American Appears In Qaeda Video

(CBS/AP)  Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri issued a new videotape Saturday along with a man identified as an American member of the terror network, inviting Americans to convert to Islam.

The 41-minute video, posted on an Islamic militant Web site, had footage of al-Zawahri and a man the video identified as Adam Yehiye Gadahn, who has appeared in past al Qaeda videos with the nom de guerre of Azzam al-Amriki.

"To the American people and the people of the West in general ... God sent his Prophet Muhammad with guidance and the religion of truth ... and sent him as a herald," al-Zawahiri said.

Gadahn and al-Zawahiri did not appear together in the footage.

It was the second time Gadahn has appeared in the same video with al-Zawahri. In a July 7 video marking the one-year anniversary of bombings against the London transit system, Gadahn said no Muslim should "shed tears" for Westerners killed by al Qaeda attacks.

"We invite all Americans and unbelievers to Islam," Gadahn said in Saturday's video, dressed in a white robe and turban with a long, thick black beard and a computer terminal in the background.

Gadahn, a 28-year-old American from California who converted to Islam, is wanted by the FBI in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States.

In May 2004, the U.S. government announced that Gadahn was suspected of attending an al Qaeda training camp and working as a translator for the group. Investigators have said that Gadahn, who grew up on a farm in California, converted to Islam as a teen and moved to Pakistan.

It would be the first time Gadahn has appeared in a video released by al Qaeda. He is believed to be a masked figure who appeared in two previous videos not officially from al Qaeda, given to the American television network ABC in Pakistan in 2004 and a few days before Sept. 11, 2005.

In 2004, Gadahn's father, Philip, said that he was baffled by the allegation his son was an al Qaeda operative, saying he has spoken to his son only occasionally in recent years but still can't imagine that he would be involved with a terrorist network.

Gadahn spoke for much of the video released Saturday, saying he wanted to correct the incorrect image Americans have of Islam.

He described the West as "the civilization which enslaved Africa, slaughtered native Americans, fired bombs at ... Tokyo and (the Iraqi city of) Fallujah and nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

He said it shows more concern for archaeological sites, like statues of Bhudda destroyed by Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers, "than it shows of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq."

He said "ignorance" of Islam "causes the people of the West to rapturously applaud when Israel perpetrates wholesale slaughter of Muslims in Lebanon and Palestine and leads them to give their consent to the atrocities that governments commit in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the Muslim world."

The video, issued by al Qaeda's production wing As-Sahab, had been advertised on militant Web sites for several days before it appeared Saturday.

Besides the July 7 video, Gadahn is believed to be a masked figure who appeared in two previous videos not officially from al Qaeda, given to the American television network ABC in Pakistan in 2004 and a few days before Sept. 11, 2005.

In the 2005 tape, the speaker threatened new terror attacks in Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia. The 2004 tape praised the Sept. 11 attacks and said a new wave of attacks could come at any moment.

[nothappyatall]

"Gadahn's father, Philip, said that he was baffled by the allegation his son was an al Qaeda operative"

They say family is usually the LAST to supect anything, no surprise there.

"saying he wanted to correct the incorrect image Americans have of Islam."

Incorrect image? you mean of the one we see of suicide bombers, death squads, women forced to be basically slaves to their husbands and covered up in black bedsheets? Thanks, I think we saw enough.

"He described the West as the civilization which enslaved Africa, slaughtered native Americans, fired bombs at ... Tokyo and (the Iraqi city of) Fallujah and nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

All true, not to mention the Salem witch trials, Cristian crusade, reformation and killing of tens of thousands under the name of religion, like I've said before- no apologies for the US or christianity; religion kills- ALL religion kills and destroys people and has a history of bloody violence- Christianity included which is hardly more than an older now slightly more wiser religion than this Islam and it's suicide bombers.

"He said it shows more concern for archaeological sites, like statues of Bhudda destroyed by Afghanistan's former Taliban rulers, than it shows of the people of Afghanistan and Iraq."

Why of course it does, it's always been that way, that is why we send all kinds of cash and food OVERSEAS but have homeless bums and entire families living in public parks in cardboard boxes after losing their job and home.

[johnhardy21]

You invited electoral thieves and incompassionate liars into your beautiful home and then re-elected them because they promised to keep you safe from all those 'scary' Muslims while their crocodile tears could hardly contain the glee they have inside at your irrational fear and their newfound license to kill, steal and lie as long as they dont interfere with your trivial pursuits and consumerism - your 'Girls Gone Wild' collection and the desire to let your sisters, wives and mothers be degraded on every level. Again, why should I care? As long as it sells or quenches your every feeble, perversive appetite for self gratification.


Ever hear of the story of the Emperors New Clothes? Well, in short the moral of the story is the liars and thieves ended up with all the gold and left the Emperor naked in the street with nothing but an illusion that didnt exist, created by liars and thieves. He was conned of his inheritance, riches, honor and legacy, and 500 years since, remains the joke for the ages.

The parallels are sadly, hilarious.

