Azzam the American – - real name: Adam Yehiye Gadahn. He’s from California. He disappeared shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2004, the FBI announced they were seeking him in connection with a possible terrorist plot against his own country, the US.
This man.. this American.. appeared in a video tape released on an Islamic militant website, that had footage of al-Qaida’s No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri, and of Adam Yehiye Gadahn, a 28-year-old American who the FBI believes attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan and served as an al-Qaida translator.
It was the second time Gadahn appeared in the same video with al-Zawahri. In a July 7 video marking the one-year anniversary of the terror attack on London commuters, Gadahn appeared briefly, saying no Muslim should “shed tears” for Westerners killed by al-Qaida attacks.
But Saturday’s video – and the length of Gadahn’s speech – suggested al-Qaida has found in him someone it believes can communicate effectively with Americans.
The message de’jour?
Convert to Islam. Seems like the whole of the Middle East hired the same PR firm to launch the same propaganda message at the same time.
Convert, or die.
For anyone, at this point, to say we’re not in a religious war has gotta be a few eggs short of a dozen, get my drift? Because nothing in the history of this world has been the cause, reason, justification, rationale for war, killing, murder and death than one organized religion that claims to be better for the entire world, over all the rest.
Anyone want to tell me that the war on terror is solely George Bush’s war? The whole “My God is better than your God” argument has been building up for quite some. And let’s face it – that is the root of Islamic terror, isn’t it? George Bush – for all the differences I have with him today – has been the one President to make an attempt to do something about it and the threat it poses to the security of the people of the United States of America. And it’s allies, for that matter.
Of course, that’s easy for me to say when I sit on the side of the world that has spent centuries attempting to convert in infidels in the Middle East to Christianity. Because every religion is the one true religion, right? Although, I do have something going for me from where I’m sitting – - I can’t remember the last time I heard a Christian say “Convert, or die“.
“Convert or spend eternity in burning hellfire” – yes, I’ve heard that one. But death? No – at least not since the crusades. Seriously, I have been in debates where the ‘other side’ has pulled the crusades out of the woodwork as some type of justification for Islamic frustration with the West. The crusades! To that I say: Get your head outta the 12th century.
This is the year 2006. Convert or die? Give me a break.
Here’s an idea: Participate in your religion of choice. Believe in your god. Celebrate your holy days. Wear your traditional clothing. Eat your special holy food. Attend your holy buildings. Display your religious symbols. Then? Leave the rest of us the hell alone to believe what WE want to believe and wallow on the wrong side of your religious ideology, allowing more room in heaven for the likes of you. Deal?
Back to this “Azzam the American” guy. Do you suppose that maybe he made that video tape unwillingly at gunpoint?
Don’t scoff – it’s been known to happen at the hands of those folks who are part of Islam: The Religion of Peace. Talk about phony propaganda.
Is it possible that Azzam was converted by gunpoint? Sure. Since the release of the Fox journalists, many stories have come out. What was missed in that release and conversion story was this: You or I could be converted but go about our way in life, for the most part. We aren’t national figures etc…Centani and Wiig on the other hand make their livings reporting on various things throughout the world. The hottest story is radical Islam. These 2 gentleman can not speak out denounce radical or regular Islam:If Steve Centanni ever announces that he is not a Muslim, he signs his own death warrant: can he ever be assigned to a Muslim nation again without the knowledge that he is now legally a target for death because of his own actions?
So maybe that is the case with Azzam. I don’t know. What I do know is that you are correct in that this is not just George’s war and this is a holy war.
What i do see happening is that this will become a defence tactic in future trials.
hi kids!
I took theology in the Catholic high school I went to. I know for a fact that the conversion has to be sincere and not forced.
A Catholic conversion yes, an Islamic conversion no.
hello peejz – may i now post?
Actually during the 30 yrs wars, forced conversions were almost the norm for both protestants and Catholics. They were also followed by executions to prevent the newly converting from backsliding to their former evil ways.
