Global Jihadism lists a large number of Jihadist books and writings that are now appearing in English, a lot of which is available over the Internet. How important is the Internet to the jihadist movement?
The jihadists didn’t know how important it was, using it out of novelty at first and later out of necessity after we took out their training camps in Afghanistan. They needed a way to continue to train, educate, and inspire the new kids. Soon they realized it wasn’t just a place to download stuff that operated in one direction, but a new sphere in and of itself—one of the only places where they could try to apply sharia law. The Internet became a virtual state, a virtual emirate, allowing them to consolidate their strength and feel as if they were accomplishing something. From 2003 to 2005 they were buzzing around the Internet, something clicked, and it became the most important weapon in their arsenal. Now it is their primary vehicle for distributing their ideology, communicating globally with one another, informing the movement, reassuring one another that they exist. Sitting there feeling isolated in Chechnya and under attack you see on the Internet your brothers in Saudi Arabia wage an attack, claim responsibility, and say, “We are doing this on behalf of our brothers in Chechnya”—this is very powerful. This crosstalk helps each group feel emboldened and perpetuates this sense that the jihadists movement is globally united and coherent.
What are jihobbyists?
The Internet has expanded the number of opportunities that somebody has to participate in jihad without having to cross the threshold—it’s hard work to get people to leave their jobs, wives, and lives and go blow themselves up in Iraq or Afghanistan. Short of that, there are a lot of things one can do to get somebody hooked. Over the past five to eight years, al Qaeda has expanded the number of ports of entry into jihadism. Their goal is to you get in on any level, get you hooked and wanting to move up the chain eventually to culminate in your committing an attack. It is very Marxist, according to your ability, whatever you are good at, you can do.
A young college student is a little interested, finds these things intriguing, wants to learn more and the end effect is similar to that of gateway drugs.
Totally. On the Internet you get whatever it is you are looking for. If you want to see people get their heads cut off, or see a thousand Humvees get blown up in a row, you can find it. If you want to read a 1,500-word book on the history of jihad, or learn Arabic, or how to use a graphics program, all of this is available. The Internet has become this one-stop shop for whatever level of intellectual sophistication you are on and you can come play.
The great debate going on right now is about Afghanistan: More troops, a lot more troops, less troops, or keep the status quo. No one is saying the US should pull out completely. Why is Afghanistan the recurring nightmare and what should be done there?
There is a deep sense of anger among the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan toward the US. After the Soviets left in 1989, we left them high and dry. The region collapsed into a state of civil war, and tribal leaders, criminal syndicates, warlords, and drug cartels moved in. It became a bloodbath, a place of anarchy with a gravitational pull attracting a lot of Pakistani jihadists and causing a lot of trouble for the Pakistani government. We let the region fall apart causing a lot of deep-seated resentment and mistrust. After 9/11 we said, “You are going to work with us again.” They have been trying to take care of the situation by themselves and things are very gray. The Taliban had been on our payroll during the Soviet invasion when we were funding the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence agency and now they are told they are the enemy. The US comes in and starts dictating who is good and who is bad. It just doesn’t work like that.
