ABBOTTABAD DOCUMENTS REVEALED IN US v. ABID NASEER

ABBOTTABAD DOCUMENTS REVEALED IN US v. ABID NASEER
By Michael S. Smith II

Documents recovered from Usama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan that were admitted as evidence in the trial of Abid Naseer, along with English-language translations, are available here.

Contrary to speculation proffered prior to bin Laden’s demise by various talking heads posing as al-Qa’ida analysts, these documents highlight that, for al-Qa’ida’s international network, a command and control infrastructure was still relevant. This remains the case today.

From these documents, one may glean an array of other useful insights into al-Qa’ida’s operations. For instance, after leaving Iran, where he and many other senior al-Qa’ida operatives had evaded capture by the US for years following the 9/11 attacks — but before returning to Libya — Anas al-Libi met with senior al-Qa’ida figures (see page 44 of the pdf linked above). Wanted for his involvement in the 1998 East Africa Embassies plot, al-Libi was captured in Libya in 2013; he died while awaiting trial in the US. Titled “Al-Qaeda in Libya: A Profile,” a 2012 report produced by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress noted that, in the post-Qadhafi era, al-Libi was believed to be managing communications between al-Qa’ida elements in Libya and al-Qa’ida’s senior leaders.

Further processing to follow.