Evan Kohlmann

Evan F. Kohlmann
Born 1979 (age 36–37)
Nationality U.S.
Alma mater Georgetown University; University of Pennsylvania Law School
Occupation Terrorism consultant; senior investigator; terrorism analyst; expert witness
Employer The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation;
NBC News
Notable work Al- Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network
Website globalterroralert.com

Evan F. Kohlmann (born 1979) is an American terrorism consultant who has worked for the FBI and other governmental organizations.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

He is a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog, a senior investigator with The Nine Eleven Finding Answers Foundation, and a terrorism analyst for NBC News.[1]

Early life and education

In a profile for the Penn Law Journal, Kohlmann said he spent summers in France while growing up, because his father studied there. Kohlmann graduated from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

He attended the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he studied under Mamoun Fandy.[2] Fandy's mentorship sparked his interest in Middle East politics. "When [Fandy] lived in Egypt, he passed by the number two guy in al-Qaeda there every day. He really knew his subject."

Kohlmann entered the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the fall of 2001, a few weeks before al-Qaeda's attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001.[2]

Counter-terrorism career

Kohlmann worked as an intern at The Investigative Project, a Washington, DC, counter-terrorism think-tank.[2][7]

He wrote Al- Qaida’s Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network while he was a law student.[8] "I turned to a classmate and said, ‘This is Osama Bin Laden, and I have to go do something about it’."

He is a Senior Terrorism Consultant for The NEFA Foundation.[9][10] He is also a contributor to the Counterterrorism Blog,[11] and a terrorism analyst for NBC News.[1]

He has called Anwar al-Awlaki "one of the principal jihadi luminaries for would-be homegrown terrorists. His fluency with English, his unabashed advocacy of jihad and mujahideen organizations, and his Web-savvy approach are a powerful combination." He calls al-Awlaki's lecture "Constants on the Path of Jihad", which he says was based on a similar document written by al-Qaeda in Saudi Arabia's founder, the "virtual bible for lone-wolf Muslim extremists."[12]

Guantanamo courtroom

The Al Qaida Plan

Kohlmann produced "The Al Qaida Plan" to be used as evidence during the Guantanamo Military Commissions.[13] Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald reported that "The Al Qaida Plan" was modeled after a film made for the Nuremberg tribunals called "The Nazi Plan".

Expert witness

Kohlmann has served frequently as an expert witness for the prosecution in terrorism trials.[2][14][15] "There haven’t been that many cases yet, so sometimes the prosecutors are doing their first ones. I know how the courts work, so I am pretty valuable right now.” Despite being considered a terrorism expert, Kohlmann cannot read, write or speak Arabic.[16]

His expertise and neutrality have been disputed by defense attorneys and other experts, while his book ″Al-Qaida’s Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network″ was declined by University of Pennsylvania Press.[17]

He testified as an expert witness in the following cases:

[18]

Case Defendant Notes
U.S. v. Sabri Benkhala Sabri Benkhala
U.S. v. Ali Timimi Ali al-Timimi
U.S. v. Uzair Paracha Uzair Paracha
U.S. v. Ali Asad Chandia Ali Asad Chandia
U.S. v. Yassin Aref Yassin Aref
  • Kohlmann was a last-minute replacement for the prosecution's original witness, Rohan Gunaratna.[21]
U.S. v. Rafiq Sabir Rafiq Abdus Sabir
  • Medical doctor who allegedly agreed to provide clandestine medical treatment to wounded jihadists, and to have sworn bayat to a government agent pretending to be al-Qaeda official.[22]
U.S. v. Emadeddine Muntasser Emadeddine Muntasser
Regina v. Mohammed Ajmal Khan and Palvinder Singh
  • Mohammed Ajmal Khan
  • Palvinder Singh
H.M.A. v. Lawyers Mohammed Atif Sidique
  • Bin Laden's driver's trial
Regina v. Samina Malik Samina Malik
Regina v. Hassan Mutegombwa Hassan Mutegombwa
Regina v. Tsouli Younes Tsouli (Irhabi 007)
  • Charged with posting manuals on computer hacking, and posting al-Qaeda jihadist propaganda (often on unsuspecting external web pages).[23][24]

