Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Columnist: Al-Qaeda Online Media Initiative "Open Meeting with Al-Zawahiri" Is Nothing but "A Recruiting Campaign For Al-Qaeda"

On December 16, 2007, Al-Qaeda's media company Al-Sahab and the Al-Qaeda affiliated Media Center Al-Fajr announced a joint media initiative called "Open Meeting with Al-Zawahiri," in which Osama bin Laden's deputy would answer questions from the public.[1] The initiative aroused interest as well as criticism in the Arab media. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat columnist Hussein Shobokshi wrote that it was a recruiting campaign aimed at luring young men to join Al-Qaeda, and condemned the media for giving Al-Qaeda's media activities too much publicity. ...