There are many things that set this holy war apart from those of the past. The first being that half of the planet refuses to admit that a state of war even exists. Other factors include the availability of modern weapons, the massive amounts of funds available to buy those weapons, national sponsorship, the willingness of the Muslims to attack and kill non military targets, the exaggerated concern for collateral damage caused by the Main Stream media trying to be “balanced” instead of calling for victory, and groups like the ACLU and the Democratic party fighting to protect the enemy from surveillence,detection and capture. Do I really need to go on?
Unfortunately for all sides in a religious war, negotiation is seldom an option until the body count hits an exorbitant level. At that point the losing side is normally the one that comes out wanting to negotiate and becomes reasonable in their demands. If we aren’t the ones winning the war when it hits that point, or if we try to negotiate an end to this thing prematurely, it will only end badly for the non muslim world. This is not opinion, this is simply an analysis of history. The Muslims under Saladin were much more accepting of other religions, far more so than the Christian Crusaders. However, that is no longer the case. For anyone who is interested, there is a great book out called “Chronicles of the Crusades” that includes first hand accounts of the Crusades from the perspective of people on all sides of the conflicts. It also has maps, and photos of the areas described in the text. Okay, I admit I am a history geek.
This idiot Adam is, in all truth, a traitor. He needs to be hunted down and shot. Or better yet, hang him from an overpass by his own turban.
To win the war against Islamofascists, we need to look at what has worked on them in the past. When the Iranians took Soviet diplomats hostage, the Soviets took the terrorists families captive and offered to kill them if the diplomats weren’t returned. The diplomats were returned within a few days. We, under Jimmy Carter, negotiated and got them back in a little over 400 days. Which was more effective? BTW reportedly a plan to use a small mercenary force to raid the US Embassy compound was submitted to the Carter White House days after the initial taking of hostages, but was summarily rejected because Carter didn’t want to use mercenaries. Ross Perot on the other hand, hired mercenaries to successfully rescue his employees who were trapped in Tehran at that time. When we wanted Khadaffi to stop supporting terrorists, we sent 2 F111 fighter bombers to pay a visit to his house. He renounced terrorism within the month. When we invaded Iraq, he renounced his WMD programs. He’s learning quicker than Iran’s president. Perhaps we need to enlist him to talk some sense into Ahmadenijad. Of course now we have the F117 stealth fighter and B2 Stealth bombers. Iran could have a really bad nuclear disaster at one of their uranium enrichment facilities if they aren’t careful. Of course having a terrorist IED factory in the basement of the Presidential palace in Tehran probably isn’t the best idea either. They really might want to move it, you do know that accidents can happen. If you want to stop an Islamic terrorist, you don’t just go after him. You go after his family. They are perfectly willing to give their lives for the cause, but having their wife, kids, parents, and siblings killed for their actions is another story. One of the 9/11 highjackers sent his family back to the middle east to prevent them from feeling any repercussions from his actions. With the various countries (Saddam Hussein’s Iraq for one) providing huge stipends to the families of suicide attackers, some of them really are worth more to their families dead than alive. We should move to take away that incentive. A stipend your family doesn’t live to collect isn’t worth much. If we get adequately nasty now, we may not have to fight this war much longer. Failing to do so could cause this conflict to drag out indefinitely. Our best hope for peace with Iran, would be to foment a revolution among the disenchanted youth and members of the military against the radical Islamic Theocracy that took over in Iran when Jimmy Carter refused to support the Shah in the late 70s.
Like I said before, I’m a libertarian. You can do anything you want as long and until it impacts me or other people, then we have a problem. I have a belt buckle that pretty much sums up my idea on how to solve those kinds of problems. It says “Field Artillery” across the top, “The Last Word” across the bottom, and has a mushroom cloud in the middle. I got it at the gift shop at the US Army Artillery School at Ft Sill, OK when I was there as a student. For those who don’t know, any large enough explosion can produce a mushroom shaped cloud.