by Jerry Gordon

In the world of special ops in the war against Islamic terrorism, in addition to the traditional battlefield, there is also another group of shadow warriors engaged in fighting the little known “internet Jihad.” One of those engaged in the war against internet Jihad, Joseph Shahda, emerged from those shadows in a series of investigative articles by New York Times reporter, Michael Moss, that appeared on October 15^th and 21^st.  The first article discussed the internet Jihadis themselves, including, most dramatically, 21 year old Samir Khan of North Carolina who ran an internet relay for al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, seemingly with impunity. In the October 21^st article, Joseph Shahda emerged from the shadows, replete with photograph, to discuss his private efforts that have successfully taken down dozens of jihadi websites and forums spreading hate and training potential terrorists in techniques that ultimately can be used to kill our troops on the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq or civilians in Lebanon, Israel and, even here in the U.S.  Through a request made to Mr. Moss of the New York Times we reached out to Mr. Shahda who kindly consented to this interview.  more...