Friday, February 8, 2008

American Al Qaeda, Adam Gadahn, Rumored Killed in Airstrike


The rumor that American fat boy turned al Qaeda propaganda puppet, Adam Gadahn, is still making the rounds. I encourage everyone to read the latest story on this over at The Long War Journal as it details it all nicely.
One of the points that Bill Roggio makes in his article is that normally al Qaeda is very quick to announce deaths of their leadership - they like the fact of being able to portray martyrs. But I disagree with Bill a little on this. Adam Gadahn is an American. He is not quite the "martyr" material. I'm sure every member of al Qaeda deep down had a distaste for this Western jihadist mixing with their Arab blood. It's my view that they cannot give Gadahn the full rites of passage as an al Qaeda jihadist because not only was (is) Gadahn American, he came from a Jewish parent. Will al Qaeda lift up a "warrior" with Jewish lineage?
I might be wrong on this but that is my gut feeling. At the same time, if the propaganda machinery of al Qaeda was in the hands of Gadahn, there may be some confusion on how to report the whole thing.
By the way, Gadahn is suspected killed in the same missile strike the Americans carried out in Pakistan that netted 4 top al Qaeda leaders - including the big prize of Abu Laith al Libi.
I hope this punk is dead.


Adam Gadahn rumored killed in North Waziristan strike
By Bill Roggio
February 8, 2008 6:49 PM

One day after a Pakistani newspaper reported al Qaeda propagandist Adam Gadahn may have been killed in the same airstrike that killed al Qaeda leader Abu Laith al Libi, the rumor remains unconfirmed.
Speculation over Gadahn's presence at the al Qaeda safe house in North Waziristan began on Jan. 29, the day of the airstrike. An unnamed US official denied Gadahn was killed in the strike. But on Feb. 7, The News reported, based on statements from Western sources, that Gadahn was killed in the airstrike.
Gadahn was believed to be en route to the village of Khushali Tari Khel to attend an "an important meeting with other senior al-Qaeda commanders for planning the so-called spring offensive against US and NATO troops in Afghanistan," The News reported. Two other al Qaeda leaders, Abu Obeida Tawari al Obeid, a Saudi; and Abu Adel al Kuwaiti, were also reported killed in the North Waziristan airstrike.
If Gadahn was indeed killed, al Qaeda has yet to acknowledge it. Al Qaeda has been forthcoming about the death of its leaders in the past, and has taken the opportunity to use their deaths as propaganda and recruiting tools. Less than 48 hours after al Libi was killed, al Qaeda posted an announcement at various jihadi forums.
Several days later, Mustafa Abu Yazid, al Qaeda's commander in Afghanistan, released a videotape via As Sahab, al Qaeda's media arm. Yazid extolled al Libi's sacrifice and vowed to avenge his death. "The men he trained ... will not rest until they avenge him and realize his aspirations and hopes, God willing," Yazid said.
Al Qaeda would have capitalized on Gadahn's death, given his unique status as an American member of al Qaeda.
"I would imagine that if Gadahn got knocked off they would have announced his death just as quickly as they did [Abu Laith al Libi's death]," said Nick Grace, who closely tracks al Qaeda's propaganda and activity at jihadi forums. "Having an American become a martyr would be a propaganda coup for them and I imagine that ultimately Gadahn will be more useful for al Qaeda dead than alive."
Grace noted that Gadahn plays a leading role in al Qaeda's propaganda apparatus. "He has a leading voice within As Sahab's management," Grace said. As Sahab is al Qaeda's media production arm. Gadahn has taken over a significant role in As Sahab since the summer of 2006, and the propaganda has become more "sophisticated" since Gadahn's direction.
But signs of Gadahn's absence have been seen with the latest release of the Yazid video, said Grace. Files were not properly uploaded in the correct sequence. "Since taking the reins of as-Sahab, Gadahn instituted standards and practices that have been closely followed over the past year," said Grace. "This is the first technical mistake that I have seen them make since the events back in September 2007," when the Osama bin Laden videotape was improperly handled.


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