is the kind of thing Irhabi 007 made possible for al Qaeda, posting videos long before it was common on YouTube.

"Well, he solved problems. They had content distribution. They had problems moving large files, he solved that problem," Weisburd explains.

He solved it by hacking into computers around the world and using them to store and share terrorist files. He even got into a computer system owned by the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

The Arkansas terror files were discovered and removed. And in 2005, so was Irhabi 007. Scotland Yard, raided a London house in a terrorism case involving credit card fraud. They arrested a 22-year-old Moroccan named Younis Tsouli. Later they discovered Tsouli was Terrorist 007. The network administrator was off line, but his network is still pulling recruits into jihad.

"If you want to go wage jihad, you've got to let them know that there's a jihad going on and lead them to believe that this is something they want to be involved in. And so these videos are essentially, you know, all recruitment films, you know, join the army, seen wonderful places, kill people," Weisburd says.

"I don't think anyone knew that the Internet is going to become so important," says Rita Katz, who has made cyber war her business.

In a secret location, somewhere in the U.S., she runs the Site Institute, a private firm hired by the U.S. government and major corporations to monitor terrorist activities on the Web – activities like those in chat rooms where thousands of Internet surfers meet online.

How does she infiltrate these chat rooms?

"You pretend to be one of them. You try to convince them that you are part of this community. And that's how you do it. And you communicate with them online," Katz explains.

She logged onto a jihadi site for 60 Minutes to demonstrate how many people were online. One forum had 17,869 members.

Katz’s Arabic speaking staff has invented jihadi personalities who are part of the conversation in terror chat rooms. Online, sometimes they see terror operations in the making.

"It happened just in April that one of the most important members of the forum was going to commit his suicide operation. He posed a message saying 'This is the last time I’m communicating with you my turn had arrived.' And to us it was an indication that’s he's going on his suicide operation," Katz recalls.

Asked if they ever saw him again online, Katz says, "We were able to track down his IP address, meaning identify the location that he was signing with his computer and contacted the authorities in his jurisdiction and they actually arrested him as he was boarding a plane to Afghanistan."

How can a Web site convince someone to kill themselves? Well, part of the inspiration comes from Abu Musab al Suri. A 49-year-old Syrian, a sort of warrior-philosopher, he is among the most important teachers of global jihad.

"His message is, 'Let's understand what kind of a jihad we want. And, he basically laid down the strategy of al Qaeda," Katz explains.

He laid it down in his 1,600 page encyclopedia, “The Call For Global Islamic Resistance," which he wrote while running a training camp in Afghanistan.

"It's all about guerilla warfare, who to target, what kind of bomb, you know, how you set up your target," Katz explains.

Al Suri videotaped 15 hours of lectures. He urges students to study bomb making and calls for killing on a grand scale. He’s a powerful influence on the Web today, even though he’s been in U.S. Custody since 2005.

[egroegennud]

I am a typical American citizen who has access to the internet from my home computer. I am ready and willing to serve my country as a member of a cyber militia who, if only instructed how to proceed, could help my country attack the enemy on-line.Where is the leadership that could guide us all to take part in something such as this?

[log_out]

You alredy lose the war. Its matter of time and you will retreat from Iraq. Then you will turn the world in a new cold war.
The US will be never the negotiator of peace. You have only power to force some country's to talk about negotiation. It's your foreign police, that build an image of the evil war machinery in the minds of main public, in the east. And that i mean Europe too. Don't buy that thinks, that politicians said about war on terrorism and war on Iraq, they tried to be diplomatic. Ask the public in the Europe, what's they oppinion about US.
Will you be so stupid and negotiote with evil(US)? - You are asking that the people in the middle east.
Will you be so stupid to negotiote with terrorists?
- It's the same qeustion like that before, but its adressed to US site.

The public is the negotiator, which forces politicians to make some decisions. And you haven't the public favor's.

[alreadyknown]

You Tube has tons of these recruiting videos. It has been a major tool of usage for these Jihadist recruiters. Why 60 min hasn't said more about the site is beyond my comprehension considering that CBS has an account with You Tube. I'm sure their contributors are there as well. 60 min could have done a better job of letting the public know this.

We who are at You Tube, battle these Jihadists on a daily basis. Here's just 1 example of a recruiting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGoq6fUK4HU

And no matter how many times it's flagged, You Tube still does not remove this trash. Yet, they will allow even more garbage such as inflammatory vids against Christianity, but when it comes to inflammation against Islam, "Heaven Forbid", those videos are immediately yanked at the Muslim's request.

