FDD's Long War Journal
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''FDD's Long War Journal'' (LWJ) is an American
news website An online newspaper (or electronic news or electronic news publication) is the electronic publishing, online version of a newspaper, either as a stand-alone publication or as the online version of a printed periodical literature, periodical. Goin ...
, also described as a
blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...
, which reports on the War on terror. The site is operated by Public Multimedia Incorporated (PMI), a non-profit media organization established in 2007. PMI is run by Paul Hanusz and Bill Roggio. Roggio is the managing editor of the journal and Thomas Joscelyn is senior editor. The site is a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where both Roggio and Joscelyn are senior fellows. The journal evolved from Roggio's blog with which he reported on conflicts involving terrorism and Islamic insurgencies around the world. PMI states that its journal seeks to provide news on conflicts without promoting a political agenda and to provide in-depth, contextual detailed reporting. The site's staff, led by Roggio, use international media sources plus contacts in the
United States intelligence community The United States Intelligence Community (IC) is a group of separate US federal government, U.S. federal government intelligence agencies and subordinate organizations that work to conduct Intelligence assessment, intelligence activities which ...
for information for their reports. The organization is funded by private donations, sponsorships, and grants. the site received an estimated average of 12,000 views a day. ''FDD's Long War Journal'' has been used as a source by a number of large, mass media organizations. The journal's reporting has included stories on insurgent and terrorist activities in
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
.


History and mission

''FDD's Long War Journal'' began as Roggio's personal blog, BillRoggio.com, in which he provided detailed reporting on conflicts around the world using information obtained from media and internet sources plus information given him by contacts in the United States intelligence community. Hanusz, a regular reader and financial contributor to Roggio's blog, had the idea of organizing Roggio's reporting into a nonprofit journalism organization along the lines of the Center for Public Integrity. Thus, in 2007, Roggio and Hanusz left their full-time jobs and created PMI as a non-profit corporation with the goal, according to the ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
'', "to develop a first-of-its-kind media entity made up of independent reporters, at home and abroad, dedicated solely to reporting on terrorism, so-called small wars, and counterterrorism efforts around the world, to do it in the kind of fine-grained detail that the mainstream press never will, and, as much as possible, without an overt partisan bent."Mcleary, Paul,
Blogging the long war: Bill Roggio wants to be your source for conflict coverage
, ''
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its original purpose was "to assess the performance ...
'', 46.6 (March–April 2008): 36+, (3621 words).
Spillman, Benjamin,
All About the Blog
, ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal' ...
'', November 9, 2007; retrieved June 16, 2011.
Roggio and the ''Long War Journal's'' staff use reports from various media organizations, including publications in countries where terrorists or Islamic insurgencies are active, such as in Afghanistan and Pakistan, then amplify and add historical context to what they find with information from their own network of US intelligence sources. In some cases, PMI has funded trips by its own media-credentialed journalists to report on war zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Philippines. Roggio, a former
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
signalman and
infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...
man, uses his military experience to add strategic, operational, and tactical level context to the journal's reports. According to the ''Columbia Journalism Review'', "Roggio's greatest service, then, may be the way he picks up where the mainstream press leaves off, giving readers a simultaneously more specific and holistic understanding of the battlefield." The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' reports that the ''Long War Journal'' for the most part avoids political bias in its stories. The ''Review'', however, noted that Roggio has at times aligned himself with conservative bloggers on issues such as the " Easongate" controversy. The journal states that it is a publication of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which describes itself as non-partisan but has been called " neoconservative" by various resources.Goldberg, Michelle,
The 'Hero' of the War on Terror
, ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', February 10, 2011; retrieved June 17, 2011.
In 2006, before the establishment of the ''Journal'',
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
commentator Stephen Kaus criticized Roggio after Roggio complained about ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
's'' negative coverage of his 2005 trip to Iraq as an embedded reporter with the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. Kaus criticized Roggio as a sensationalist who likes to get people to read his articles by distorting the news. Kaus later added, however, that "I should make clear that Roggio's reporting and blogging make a valuable contribution and I take my hat off to his courage. It is the attacks on the Post that are unwarranted." Kaus, Stephen,
Military Blogger Bill Roggio Swiftboats the Washington Post
, ''
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
'', January 8, 2006.


Staff and funding

, PMI's editorial board includes Roggio (managing editor) and four senior and associate editors. Reporters work on a part-time or voluntary basis. The organization has employed up to 16 reporters at various times, including sending them on field reporting trips to Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Philippines. Reader donations help finance PMI, which also seeks financial assistance through corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and content-distribution deals. The organization does not release details on its finances.


