Cracks in the Foundation:
Leadership Schisms in al-Qa段da from 1989-2006

browser friendly report| complete .pdf file list

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point is pleased to present the report, Cracks in the Foundation: Leadership Schisms in al-Qa段da from 1989-2006. Based on a collection of al-Qa段da documents recently released from the Department of Defense's Harmony Database, in addition to the previously released documents utilized in the Combating Terorrism Center痴 two prior Harmony reports, this report analyzes the history of al-Qa段da痴 internal and long-running debates over the strategies and larger goals of the jihadi movement. Many of these documents, captured in the course of operations supporting the Global War on Terror, have never before been available to the academic and policy community. Cracks in the Foundation includes a richly sourced account of the ongoing struggle between different factions among al-Qa段da痴 leaders and specific recommendations for effectively exploiting weaknesses arising from these internal struggles. We have provided brief summaries of each of the released documents, and the full texts of the released documents can be accessed via hyperlinks within the report, both in their original Arabic and in English. We hope this report will serve as a useful resource in our collective efforts to better understand and combat al-Qa'ida and its affiliated movements.

The views expressed in this report are those of the author and not of the U.S. Military Academy, the Department of the Army, or any other agency of the U.S. Government.

For the complete study and document summaries, click here.

Foreword

Introduction

Part I
1990-1996: Al-Qa段da in Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia

Part II
1996-2001: The Taliban Refuge and the War with America

Part III
2001-2006: Dispersal, Reconsolidation and Problems in Iraq

Conclusion

Documents associated with this report