American Al Qaeda Leader To Bush: 'We Will Be Waiting For You

[scotto]

Native Californian Al Qaeda Leader Makes Threats Against Bush Middle East Visit


Adam Gadahn, as he appears in a new al Qaeda video.

By MADELEINE SAUER
Jan. 6, 2008 — American Al Qaeda leader Adam Gadahn told his followers to welcome Bush "with bombs and traps" upon his upcoming visit to the Middle East this week.

"The occupied territories are awaiting their first visit by the crusader Bush and the mujahideen are also waiting for him," said Gadahn, a California native and now an Al Qaeda spokesman.

Gadahn is the star of the latest al Qaeda propaganda video to be posted online by the group's media wing, As Sahab.

In his newest dramatic gesture, Gadahn tore up his U.S. passport in protest of the imprisonment of fellow al Qaeda followers Abu Zubaydah, John Walker Lindh and Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman.

"I don't need it to travel anyway," he said afterwards.

Gadahn made reference to November's Annapolis conference of Middle Eastern leaders, saying it was a gathering of Bush's "loyal puppets." He said the United States has been "unmistakably defeated" in Iraq in Afghanistan and has lost the battle for hearts and minds "in spectacular fashion."

"They're about to hand the whole mess over to local proxies who, if they haven't already, shall soon rue the day they sold their souls and religion to the American devil," Gadahn said.

Gadahn also made reference to Pakistan, but didn't mention the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, indicating the video may have been made before her death. Rather, he said Al Qaeda "continues to strike the ruling regime" there as it fights against President Pervez Musharraf's "farce of elections."

Gadahn, who is under federal indictment for treason, is believed to be hiding in Pakistan. He left Orange County, Calif., almost 10 years ago for Pakistan and has been a regular feature in al Qaeda videos, at first wearing a mask, but he has been appearing unveiled for more than a year now. He often threatens to continue to target the United States at home and abroad.

Despite his rejection of U.S. citizenship, Gadahn made reference to the mortgage crisis in the United States, saying that it was triggered by right-wing fanatics trying to usher in the "end days."

Source

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CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Al-Qaida's American spokesman urged fighters to meet President Bush with bombs when he visits the Middle East, according to a new video posted on the Internet Sunday.

U.S.-born Adam Gadahn also tore up his U.S. passport as part of a symbolic protest against the U.S. in the nearly hour-long rhetoric-dominated tape - al-Qaida's first message of the new year.

The release comes just three days before Bush is scheduled to arrive in Israel for a weeklong trip that will also bring him to the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of his push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

"Now we direct an urgent call to our militant brothers in Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula ... to be ready to receive the Crusader slayer Bush in his visit to Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula in the beginning of January and to receive him not with flowers or clapping but with bombs and booby-trapped vehicles," Gadahn said in Arabic.

"This just shows once again, al-Qaida offers nothing but violence and death," National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "The purpose of President Bush's trip is to meet with mainstream Arab leaders and people to talk about a positive future for the region, based on hope and opportunity."

As for Gadahn's tearing up his U.S. passport, Johndroe said: "He is wanted for treason against the United States. His passport was already void."

During the rest of the 50-minute video, titled "An Invitation to Reflection and Repentance," Gadahn, who was raised in California, spoke mostly in English, appearing to specifically address the American people. He said al-Qaida felt the need to release the statement after Washington's "defeat" in Iraq and Afghanistan and failed attempts by the Bush administration to bring peace to the Middle East.

"We felt it necessary to address the American people and explain to them some of the facts about these critical and fast-moving events," said Gadahn, who wore a white-and-red headscarf and sat behind a desk with a laptop computer and coffee mug nearby.

"The first questions Americans might ask is has America really been defeated? The answer is yes and on all fronts," he added.

The video could not immediately be independently verified, but it appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of al-Qaida's media wing, al-Sahab. At the beginning of the video, the date December 2007 was displayed. Gadahn also mentioned Robert Hawkins, who killed eight people at a mall in Omaha, Neb. on Dec. 5, suggesting the tape was made sometime after then.

Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Amriki, was charged with treason in the U.S. in 2006 and has been wanted since 2004 by the FBI, which is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

He has appeared in several al-Qaida videos including one in August when he threatened new attacks on foreign embassies. In May, al-Qaida released another video featuring Gadahn, who warned Bush to end U.S. involvement in Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the Sept. 11, 2001, strikes.

Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors and analyzes militant messages, said much of Gadahn's new video shares a similar tone as his previous messages.

"It fits into al-Qaida's notion of providing warning and opportunity for people to correct their ways to avoid an attack," he said.

In the video, Gadahn lashed out repeatedly at the United States for its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and its close ties to Israel and the leaders of some Muslim countries, including Egypt and Pakistan, which he described as some of the "worst dictators and tyrants."

Gadahn also criticized Christianity, which he called "baseless and doubt-filled," and urged Americans - including soldiers who fought in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan - to convert to Islam.

"Listen to me, and listen to me carefully, before you lose your mind to flashbacks, and drugs and drink-induced dementia and before your demons drive you to self-destruction and suicide, in these verses (in the Quran), God calls out to each and every one of you saying God forgives all sins ... if you simply stop and repent," he said.

At one point in the video, Gadahn took out his U.S. passport, showed it to the camera and tore it into several pieces.

"In symbolic rejection of the American citizenship that honorable and decent and compassionate people are ashamed to carry, I will now proceed to destroy my American passport," he said.

"But don't get too excited, I don't need it to travel anyway," he added with a smile after tearing it apart.

Despite Gadahn's passport destruction, Venzke cautioned against dismissing him as a crazy kid and said his warnings should be taken seriously.

"The reality is al-Qaida and al-Sahab do not put anything out without a lot of planning ... They are very deliberate," he said.

Gadahn is the first American to be charged with treason in more than 50 years and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also was indicted on a charge of providing material support to terrorists.

Earlier this month, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the agency would review the latest tape for intelligence value and vowed never to give up the hunt for Gadahn.

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[conlor]

I would say he's crazy. Doesn't look like a kid though.

[scotto]

Originally Posted by conlor

I would say he's crazy.

Certifiable..

Originally Posted by conlor

Doesn't look like a kid though.

That’s what 10 years of eating goat’s eye soup will do…

[Woodmonkey]

He has to be in his 20's so is no kid just by age. I hope they get him.

[scotto]

Al-Qaida's American-born member Adam Gadahn lashes out
at the US and its allies in this image taken from a new video
posted Sunday, Jan. 6, 2008, marking the terror network's first
message of 2008.

[Snowden]

This is the lot I find most difficult to understand. Those who turn to Islam, reject their country and take to terrorism.

Terrorism is very nasty, but it's not the way to fight or win a war. It's just not workable. A man raised in the US should know we're unlikely to lie down and let them take over our country. It's just not feasible.

Even so, it can get very nasty indeed. Creeps like this are in our midst.