"An Outline of the Most Superior Fundamentals in the Art of Kidnapping Americans" Strategic Insights, Volume III, Issue 2 (February 2004)

Strategic Insights is a monthly electronic journal produced by the Center for Contemporary Conflict at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The views expressed here are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of NPS, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. For a PDF version of this article, click here. Since the 1960s, hostage taking has been a standard part of the Middle Eastern non-state combatant's playbook. Place names such as Ma'alot and Entebbe bring to mind the near monopoly that Palestinian groups had over the hostage business in the years after 1967.[1] Yet, as the PLO moved away from such operations, events in Mogadishu (1977),[2] Iran (1979), Lebanon throughout (early-mid 1980s), and most recently the tragic kidnapping of Daniel Pearl and his murder in Pakistan (Febrary 2002)[3] have shown that hostage taking is a communicable concept. In particular, Islamic groups are increasingly abducting non-combatant citizens or political or military officials of opponent countries. The document translated here, originally posted to the Jihadist website Al-Palsam,[4] highlights the need to remain vigilant of this threat even during the the current war against terrorism. Along with scores of such web sites launched as quickly as interdicted by security services, it serves as a source of information, inspiration, and dialogue among a global community of technology-literate anonymou