Featured News: Al Qaeda gives member Poor Job Evaluation

Being a member of al Qaeda nowadays is hard work. Not only do you have to dodge drone strikes worry about your declining brand value, now you have to worry about the upper management getting all testy because you don't file expense reports, don't turn up to meetings, or you spend too much time on internet social media. But this is apparently exactly what was happening to Moktar Belmoktar, a commander in al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) who recently got so fed up with the 'brass' that he quit and formed his own jihadi organisation,  the Al-Mulathameen ("Masked") Brigade (also known as the al-Mua'qi'oon Biddam ["Those who Sign with Blood"] Brigade).

In a letter obtained by the Associated Press, AQIM's leaders give a scathing (and very long) review of Belmoktar's performance (referring to him by his alternate name  Khaled Abou El Abbas). Here are a few of the highlights:

• "Abu Abbas is not willing to follow anyone... he is satisfied only when followed and obeyed."

• "your brigade did not achieve a single spectacular operation targeting the crusader alliance"

• "Why do you only turn on your phone with the Emirate when you need it, while your communication with some media [online jihadi forums] is almost never ending!"

• "We ask you also: How many administrative and financial reports have you sent up to your Emirate?"

• "How many meetings was Abu Abbas invited to... only to see him always refuse to participate?"

• "Abu Abbas aired our laundry publicly and spilled secrets of jihad to random young men whom he doesn’t know"
  
  ... and our personal favourite...
  
  

• "As for your whispering in the ear of the organization’s emir, we consider it as derisive and snide and denigrating a figure who by our ancient Islamic law should be esteemed and respected, even if he were a black Ethiopian slave with a head like a raisin."

After job evaluations like that, is it a surprise that so many jihadis need to drink in the Sharaabtoon?


The full letter in English:
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/_pdfs/al-qaida-belmoktar-letter-english.pdf

The full letter in Arabic:
http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/_pdfs/al-qaida-belmoktar-letter.pdf

Read more:
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-exclusive-rise-al-qaida-saharan-terrorist