Publications

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 CTC Sentinel, January 2008. Vol 1. Issue 2 (p. 9), Combating Terrorism Center, United States Military Academy (West Point)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Robert Strauss (Fall 2006). "Terrorists Beware: Kohlmann is on the case". Penn Law Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  3. ↑ Kevin Berger (March 2, 2007). "The Iraq insurgency for beginners". Salon magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  4. ↑ Yuki Noguchi, Evan Kohlmann (April 19, 2006). "Tracking Terrorists Online". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  5. ↑ Evan Kohlmann (August 8, 2005). "Al Qaeda and the Internet". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  6. ↑ ''Cyberterrorism: the use of the internet for terrorist purposes'', Council of Europe, 2007, ISBN 92-871-6226-3, accessed February 8, 2010. April 19, 2006. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  7. ↑ ''Terror on the Internet: the new arena, the new challenges'', Gabriel Weimann, US Institute of Peace Press, 2006, ISBN 1-929223-71-4, accessed February 8, 2010. September 11, 2001. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ Kohlmann, Evan F. (2004). Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network. Berg. ISBN 1-85973-807-9. External link in |title= (help)
  9. ↑ ''Inside the asylum: why the UN and Old Europe are worse than you think'', Jed L. Babbin, Regnery Publishing, 2004, ISBN 0-89526-088-3. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  10. ↑ "The NEFA Foundation – About Us". .nefafoundation.org. September 11, 2001. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  11. ↑ "Counterterrorism Blog". Counterterrorism Blog. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  12. ↑ Meyer, Josh (November 9, 2009). "Fort Hood shooting suspect's ties to mosque investigated". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  13. ↑ Carol Rosenberg (July 29, 2008). "Lawyers give expert testimony at bin Laden's driver's trial". McClatchy News Service. Retrieved July 29, 2008. mirror
  14. ↑ Smith, George (October 2, 2007). "The War on Terror's professional witness". The Register (Situation Publishing Ltd.). Retrieved October 3, 2007.
  15. ↑ Lettice, John (October 23, 2007). "Jailed terror student 'hid' files in the wrong Windows folder". The Register (Situation Publishing Ltd.). Retrieved November 5, 2007.
  16. ↑ http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2012/apr/30/high-profile-cases-tapping-terror-experts-testimony-becomes-de-rigueur/
  17. ↑ https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/27/doogie-huckster-terrorism-experts-secret-relationship-fbi/
  18. ↑ Evan Kohlmann. "About GlobalTerroristAlert". Global Terrorist Alert. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  19. ↑ "Teacher jailed for aiding LeT". Times of India. August 26, 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2008. A 29-year-old Maryland man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for providing support to Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
  20. ↑ "Ali Asad Trial – May 30, 2006". Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  21. ↑ "U.S. v. YASSIN MUHIDDIN AREF and MOHAMMED MOSHARREF HOSSAIN" (PDF). talkleft. September 2006. Retrieved February 18, 2008. On September 24, 2006, the government substituted expert Evan Kohlmann in place of Rohan Gunaratna, and he prepared and submitted a report. In the one paragraph that he devotes to JEI, he does not talk about JEI Bangladesh, but rather switches to JEI generally, which is an organization which is markedly different in different countries.
  22. ↑ "Doctors can't treat terrorists: US judge". The Age. January 31, 2007. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
  23. ↑ ''Spinning Intelligence: Why Intelligence Needs the Media, Why the Media Needs Intelligence'', Robert Dover, Michael S. Goodman, Columbia University Press, 2009, ISBN 0-231-70114-4. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
  24. ↑ ''Muslim minorities in modern states: the challenge of assimilation'', Raphael Israeli, Transaction Publishers, 2008, ISBN 1-4128-0875-8. Retrieved March 23, 2010.

External links

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