Who Really Inspired Nasser Abdo?

New details continue to emerge regarding Nasser Abdo, the would-be terrorist who was arrested before he could carry out an attack on military personnel stationed at Fort Hood.

Abdo's own words indicate he was inspired by Nidal Hasan, the Army major and devotee of Anwar Awlaki who killed 13 people in a shooting spree in November 2009. And a search of his hotel room revealed he was also reading Inspire magazine, which is published by Awlaki and his followers and urges Americans to take up "individual jihad" by plotting solitary attacks.

But here's something else to consider. Abdo, it now appears, was planning to carry out a complex attack using a bomb, in combination with a shooting attack, while wearing a fake military uniform.

Just days earlier, Norwegian right-winger Anders Breivik had carried out a complex attack that combined a bomb with a shooting spree, employing a fake police uniform in the process.

Breivik's attack was carried out July 22. Abdo didn't purchase the guns and other supplies for his attack until July 27.

We don't know enough to draw any firm conclusions here, but I will be very curious to see how the timeline of Abdo's alleged attack plays out as his court case progresses.

One of the worrisome things about Breivik's spectacular terrorist attack is that its most successful features are relatively easy to emulate compared to the work of a bomb design genius like Ramzi Yousef, or expensive and complicated attacks like September 11 which require a robust support network.

My concern is that Breivik has provided a "proof of concept" not previously seen in the terrorist world, which shows terrorists of any ideology just how much impact one person can have. Could Abdo have been moved closer to action by this example? We don't have enough information to be certain, but it's a provocative -- and worrying -- question.

For much more about American jihadists, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: Anders-Behring-Breivik, Anwar-Awlaki, Fort-Hood, Inspire-Magazine, Nasser-Abdo, Nidal-Malik-Hasan, Oslo

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

"Andrew Berwick" Manifesto Linked To Oslo Killer Anders Behring Breivik

UPDATED THROUGHOUT

A 1,500-page manifesto written by Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik, who killed more than 90 people in a combined bomb and shooting attack in Oslo yesterday.

The document was posted online to Stormfront, a U.S. based white supremacist Web forum. Norwegian authorities authenticated the manifesto some hours after it became available online.

Even prior to their statement, the document appeared to be authentic due to its length and lavish detail, although reports Sunday indicated that some portions of the manuscript were copied directly from the Unabomber's manifesto.

The document first came to my attention on Twitter, where Foreign Policy editor Blake Hounshell has been dissecting it in some detail. Click here to see his comments. The manifesto claims, among other things, that Breivik was part of a right-wing international "Knights Templar" group. Hounshell went through the entire document and subsequently posted a summary.

I first saw the actual document posted by blogger Kevin Slaughter at his eponymous site. Slaughter has also posted a copy on Google Docs (his site is running slow due to traffic).

Jarret Brachman posted a Wordle content analysis on the manifesto which shows pretty clearly what Breivik was focused on.
You can also follow me on Twitter for updates as warranted.

For more about Western extremism, check out J.M. Berger's new book, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, on sale everywhere.

Labels: Anders-Behring-Breivik, Andrew-Berwick, Manifesto, Oslo

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink