Most of the materials is from the 1960s to the 1980s. It ranges from survivalist stuff to technical manuals. It got uploaded into text files by the first BBSs in the 1990s and the information has been degrading in quality since then. I used Internet Haganah and google translator to look at Irhabi sites. Al Qaeda in Maghreb was the one I looked at the most since it had the Al Qaeda brand name. It has since been taken down but they didn't appear to be the sharpest tools in the shed. Instructions like, don't use your real name, don't use your real town, use a proxy being said over and over again. Smart people would already being doing that and not need telling. As for the latest material, most terrorist literature is parasitical. They rarely come up with their own stuff. They tend to plagiarise and just insert religious statements all over the place. I only looked at three or four of their own in house pdf's from different places. There's only so much Islamic mumbo jumbo I can handle.Does that include the material coming off the latest sites as well?
Beyond videos, dvds and a handful of posts on boards, I haven't come across much written material. I guessed that its cheaper, quicker and easier to burn a DVD and show through images than write a file. Added advantage is that you don't have to worry about the readers literacy and that soon near enough everyone is going to be near an internet cafe.Also, what sort of material is actually available on the tactics of use, outside of the videos?
I made an assumption on employment. Newspapers report terrorists are captured in XXX, and among their materials were DVDs of bomb making material downloaded off the internet. Terrorists in the area suddenly have become twice as effective at making bombs. Iraqi bomb making videos are available for download from torrents. Whether those three dots actually join up is another thing. I haven't come across anything like "Hi I'm a terrorist, I downloaded this DVD, put it to use, and here's my results!" but then again I haven't been on any of their password protected members only BBSs. Judging by Irhabi007 and others, they love to boast about getting one over on the crusaders/infidels/etc.Have you found specifics on employment, etc.?
The thesis gets published September-ish. Feel free to reference now.Also, is this published? I'm writing an article on virtual warfare right now and I'd like to reference this piece.
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