Gov’t witness: Al Qaeda referenced WikiLeaks only twice, not since 2011: Trial report, day 30
By Nathan Fuller, Bradley Manning Support Network. August 8, 2013.
The prosecution decided not to call its scheduled morning witness in today’s sentencing hearing for Bradley Manning, so after a long break, Youssef Aboul-Enein testified about Al Qaeda terrorism and ideology.
Aboul-Enein, an expert on ‘militant Islamism’ from the Defense Intelligence agency, testified that Al Qaeda (AQ) and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have only mentioned WikiLeaks documents twice, and haven’t done so since 2011. Those two citations are those that the government used when attempting to convict Manning of “aiding the enemy”: AQAP’s Winter 2010 issue of Inspire magazine, which said that archiving large amounts of U.S. information as WikiLeaks did was useful, and a June 2011 video featuring AQ English-language propagandist Adam Gadahn, encouraging followers to read WikiLeaks documents.
Admitting that he was speculating, Aboul-Enein said that these groups could use the Iraq and Afghan War Logs to deduce patterns of U.S. operations, but the judge has previously disregarded speculative testimony. The defense objected to Aboul-Enein’s comments at length, and tomorrow, the judge will rule on which parts of his testimony are admissible.
Aboul-Enein testified that for AQ and AQAP, propaganda – not the violent ends they advocate – is the primary goal, as it brings media attention and money. He said that while they did cite WikiLeaks in these two instances, if WikiLeaks data wasn’t around, they’d certainly have used something else to propagate their ideology. Furthermore, he testified that AQ and AQAP frequently brag about and even film tactical successes, and neither has claimed any tactical successes as a result of WikiLeaks’ disclosures.
Aboul-Enein also confirmed that several AQ and AQAP senior leaders had been killed since 2010, including Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki, and Attyah Abedl-Rahman, and that both groups’ propaganda continued afterward.
Youssef Aboul-Enein, government witness (Click for source)
Aboul-Enein, an expert on ‘militant Islamism’ from the Defense Intelligence agency, testified that Al Qaeda (AQ) and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have only mentioned WikiLeaks documents twice, and haven’t done so since 2011. Those two citations are those that the government used when attempting to convict Manning of “aiding the enemy”: AQAP’s Winter 2010 issue of Inspire magazine, which said that archiving large amounts of U.S. information as WikiLeaks did was useful, and a June 2011 video featuring AQ English-language propagandist Adam Gadahn, encouraging followers to read WikiLeaks documents.
Admitting that he was speculating, Aboul-Enein said that these groups could use the Iraq and Afghan War Logs to deduce patterns of U.S. operations, but the judge has previously disregarded speculative testimony. The defense objected to Aboul-Enein’s comments at length, and tomorrow, the judge will rule on which parts of his testimony are admissible.
Aboul-Enein testified that for AQ and AQAP, propaganda – not the violent ends they advocate – is the primary goal, as it brings media attention and money. He said that while they did cite WikiLeaks in these two instances, if WikiLeaks data wasn’t around, they’d certainly have used something else to propagate their ideology. Furthermore, he testified that AQ and AQAP frequently brag about and even film tactical successes, and neither has claimed any tactical successes as a result of WikiLeaks’ disclosures.
Aboul-Enein also confirmed that several AQ and AQAP senior leaders had been killed since 2010, including Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki, and Attyah Abedl-Rahman, and that both groups’ propaganda continued afterward.
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