American in Terror Video Not High RankedBy ANDREW TAYLOR
The Associated Press
Sunday, September 3, 2006; 4:19 PM
WASHINGTON -- Federal investigators do not believe an American convert to al-Qaida
who appeared in a propaganda video is a high-ranking member of the terrorist group,
and they doubt his efforts to promote the organization are having much effect.
Adam Yehiye Gadahn, whom the FBI believes attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan,
has appeared on several long and rambling al-Qaida videos at strategically chosen moments
such as before the 2004 election and on the first anniversary of the July 7, 2005, London
bombings.
-snip-"Al-Qaida has sought to use Gadahn as a propaganda tool," FBI spokesman John Miller said
Sunday. "The purpose is to have someone who can translate al-Qaida's message into English
and deliver it to a Western audience. It's part of their 'psy-ops.'"
-snip-"The obvious advantage (of his appearances) is it makes headlines in the West. ... He is
an asset to them, definitely," said Thomas Hegghammer, a research fellow at the Norwegian
Defense Research Establishment who studies jihadi Internet sites and videos.
-snip-