[alreadyknown]

You Tube has tons of these recruiting videos. It has been a major tool of usage for these Jihadist recruiters. Why 60 min hasn't said more about the site is beyond my comprehension considering that CBS has an account with You Tube. I'm sure their contributors are there as well. 60 min could have done a better job of letting the public know this.

We who are at You Tube, battle these Jihadists on a daily basis. Here's just 1 example of a recruiting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGoq6fUK4HU

And no matter how many times it's flagged, You Tube still does not remove this trash. Yet, they will allow even more garbage such as inflammatory vids against Christianity, but when it comes to inflammation against Islam, "Heaven Forbid", those videos are immediately yanked at the Muslim's request.

[alreadyknown]

You Tube has tons of these recruiting videos. It has been a major tool of usage for these Jihadist recruiters. Why 60 min hasn't said more about the site is beyond my comprehension considering that CBS has an account with You Tube. I'm sure their contributors are there as well. 60 min could have done a better job of letting the public know this.

We who are at You Tube battle these Jihadist on a daily basis. Here's just 1 example of a recruiting video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGoq6fUK4HU

And no matter how many times it's flagged, You Tube still does not remove this trash. Yet, they will allow even more garbage such as inflammatory vids against Christianity, but when it comes to inflammation against Islam, "Heaven Forbid", those videos are immediately yanked at the Muslim's request.

[tor123-2009]

So our Army Gen. John finally figured out we've been SWIFT-BOATED by the enemy not only on the ground or green zone but in cyberspace. AMAZING. He could have called Karl Rowe or the ranch to get that formula from Mr. Bush or his VP side show...or call their favorite TV station (FOX) or simple consult with the White House staff in touch with the religious right. Mr. Bill...the sky is falling...And the beat goes on...See you at the trillion dollar war budget mark... celebration... to toast our great churning money machine economy providing the engine to pay for Mr. Bush's next folly.

[mikegeorge24]

The Military invented the Internet. See Hobbes internet time line:

http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/

If an organization is doing something illegal online, as with child pornography, the crime is investigated, and the guilty parties are arrested and tried in a court of law. Then they go to jail.

Likewise if a website is in fact one of these Jihadist sites, the FBI, with all of the resources of the Federal Government at its beckoned command, could be infiltrating the culprits--getting inside these organizations the Military is complaining about--and then taking the appropriate actions to bring the members to justice.

This is what is wrong with the Republican Neocon viewpoint that all solutions in the war on terror are military, when we should indeed be using every means at our disposal; diplomatic, CIA, technological, and especially law enforcement and the judicial system.

Complaining that the Internet and HTML are somehow by nature at fault is dangerous. And this fear mongering coming from the military of a country founded by Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin? Once our rights are surrendered they will not be returned us so easily.

[pjoegoowy]

On a related subject & perhaps as a followup, I wish 60 Minutes would cover this. Google:
"60 minutes" Pallywood

[riangi]

The elite's attack on the Internet continues.... what else is new?

God forbid commoners should actually be able to "freely" communicate with each other. Oh my god, then we just may gain influence over the public domain. That would be just horrible, as the public domain is the exclusive domain of the capital class, for only they have the knowledge and intelligence to "run" society. We're just stupid commoners who at best only know how to follow orders. The Internet is therefore a weapon against ourselves and we are just too dumb to understand that.

Give me a break!

We've finally got a weapon that gives us a hope in hell that we can push back these parasites and their political puppets... and dammit, we are going to use it to our own advantage!

[bartgoode]

I thought ONINE RECRUITMENT was a problem when they started showing commercials for GOARMY.COM! And those commercials where guys climb rocks, fight dragons and then turns into a Marine! -- Thousands of young men being told Military service is cool and finacially beneficial -- then they wind up sitting in their own feces at Walter Reed Hospital. For all their evil, JIhadists at least tell their guys the truth. Military service will kill you. -- WE make it sound as if American Service is a manly picnic where you see the world and get great benefits.

To me they're both despicable.

[notblue]

All anyone has to do is frequent these comment areas to know this article is true.

[benzacharia]

For those who wish to join the fight against islamic jihad, Aaron can be reached at "internet-haganah DOT org" OR "LittleGreenFootballs DOT com" his nic is "Aaron".

[obiquital]

I love how they use American inventions to claim that America is evil and that America should be destroyed. Don't they realize that they could not get their message out without America having invented these things? The telephone, the computer, the internet, using electricity. Everyone uses it and America made it possible.