Traffic and use

The ''
Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal' ...
'' reported in November 2007 that ''FDD's Long War Journal'' was getting between 10,000 and 20,000 views each day. In 2008, the ''Columbia Journalism Review'' reported that ''FDD's Long War Journal'' website was receiving about 6,000 daily visitors. As of June 2011, the site ranked 91,493 on Alexa. The site's rank in the United States was 25,177 and 20,141 in Pakistan. According to Alexa, 984 other sites linked to ''FDD's Long War Journal's'' site.
Quantcast Quantcast is an American technology company, founded in 2006, that specializes in AI-driven real-time advertising, audience insights and measurement. It has offices in the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, United Kingdom, Ireland, Fran ...
, in June 2011, estimated that the site received an average of 12,000 visitors a day for the preceding one-year period. According to Quantcast estimation, 67% of the site's visitors are male, 84% are caucasian, and 67% are attending or have graduated from college. ''FDD's Long War Journal'' has been used as a source by media organizations or quoted in press publications including ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' (two of which were on the newspaper's front page), ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
'', ''
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
'', ''
United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
'', ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'', ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...
'', '' Cable News Network'', the ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'', ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'', ''
CTC Sentinel The Combating Terrorism Center is an academic institution at the United States Military Academy (USMA) in West Point, New York that provides education, research and policy analysis in the specialty areas of terrorism, counterterrorism, homeland ...
'', ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'',Thompson, Mark,
Battleland: Mullen Talks Tougher in Pakistan
, ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', April 21, 2011; retrieved June 17, 2011.
''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', ''
The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...
'', and ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
''. Marc Thiessen used the journal as a source in a March 15, 2011 opinion piece for ''The Washington Post''.
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
-winning reporter Thomas E. Ricks cited ''FDD's Long War Journal'' reporter Nathan Webster in Ricks' Iraq-related book, ''The Gamble''.


Reports

In December 2007 the journal reported, with accompanying graphics and maps, on supply routes for weapons and supplies from Iran to insurgents in Iraq. The story was ignored by the mainstream press. ''FDD's Long War Journal'' predicted nine months in advance that the government of Pakistan would make a truce with the Taliban of North Waziristan. The journal also was among the first, before most mainstream media, to report on Al Qaeda training camps in Pakistan and the conflict between militants in those areas and the Pakistani military. In addition, the journal has reported on the relationship between the Pakistani government and military and the
Haqqani network The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanis ...
.


Controversies

After Baitullah Mehsud was killed in August 2009, Roggio claimed on August 6, 2009, that a US intelligence official told him US officials thought Mehsud was still alive. This claim about Mehsud's fate was not accurate, as Pentagon spokesman Jeff Morrell and National Security Advisor James Jones claimed that US officials were 90% certain he was killed and they had yet to see any evidence to assume otherwise, and the Pakistan Taliban later confirmed he was killed. In April 2009, Roggio claimed Rashid Rauf, an Al Qaeda operative who was reported to have been killed in a US
drone strike Drone warfare is a form of warfare using Military drone, military drones or Military robot, military robots. The robots may be Telerobotics, remote controlled or have varying levels of Autonomous robot, autonomy during their mission. Types of ro ...
which took place in North Waziristan on November 22, 2008, was still alive. This claim about Rauf's fate was never proven to be true and in July 2010, a U.S. counterterrorism official told the '' Daily News'' that Rauf was killed in the drone strike. In October 2012. Rauf's family confirmed he was killed in a drone strike. In September 2010, Thomas Joscelyn falsely claimed that
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
had released al-Qaeda spokesman
Sulaiman Abu Ghaith Sulaiman Jassem Sulaiman Ali Abu Ghaith (; born 14 December 1965) is a Kuwaiti regarded as one of al-Qaeda's spokesmen. He is marriage in Islam, married to one of Osama bin Laden's daughters. In 2013, Gaith was arrested in Jordan and extradite ...
. In reality, Abu Ghaith was still under house arrest and was not released until 2013. Abu Ghaith was subsequently captured in Turkey, deported to Jordan and handed over to U.S. law enforcement. After Osama bin Laden was killed in May 2011, Roggio claimed that his son Sa'ad, who was believed to have been killed in a drone strike in 2009, was one of his possible successors. At this time, Roggio gave no mention to the earlier report about Sa'ad's death and stated that Sa'ad "is considered a senior leader and an operational commander in al Qaeda" and that "he is known to shelter in Iran and to move back and forth across the Iranian border with Pakistan." A letter captured from the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan where Osama was killed also discussed Sa'ad's death. In September 2012, al-Qaeda leader
Ayman al-Zawahiri Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri (; 19 June 195131 July 2022) was an Egyptian-born pan-Islamism, pan-Islamist militant and physician who served as the second general emir of al-Qaeda from June 2011 until Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri, his dea ...
confirmed in a video message that Saad was killed in a drone strike. In March 2012, Roggio echoed claims by the ''Daily Times'' that
Ilyas Kashmiri Ilyas Kashmiri (10 February 1964– 3 June 2011) was a Pakistani ex-Special Forces Islamist turned militant who fought against Indian troops in Kashmir. NBC News said that United States officials had mentioned him as a possible successor to O ...
was still alive and was spotted in a meeting with Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud in North Waziristan. However, the accuracy of this report was disputed because journalists were unable to access the region where Kashmiri was allegedly spotted. A few days later, the report of Kashmiri's survival was further contradicted when an Al Qaeda spokesman eulogized him along with other Pakistani militants who had been killed in various drone strikes.


References

{{Use mdy dates, date=March 2013 Counterterrorism in the United States American news websites Internet properties established in 2007