News & Opinion on Terrorism & Strategic Communication — October 24, 2007

Campus Participation in IFAW Exaggerated. “After we contacted those institutions, most of those institutions indicated that no such events is taking place on those campus. And many contacted the sponsors and told them, “do not use my institution’s name in your campaign,” including some very renowned universities such as Yale and Princeton.” (Think Progress, 10/23).

NATO to Battle Taliban on YouTube. “Sources say NATO will put new emphasis on Web videos, including the declassification of images previously thought too sensitive to publicize, and place a premium on fleet-footed communication, possibly using rapid-reaction teams to mobilize when Taliban-conceived falsehoods hit the press.” (The Star, 10/21).

Islamist Websites Change Tactics. “Many ISPs in the West have removed Islamist websites from their servers, forcing the jihadists to seek new strategies. One such strategy is operating through multiple ISPs, so that the site continues to be available even if one ISP shuts it down.” (MEMRI, 10/22).

Latest bin Laden Missive. “A new message was issued today, purportedly from Osama Bin Laden, to ‘mujahideen’ and to the people of Iraq, urging Jihadists to unite together. Per Laura Mansfield, the new Osama Bin Laden message is being released in time to commemorate Eid, and is intended to be part of a longer message to be released via the Internet shortly.” (CT Blog, 10/23).