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Harmony Program

The CTC launched the Harmony Program in 2005 in order to release and analyze documents from the Department of Defense’s Harmony database. The focus of this program is to contextualize the inner-functioning of al-Qa’ida, its associated movement, and other security threats through primary source documents. Harmony products released by the CTC are typically accompanied by an analytical report and the primary source material from which its conclusions are based. By releasing this material, the CTC aims to make these sources, which are captured in the course of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters, available to other scholars for further study.

While captured documents offer unique insight into the decision-making process of terrorist groups they are most valuable when contextualized with information drawn from other sources. Scholars and practitioners should be aware that analyzing such data is fraught with risk. Documents in the Harmony database were collected on the battlefield unscientifically. There is no way to know just how representative documents captured by U.S. forces are of the larger body of information produced by al‐Qa`ida or other insurgents. Likewise, the vast database in which they are stored is imperfect and virtually impossible to search systematically. Readers and researchers should therefore be wary of conclusions drawn from Harmony documents alone.

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Featured Documents

`Atiyah’s Letter to Zarqawi

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This is a letter from `Atiyah `Abd al-Rahman, mostly known as `Atiyatullah al-Libi, to Abu Mus`ab al-Zarqawi. The letter was...

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Zawahiri’s Letter to Zarqawi

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This is a critical letter from Ayman al-Zawahiri to Abu Mus`ab al-Zarqawi in which the author presents his strategy of...

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Letter from UBL to `Atiyatullah Al-Libi 4

SOCOM-2012-0000019

This document is a long letter authored by Usama bin Ladin after the death of Sheikh Sa'id (Mustafa Abu'l-Yazid) in...

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Lessons Learned from the Jihad Ordeal in Syria

AFGP-2002-600080

This is a lengthy document that examines the jihad waged by the Muslim Brotherhood against the Syrian regime of Hafiz...

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Title

Description

Reference Number

  • Important Issues Memorandum from the Mujahidin Shura to the Border Emirate

    This is a memorandum issued by the Mujahidin Shura to the Border Emirate regarding information centralization, data and weapon security,...

    NMEC-2007-657945

  • Letter from Bin Laden

    This document contains a number of letters that were written by Usama bin Laden between 1994 and 1998, and that...

    AFGP-2002-003345

  • Employment Contract

    This document is al-Qa`ida’s constitution and breakdown of employee benefits for the period before the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. This...

    AFGP-2002-600045

  • Meeting Notes

    A set of notes covers a variety of themes, including views of the Pakistani government on Afghanistan, the goals of...

    AFGP-2002-600086

  • Book by Mustafa Hamid (Thartharah 1)

    This is a fragment of a 301 page book written by Mustafa Hamid (Abu Walid Al-Misri) titled “15 Bullets for...

    AFGP-2002-600087

  • `Abdullah Muhammad `Abdullah Request for Abroad Medical Treatment

    This document is an al-Qa`ida in Iraq pledge for traveling abroad to seek medical treatment, signed by an individual named...

    NMEC-2007-658005

  • Al-Qa`ida Bylaws

    This document is a lengthy bureaucratic document that outlines the goals of al-Qa`ida, organizational procedures, bylaws, position descriptions, benefits, and...

    AFGP-2002-600048

  • Five Letters to the Africa Corps

    This document contains five letters. The first letter is addressed to “Dear Brother Saif” and signed by “Your Uncle: Abu...

    AFGP-2002-600053

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