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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 164

    The document is the result of an investigation about a complaint from a property owner who claims that the current...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 163

    This is a complaint from a soldier who wants to transfer out of his current position and battalion, but he...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 162

    This complaint is from a woman whose husband has poor eyesight and a tumor, as well as kids with medical...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 161

    This is a partial handwritten complaint from a brother who alleges that he was treated very roughly by Islamic State...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 160

    This is an investigative response memo about a complaint that the police should not have conducted night raids. The investigation...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 159

    This is a response by a military unit to a complaint from a soldier who appears to be evading his...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 157

    This is a complaint document from one IS member against another. The complainant alleges that he was falsely imprisoned for...

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  • Caliphate Complaint Box 156

    This complaint alleges that members of the Hisbah are being overly aggressive toward civilians.

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