CTC Harmony Document magazine cover

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.

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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Filter Harmony Documents

Title

Description

Reference Number

  • Caliphate Complaint Box 229

    This file includes a complaint and some follow-up paperwork. The complaint is from a woman who claims that some Islamic...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 228

    This complaint appears on a form for investigating and ruling on complaints by a judicial official. The complainant claims to...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 227

    This is a complaint filed with the Real Estate Office which appears to be the result of a disagreement between...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 226

    This is a judicial form showing the result of a complaint filed in the Bureau of Judiciary and Grievances.

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 225

    This is an administrative document related to a complaint in which the author asks that the venue of hearing the...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 224

    This is an administrative document related to a complaint in which the author asks that the venue of hearing the...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 223

    This is a complaint from a homeowner who is letting his son live in the home. However, the Real Estate...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 222

    This is an administrative form that appears to be a register of items that may have been relevant to a...

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