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Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Nasir al-Wahayshi on Khalid Shaykh Muhammad

Gregory Johnsen

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Well that didn’t last long. Nasir al-Wahayshi, the head of AQAP (who many people seem to under estimate, which I think is a mistake) has three articles in this issue, including a back of the magazine (this issue is a bit thicker than earlier offerings) piece on Khalid Shaykh Muhammad.

Much of the piece is what you would expect, something to hold Khalid Shaykh Muhammad up as an example of what al-Qaeda members should aspire to and the warning that the work that Khalid Shaykh Muhammad began will not end with him.

There is not much here, but I am curious as to why al-Wahayshi would decide to lionize Khalid Shaykh Muhammad in this way, the magazine was not hurting for material and there seems little in the current political environment that would demand a piece on Khalid Shaykh Muhammad. Curious.

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