Dr Fadl dumps on Osama bin Laden

[richlevy]

But with the book being written from inside the prison, will it be discounted as being written under duress or actually written by the government?

Could the possible discounting be used by al-Sharif as a justification for his release? Could this be his goal in writing the book?

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by richlevy

But with the book being written from inside the prison, will it be discounted as being written under duress or actually written by the government?

Zawahiri has tried that.

Zawahiri has alleged that his former comrade was tortured into recanting. But the al-Qaeda leader still felt the need to compose a detailed, 200-page rebuttal of his antagonist.

The fact that Zawahiri went to this trouble could prove the credibility of Dr Fadl and the fact that his criticisms have stung their target. The central question is whether this attack on al-Qaeda's ideology will sway a wider audience in the Muslim world.

I'd say 200 pages, rather than sloughing it off, is a sign of concern that at least some people will believe it. Good.

[Kaliayev]

While this is certainly interesting and good, I personally think the infighting between Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi’s followers and the more violent factions of the Jihadist community is of more importance.

Fadl, for all his Al-Qaeda creds, has always been seen as something of a soft touch, and this has been noted throughout the 90s by those who kept an eye on such things. Not to mention there is...personal history, between him and Zawahiri which essentially makes this little more than a continuation of pre-existing squabbles. Most people are going to go "well, this is just him and Zawahiri, going at it again", roll their eyes and ignore the whole thing.