Al Qaeda Mag Urges Attack on Koch Brothers, Buffett, Bloomberg
by Robert Windrem and Tracy Connor
A notorious al Qaeda magazine is encouraging lone-wolf terrorist attacks on U.S. economic leaders, including Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and Warren Buffett.
The list in Inspire magazine also included industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch, internet entrepreneur Larry Ellison, and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. A prominent economist was also on the list but asked that his name be withheld. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was named, though not Janet Yellen, who succeeded him.
Also pictured was Jim Walton, one of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, although he was misidentified in the caption as his late father, Sam Walton. Several other names on the list were misspelled.
Warren Buffett RICK WILKING / Reuters
The slickly produced magazine article begins with a photo illustration showing blood-spattered pictures of several of the leaders next to a dripping gun. Its stated goal is to derail the "revival of the America Economy."
The article says the "economic personalities" and "wealthy entrepreneurs" can get off the list by withdrawing their money from U.S. banks, investing their wealth outside American soil, and denouncing support for Israel.
Evan Kohlmann of Flashpoint Intelligence, an NBC News counterterrorism analyst, said that while much of the magazine's content is "somewhat aspirational," it has also played a role in actual plots.
"There is compelling evidence from the Boston Marathon bombings and other various thwarted terror plots that homegrown jihadists have specifically looked to the magazine for guidance on what targets to attack — and have taken that advice quite literally," he said.
Inspire magazine is published online by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and was once edited by American-raised jihadi Samir Khan, who was killed in 2011 drone attack along with cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
It's best known for an article titled, "How To Make A Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom," which provided a recipe for explosives.
Bill Gates Nati Harnik / AP
This is at least the second time U.S. financial leaders have been named as targets by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Inspire 13, issued in late December 2014, also included Bernanke and Gates as potential targets.
A senior U.S. intelligence official told NBC News that the article is an example of al Qaeda's newfound focus on lone-wolf attacks, taking a page from from ISIS' strategy book.
Al Qaeda Mag Urges Attack on Koch Brothers, Buffett, Bloomberg - NBC News
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