[rohink-2009]

Thank you Jetslags

[jetlagsa]

bluestardad-you think the arabs will settle their differences and live in peace??just spent 16 years there and here's a big news update: it won't happen, now or ever, without democracy. where do you live? fantasyland?democracy paired with capitalism is still the best form of government to date. if you have a better and PROVEN method, let us all know.democracy forces education, which in turn brings knowledge and then low and behold, TOLERANCE.i know the arabs very well and i can assure you there will be no working it out among themselves without democracy. they have had a couple thousand years to work it out and i haven't seen any permanent peace achieved.
do you realize they have one of the lowest book translation rates on the planet?if you don't translate all that intellectual wisdom from the free world, you are stuck with ignorance, in perpetuity.have you ever wondered why the culture that brought us the first alphabet and early intellectual thought, doesn't produce anything but oil now?what stopped them? it is backward radical religion and dictatorships.
you better get down on your knees and pray that america does not pull out. that democracy succeeds. otherwise your grandkids will be wearing thawbs and speaking arabic.
democracy is our only hope that our kids and grandkids will be safe and free here.

[grumpas]

Lieber1881 You are the one ignoring the truth!!!!! Israel is like the US they have squandered a lot of good will over the years by behaving very badly! By proving to the world they aren't the innocent nation they claim to be! They took the damned country away from the Palestinian's in 1948 and now they are whining because they have suicide bombers! Well....dah!!!! What did they expect....the Palestinian's to love them for the gesture????? We all know who the enemy is...it's al quaeda!!! It's to bad George Bush didn't know who it was when he invaded Iraq! Maybe he could have saved lives and billions in wasted tax dollars by fighting al quaeda insteading of wasting his time on Iraq! I have a damned clear picture of who and what the problem in the middle east is! I for one am fed up with having to take care of Israel so they can survive as a nation! If they can't do it by themselves then so be it! But, it's time for us to start worrying about our own survival not Israel's!

[neojoker]

Yes, they can weed out those mangy speakeasy *** offenders, but Al Queda blantantly recruiting on the net is just too much for them. It's all just a contrived freak show, for our benefit and manipulation.

[crater7]

THERE IS A PLUS SIDE TO THIS STORY. IF THE TERRORIST, CAN RECRUIT ON THE WEB, THIS ADMINISTRATION SHOULD BE SMART ENOUGH (YOU THINK) TO USE THESE SITES, AS A TOOL TO GO UNDER COVER BY POSING AS A POSSIBLE RECRUIT. MAYBE SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO WRITE THESE COMMENTS ON THIS SITE WOULD GLADLY VOLUNTEER TO INFILTRATE THESE ORGANIZATIONS. MOST ALL HAVE A VERY GOOD LINE OF BULL SH** .

[inventagod]

The religo-nazis on this board are frothing at the mouth, hoping to spread their rabid self-loathing to each other. You are completely missing the point of the news story while you are engaging in the mad-dog back-biting and whining. My guess is the p*ssing and moaning will continue until the Bu$h administration shuts down the internet in the name of 'freedom', and then it will be too late...

[lieber1881]

Aaaaah,

Isn't it nice that Jew-haters like Bluestarbigot - who had described himself as a former US Army officer - yeah, right, and Cmmwyrd - or whatever the Islamonazi's name is come right out of the woodwork when it comes to Al Qaeda - and presumably their support for the scum.

Let's blame it on Israel and Dem Jooz, not those who were responsible for 9/11 or the beheadings, or the Madrid and London and Bali and Kenya bombings, nor the slavery and slaughter in the Sudan. Bluestarbigot, if he were truly an Army officer - and he might be, is a traitor if he can't figure out who the real enemy is.

But the Jooz are such a convienent scapegoat. Pity the poor Palestinians and never mind they behave worst than innocent animals. The Joozs are at fault.

Let me tell you this - outside of the Judenrats out there, guys like Soros who was a Nazi Collaborator during the Holocaust, or Howard Zinn who regrets bombing Nazis during WWII but has never expressed regret for being a Stalinist, it is devout Jews - and Christians trying to save us all from the beheadings, from the hajibis, from Sharia.

It is a shame that under a coward like Olmert, Israel isn't the same as it once was. Otherwise, I can also assure you that we wouldn't have to worry about Al Qaeda or Iran. Bigot and his traitor friends aren't even fit to shine the shoes of guys like Wolfowitz, Feith or Perle.