Skip to content

Guest Thinkers — December 21, 2010

Nasir al-Wahayshi on Khalid Shaykh Muhammad

Gregory Johnsen

Sign up for Smart Faster newsletter

The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

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.

Sign up for Smart Faster newsletter

The most counterintuitive, surprising, and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday.

Related

Collage of classical art suggesting a theme related to somatic markers.

How “somatic markers” can transform your decision-making

Ditch the old brain vs. heart assumptions, and instead think about a heart-led brain.

A black and white image of a bunch of spheres, symbolizing the multiverse concept discussed by scientists.

Starts With A Bang

How logic and reasoning can fail as scientific tools

In logic, ‘reductio ad absurdum’ shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.

A wooden sign indicating "assisted migration rep 2" in a pine forest under a clear blue sky.

Life

Moving trees north to save the forests

As the world warms, trees in forests such as those in Minnesota will no longer be adapted to their local climates. That’s where assisted migration comes in.

Historical map illustration depicting a planned city layout with a circular central area and radiating streets.

Ohio’s Circleville ditched the grid system. Then it got squared.

A small Ohio town tried to escape America’s addiction to rectangular grids. It didn’t last long.

Bullet Cluster separation mass gravity x-ray lensing

Starts With A Bang

Flagship NASA space telescope faces a penny-pinching death

NASA’s only flagship X-ray telescope ever, Chandra, still works and has no planned successor. So why does the President want to kill it?

Up Next

Tuesday Papers: or Al-Qaeda sentencing guidelines

Al-Sharq al-Awsat and al-Quds al-Arabi both devote their coverage of Yemen to yesterday’s death sentence handed down to the six al-Qaeda suspects. Following the sentencing it seems as though the […]