The "jihadist ideology" may be spreading in the USA and world
wide, but its spread is in vain; the valley of Hamon-gog
awaits them.

=============================================================

The "Azzam" Threat: A prelude to Future Jihad in America
By Walid Phares

PS: This is a short version posting. The longer version will be 
posted later.

The video tape issued by al Qaeda's "as-sahhab" production, in which
Ayman Zawahiri introduces Jihadist Adam Gahdan to the world as a
senior speaker to the American people on behalf of the movement,
should be taken seriously. Not necessarily at the level of detecting
the next Terror attack but at the level of understanding this prelude
to Future Jihad both in America and within the West. I wasn't
surprised at all by the 45 minutes elaboration by convert Gahdan
regarding all of the issues he raised. For "Azzam al Amrikee" is the
clearest specimen of Jihadism's second generation within the US, in as
much as the 7/7 videos revealed the type of future Jihadists for Great
Britain's second generation. However, when one would listen carefully
to the taped video, you'd find a treasure of knowledge and indicators
for the current state of thinking of al Qaeda and its ideologues. In
short it is a sample of what is on the mind of Salafi Jihadists for
the United States and the West. Following are few of the issues I
noted:

1) The hand behind the message

In short, Azzam's videotaped message is indeed "American." Experts
have heard it in US and Canadian cities and internet is flowing with
it. Whether Gadahn was reading from a prompter or not - and I believe
he was with great skills - I tend to believe that such a speech - rather
than being dismissed as mere propaganda - is a message coming to us
from what's already inserted inside America, which leads me to the
second point

2) Who is it destined to?

It is basically addressed to those who will carry a "Jihad in
America," possibly asserting Adam Gahdan as their leader. Also, this
is a very intelligent move to pierce the linguistic shield of
America's media and reach US citizens directly, as a way to spread
confusion at least among those who have a hazy understanding of the
Jihadists.

3) The ideological platform

In short, the "Azzam" video reconfirms clearly, in an English 
language that academic translators won't be able to distort, 
that al Qaeda's movement worldwide and in the United States 
is seeking total annihilation or conversion of the enemy: 
American and other democracies.

[... ...]

7) The Al Qaeda offer: Conversion or fire

"Azzam's mission in this tape was to deliver a message. His bottom
line is this: We - the Jihadists - have you cornered everywhere and 
you are not going to win this war. His central message is typically
Jihadic: "Surrender, convert or the fire:" Meaning war on Earth, all
of it, and Hell fire after death.

****

This fascinating and revealing taped-speech bring the American public
even closer to what lays ahead for this generation and the next one as
long as the Jihadist ideology is spreading inside America and
worldwide.

****

Dr Walid Phares is a Senior Fellow with the Foundation for the Defense
of Democracies and a visiting Fellow with the European Foundation for
Democracy. He is the author of Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies
against America.

September 2, 2006 07:28 PM

                                -==-

Full article at "Counterterrorism Blog":
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2006/09/the_azzam_threat_a_prelude_to_1.php

Cheers, Steve..

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