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HOME VIDEO AUDIO NEWS ABOUT |
A Short Primer on Terrorist Videos FAQ
Q: What is INTELFILES? INTELFILES.com is a Web site offering access to a massive archive of terrorist videos, including Iraq videos, hostage executions, military operations, propaganda and audio or visual communiques from terrorist leaders. INTELFILES is operated by J.M. Berger, editor of INTELWIRE.com. Q: Can I e-mail you? Sure. My e-mail address is . Due to volume of inquiries and other factors, please be forgiving if I don't get back to you promptly unless your inquiry is related to a support issue for INTELFILES. Q: Why do I have to pay for access? There are three reasons INTELFILES charges a fee for access to this archive. The most important reason is that we don't want to assist the work of terrorists. Terrorists regularly redistribute files posted by U.S.-based sites that host and distribute these videos. In addition to the moral issues surrounding such distribution, INTELFILES also wishes to avoid any legal complications. By charging a fee through a licensed credit card vendor, we hope to ensure that anyone viewing this archive has provided their legitimate name and fixed address. Additionally, it takes a significant amount of time to verify most non-governmental members, and that time is not free. INTELFILES also assists members in authenticating and tracking videos for journalistic and law enforcement purposes. Finally, subscription fees help offset the considerable time and cost of maintaining this site and its bandwidth. The size of this archive is virtually unmatched on the Web, and unlike many free sites, INTELFILES provides all types of terrorist files, including communiques, propaganda, items of theological note, historical footage and much, much more. Q: Who can join INTELFILES? Because of U.S. law and U.S. security and political interests, INTELFILES memberships are entirely at the discretion of the Webmaster. Your membership may be rejected for any reason or no reason whatsoever. Please be understanding if this occurs. Please don't even bother to apply if you are not living and accessing the archive from the United States. Accessing the archive from anywhere else is a violation of the terms of service of this site and grounds for immediate account termination. Q: Why don't I see any videos on bomb-making or other specific terrorist tactics? See the previous answer. Such videos are in circulation online, but even with the safeguards above, I'm not willing to make specific terrorist instructional videos available under most circumstances. I will assist verified employees of the U.S. government and military (direct employees, not contractors) and accredited major media journalists who wish to review such content. Q: I'm looking for a video I saw on the news that shows (some specific person or event). Why can't I find it in your archive? Some videos are released as physical tapes in Iraq and elsewhere. INTELFILES only obtains videos which have been posted online in some form. Although INTELFILES often obtains videos which have not been widely circulated, there are always some that simply don't make it on to the Internet. Videos physically distributed to news outlets which are subsequently broadcast will often be captured by terrorists and reposted, but that takes time, so some videos will appear a few days after their release. Q: Do you work with the U.S. government or major media outlets? Most INTELFILES subscribers are affiliated with the U.S. government, military or domestic law enforcement agencies. I've also assisted mainstream media outlets with terrorism research on many occasions. I would be happy to consider putting this service under exclusive contract to a mainstream media outlet, university, government agency or private contractor. Contact me if you wish to discuss such an arrangement. Q: How do I view these files? See below. Q: Where did these files come from? Unless otherwise noted, these files were collected from Islamist Web sites associated with terrorist networks. Some files may have been posted to Islamist Web sites, but may have originated elsewhere. Q: Are these new videos? Some are new, some are old. New videos come in to INTELFILES constantly, but the online sources often recycle material. INTELFILES has the capability to offer videos hours before the mainstream media reports on them, but generally does not pursue such speed except in case of special arrangement or in the event of a truly major news development. Q: Are the videos authentic? Generally, yes. I will endeavor to assist mainstream media outlets in authentication whenever possible. Some Islamist Web sites act as clearinghouses where anyone can upload, so garbage can enter the mix. See also Sourcing Notes. Q: Why are there multiple copies of some videos? Some videos, particularly the Iraq execution videos, are circulated in different formats. The format and the attached information have intelligence value in determining the source. Some duplicate files may also contain steganographic enycryption messages which are not visible to the naked eye. Q: Can I download these files via FTP? FTP access is available to mainstream media, private consultancies and major research institutions for an additional charge. Q: Can I redistribute these files online? No. That is a violation of the terms of service. Inquire with the Webmaster if you wish to redistribute videos. See Terms of Service. Q: Can I broadcast these videos on TV? You may use a single video in a news broadcast without requesting permission if you cite INTELFILES.com as the source. You are responsible for assuring that all necessary rights have been cleared, or you can request licensing from INTELFILES for an additional charge. If you plan to use videos commercially outside of a news context, such as in a longer form documentary, contact the Webmaster. Q: Will you make files available on CD-ROM or DVD? Yes. Click here to order INTELFILES DVDs. Two DVDs are currently available. One is a reference DVD for educational purposes featuring 2 and 1/2 hours of English-subtitled al Qaeda propaganda. The other is a stock footage DVD which includes global rights clearances. Custom DVDs can be commissioned as well. E-mail for details. Q: Are you planning to improve the navigation? Yes, over time, more improvements will be made. The archive is currently presented with several topic headers, a chronological list of cataloged videos and numerous folders of raw video organized by file name and date added to the library. All videos added since approximately 1/2005 have some sort of notes on their contents; videos prior to that date may not be cataloged. If you can't find what you're looking for, e-mail me and I will try to help. To view video files, you will need a media player. Media files are in different formats, so you will need more than one player. 
Recommended for Real Media format: Real Alternative Player Other options: 
Legacy Real Player Sourcing NotesAll files featured here have been obtained from Islamist and terrorist-linked Web sites, unless otherwise noted. Some videos here are ripped from other media, or were obtained from other Web sites by the Islamist webmasters themselves. These are including for informational purposes, since they provide a window into the perspective and interests of those taking part in these online networks, but please note that footage from CNN or al Jazeerah is obviously copyrighted. I believe their presence here constitutes a fair use under U.S. law, but I will honor any requests from originating organizations to remove such clips.Also, some video compilations from splatter sites like Ogrish.com have been redistributed on Islamist sites. Such videos usually feature a title screen identifying the source. When citing videos in media and online, please credit INTELFILES.com unless the video itself indicates another (non-jihadist) source, such as Ogrish. We make every effort NOT to upload these files from other sources, but sometimes one can slip into the mix. Known frauds or hoaxes will be labeled as such in the archives, but due to the volume of material available here, INTELFILES cannot verify the pedigree of every file. When possible, INTELFILES will assist members in authenticating videos for news reporting or other research purposes. Under the terms of service for this site, you may not redistribute these files. If you wish to use a file online or in a broadcast form, please contact J.M. Berger at for more information and terms. |