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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

  • Caliphate Complaint Box 263

    This is a complaint by one indiviudal against another for not paying a debt in a timely fashion. It also...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 262

    This is an administrative note asking for a soldier to be punished for not performing his duties and offering excuses.

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 261

    A partially completed complaint form without much substantive information.

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 260

    A complaint letter against Islamic State security personnel for stopping and searching individuals without much cause and being rough.

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 259

    A complaint against a local Islamic State leader, detailing low ammunition, broken vehicles, bad drinking water, and suspended payment. It...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 257

    This is the statement of the head of the grievance committee and included in his testimony (Complaint Box 256).

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 256

    This is a lengthy statement of challenges being faced in Yemen due to tensions between commanders and footsoldiers. It was...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 255

    This is a 2017 letter from an Islamic State member in Yemen describing challenges the group is facing, mistakes that...

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