The atrocities committed by terrorists make them appear powerful and in control of their destiny; they seem to act and we seem to react. However, from inside the world of the terrorist, things seem much more complicated and difficult. This was acutely evident to one of the great strategic thinkers (and pessimists) of the jihadist world, Abu Musab al-Suri, as made clear in a captured notebook (original language here) that belonged to him in approximately 1999-2000. This notebook is available thanks to the Conflict Records Research Center in Washington, DC (at least until mid-June when the Center is expected to close).
During the period in question, al-Suri was in the al-Qaeda inner circle, though he never swore loyalty to Bin Laden. Al-Qaeda at the time was headquartered in Afghanistan, but the group’s relationship with its Taliban hosts was cordial but fraught. The al-Suri notebook is filled with references to friction between the groups, as well as to security challenges, personnel difficulties within al-Qaeda, and logistical issues.
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