[johnhardy21]

Those values and honor America had were sadly, your grandfathers. Those were the Americans we held in such high esteem. And how to do respect that? One glaringly sad example is how you let yourselves be constantly reminded of the sacrifices of the Israelis and their struggle, but haplessly forget to mention or show equal respect for the greater sacrifices of your grandfathers, my grandfather included - to save them. Many multiples of Christian Allied Soldiers died saving persecuted Jews than actual Jewish victims, but we dont have 6 movies a year and interspersed references to it at every opportunity so that fact and respect goes unfulfilled. And do those that were saved now celebrate Remeberance Day like they do their Holocaust Day? Do they show respect to the sacrifices and courage of your fathers and grandfathers? No, and you dont mind either. You have done nothing to deserve what your grandfathers and forefathers built, yet you also dont protect it either. You are just their lazy, petulant, undereducated, overprivileged offspring callously throwing away all of your inherited freedom and prosperity as if you earned it. You didnt. You hit the genetic lotto and now you need to pay back your forefathers and fight to keep what they died for.

[johnhardy21]

Tere are 1,000,000,000 Muslims on this planet. Only 19 of them were supposedly involved in 9/11 - quite a minority by any stretch of the imagination - even for Rumsfeld and Cheney. But in America, as long as your victim has brown-er skin, reads the Koran and more than likely treats you with the utmost respect you once shared with each other - you can commit any act of racial aggression toward them short of running them over with a tank during a superbowl commercial, and be home for dinner with nothing more than a weirdly patriotic, sick and twisted slap on the wrist.

And America somehow sees themselves as the standard-bearer for decency and equality for all?

[johnhardy21]

On that note....how can Bush or any other American see or sell himself as a man of faith, honor and integrity - a man of God, while simulaneously killing 250,000 civilian muslims in Iraq and then hurrying US made and paid weapons to enable horrific civilian human rights abuses by the Israeli Military, watching Omert and Co smile from ear to ear as they do it. How can you be Pro Life but then somehow 'for' the death penalty? Your morals and ethics are shot, excuse the pun. Yes, everyone is equal in America, unless you happen to be born black, homosexual, muslim or havent quite mastered english yet. You think the Italians, Poles, Greeks and Africans could speak English the day they landed on Ellis Island? Oh, and dont forget this one: make any comments, observations of hypocrisy or question the lack of human values or decency shown by Israeli acts of terror in Gaza, the West Bank or Lebanon and the daily reminder of their neverending suffering that they feel still justifies their horror, and the wrath of the masses will sound the death nell to you: Anti-Semite.

[kasha11]

the guy sounds alot like Ralph Reed. he said it was his job to force all americans to become christians. Time mag. 1992. same line of *** .

[johnhardy21]

Wake up and fess up, America. You made a mistake and you stand to loose everything you hold dear and everything your forefathers built and sacrificed for you. All those wars, protests, blood, sweat and tears you shed to have what you now get to enjoy. When I was a kid, I would smile simply at the thought of someday just seeing America. Holding a $1 bill. The Empire State, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country..... "

What a magical place it seemed.

What happened to you? What happened to the America we loved and admired? The land of the free and home of the brave. 50 yrs ago, your beloved JFK had to prove to the American public in a National Forum debate that the Vatican would not influence the White House foreign, social or domestic policy because he was a Catholic. That is how badly you wanted to protect your civil rights, and rightly so. Now your President runs on the premise of being 'sent by his faith and God'.......and the American public are too busy watching 'Surreal Life' to care about Real Life, and too ignorant to know or see the threat.

[johnhardy21]

Your tax system, social security, military spending, racial, sexual and religious rights, homeland security, foreign policy, supreme court, free speach and electoral rules have all been sold, leased or stolen in the last 6 years and the American public does nothing about it. Pathetic. You look like fools. A sadly battered wife that makes excuses for brutality to stay, instead of facing the facts and making tough changes you know are needed to defend the sacrifices of your fathers. And no, it doesnt need a bullet or any killing of Muslims. The enemy you face is comically, your own fear and what it lets your 'leaders' get away with, like the obviously Islamophobic propoganda that curiously coicides with that inconsistent justification we now call 911. The $300 billion spent on the war could have funded a national education strategy or guarantee your social security, but fear made you give it all to Bechtel, Halliburton, Raytheon and Lockheed.

Your constitution is next, and they arent scared to show it either.

[johnhardy21]

Last week your Supreme Court Justice, Scalia showed even your justice system is a joke and, for sale. But we already knew that. With Black Americans being less than 10% of your population but over 50% of your prison inmates - even a 3rd grade in math will tell you America is far from free and far from a democracy. Free Speech in America? Ask the Dixie Chicks what they think of your opinion.

This latest Supreme Court Justice cronyism light on US ethics, or what is left of it, shows me the US is now for sale on every level and the human values and morality that made America once so great have Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Rove working the checkout counters as fast as they can and you are doing nothing about it. Nothing. American heros? Save yourselves. Your enemy is within and the propoganda fear tactics blind you to that reality.

[johnhardy21]

Look at what has happened since you started to ignore the fact that unconditional support for Israelis stealing arab land, killing arab people, slaughtering villages, cities and in Lebanon, an entire country....all the while, doing it with US Weapons, US Aid, US Political support and over 300 UN Human Rights Violations by Israel that have been voted to be put in effect, only for the US to VETO THEM 300 TIMES.

And dont tell me about US honor or ethics, or your desire for peace. Your democracy is a joke. You are a CORPORATOCRACY. Look it up on Yahoo. This kid is just tired of the hypocrisy and ignorance that America has and the ironic arrogance you show in promoting your way of life. You have 50 million people with no healthcare. You let 250000 of your own people drown and starve in New Orleans while your beloved Mr President *** played golf on a workday for the 500th time.