New Bin Laden Videotape Not New According To Experts

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released a new videotape on Friday however it appears to actually be the Pashto-language version of a tape released by al Qaeda several months ago.

The tape, titled “To Our People in Pakistan,” was broadly released in Arabic and Urdu on July 12, IntelCenter said. Excerpts had been aired by the Al Jazeera television network on June 3, it added.

Earlier on Friday, IntelCenter had said al-Qaeda’s as-Sahab Media had released a new video from bin Laden.

In his remarks broadcast by Al Jazeera in June, Saudi-born bin Laden said U.S. President Barack Obama had planted the seeds of “revenge and hatred” toward the United States in the Muslim world and warned Americans to prepare for the consequences.

In an audio message posted on an Islamist website in September, Osama warned Americans over their government’s close ties with Israel.

Osama is believed to be hiding in the mountainous border areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

via Bin Laden videotape not new, monitoring site says | Reuters.

Adam Gadahn American al Qaeda In New Video

In a new anti-Israel, anti-U.S. video, an American al Qaeda member makes reference to his Jewish ancestry for the first time in an official al Qaeda message.

In the video, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, discusses his roots as he castigates U.S. policies and deplores Israel’s offensive in Gaza that started in late December 2008 and continued into January.

“Let me here tell you something about myself and my biography, in which there is a benefit and a lesson,” Gadahn says, as he elicits support from his fellow Muslims for “our weapons, funds and Jihad against the Jews and their allies everywhere.”

“Your speaker has Jews in his ancestry, the last of whom was his grandfather,” he says.

[...]

The video in which Gadahn speaks Arabic, with English subtitles — surfaced on Saturday. This account is based on an English transcript provided by As-Sahab Media, the media production company used by al Qaeda.

Gadahn’s Jewish ancestry has been reported in the news media. But terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield says it is the first time Gadahn acknowledged his Jewish ancestry in an official al Qaeda message.

Gadahn says his grandfather was a “Zionist” and “a zealous supporter of the usurper entity, and a prominent member of a number of Zionist hate organizations.”

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Adam Gadahn ‘American al Qaeda’ Alive – as Sahab Video Released

Adam Gadahn,  the ‘American al Qaeda’ resurfaced in a new video released this morning by As Sahab. It was widely assumed, although never confirmed, that Gadahn had been killed several months ago.

The video, 32 minutes, 7 seconds long, is primarily focused on Pakistan. It makes specific references to Musharaff’s resignation and to Pakistan’s new President Asif Zardari. Read more

U.S. Officials: Al Qaeda Unpopular and ‘Imploding’ But Still A Threat

Top U.S. counterterrorism officials Monday said Al Qaeda is “imploding” and that its violent tactics have turned Muslims worldwide against the organization.

“Absolutely it’s imploding. It’s imploding because it’s not a message that resonates with a lot of Muslims,” said Dell Dailey, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism. Read more

al Qaeda’s 9/11 Terror Tape Blocked

Hackers prevented Al Qaeda from releasing a videotape to mark the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Al Qaeda has traditionally issued a video or audiotape by either Osama bin Laden or Ayman al Zawahiri, the terror network’s two leaders, to mark their massive terrorist attack on the US.

As-Sahab, Al Qaeda’s media unit, had indicated earlier this week that it would post such a videotape on September 11. As-Sahab had banner images on the internet showing a silhouetted head with a question mark and the words, “Wait 11 September”. Read more