Quick Notes On Newest Adam Gadahn, Yahya Al Libi Videos

By J.M. Berger
INTELWIRE.com
In around January or February, Al Qaeda's As-Sahab media operation suffered a serious setback. We don't know the details, but some key node in the media shop was taken out, with clearly visible results. Where once there were near-HD videos, now there were Webcam-quality videos. Where once there was low-quality video, now there was audio.

Over the last several days, it has become clear that whatever happened (let's say, drone attack on the studio), As-Sahab is back. Two recent videos from senior AQ leader Yahya Al Libi and American Al Qaeda Adam Gadahn (who also runs the media shop) show a return to nearly complete functionality.

Both videos are in near-HD quality, although with some compression, which suggests to me they are using a high-end consumer camcorder. Before 9/11, Al Qaeda used professional media equipment from time to time, but since then, HD camcorders are pretty much the state of the art. That's just smart business. When you're distributing over the Internet, you don't need anything bulkier or more expensive.

The Al Libi video features a CGI background. It's been quite a while since we saw that in an Al Qaeda video. So that means they're back up with a quality laptop too. Gadahn's video features a black background, but a spiffy Bill O'Reilly/Colbert Report style text sidebar.

One final note of interest. Gadahn's video was released today, June 20, 2010, and the content is noteworthy only in its failure to mention Times Square or the Gaza Flotilla. A closer look shows that the file appears to have been last modified on April 10. This might mean that As-Sahab reconstituted its camera in the spring but didn't get replace it's presumed-exploded laptop until very recently. It also means that, technically, we haven't seen Gadahn for at least two months (assuming his last video is also dated back this far). Also, April 10 is the modified date, not the create date, so it's possible the video was recorded even earlier.

P.S. Remember the reports this spring that some American named Abu Yahya Mujahdeen Al Adam had been arrested in Pakistan? That was around March 9 or 10, and the new video references the March 11, 2010, State Department Human Rights report.

So Adam II is definitely not the same guy as Adam I. But it's possible Adam II worked for As-Sahab, and his capture might have sent Adam I scrambling for the hills without his laptop. Just a thought.

Labels: Abu-Yahya-Al-Libi, Abu-Yahya-Mujahdeen-al-Adam, Adam-Gadahn, Al-Qaeda, American-Al-Qaeda, American-Terrorists, Azzam-the-American, Weblog

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Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Whatever Happened to Abu Yahya Al-Adam?

It's been stony silence from the Pakistanis ever since they admitted that they had totally failed to arrest Adam Gadahn, Al Qaeda's preeminent English-language spokesman. We're all been eagerly waiting for news on the man the Pakistanis supposedly actually arrested, Abu Yahya Mujahideen Al-Adam. Now days have passed and skepticism is growing about even that arrest, since no one -- and I mean no one -- has ever heard of the guy. It's bad enough we can trust first reports out of Pakistan, now we can't even trust their sheepish corrections?

Labels: Abu-Yahya-Mujahdeen-al-Adam, Adam-Gadahn, Azzam-the-American

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Pennsyvlania Woman Charged With Recruiting For Jihad

This one is a doozy...

David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, and Michael L. Levy, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, together with Janice K. Fedarcyk, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, today announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Colleen R. LaRose, aka "Fatima LaRose," aka "Jihad Jane," with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, conspiracy to kill in a foreign country, making false statements to a government official and attempted identity theft.

It's an interesting perhaps-coincidence that a Pennsylvania jihadist recruiter should be indicted immediately after a Pennsylvania jihadist was arrested in Pakistan. Pakistani news outlets reported that the jihadist was arrested based on U.S. intelligence leads.

So has Jihad Jane been talking? There's good reason to think so.

LaRose was actually rolled up with a sealed criminal complaint pertaining to her abuse of a U.S. passport back in October. An arrest warrant was executed on October 29, 2009. A series of sealed documents were then filed with the court culminating in an arrest warrant, including several requests to postpone indictment.

Labels: Abu-Yahya-Mujahdeen-al-Adam, American-Jihadists, American-Terrorists, Colleen-LaRose, Jihad-Jane

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Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Who's Abu Yahya Mujahideen Al-Adam?

Now that early reports of the arrest of American Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn have, somewhat predictably, turned out to be wrong (I hope you all noted my big fat disclaimer yesterday), we're left with the question of exactly whom did the Pakistanis arrest?

Most reports are now naming the man in custody as Abu Yahya Mujahideen Al-Adam, aka Abu Yahya Majadin Adam or some variation therein. Everyone seems to agree that he's from Pennyslvania.

Beyond that, the most detailed information comes from Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper of uneven reliability.

According to Dawn, Al-Adam is a "close friend" of Osama bin Laden, which seems rather doubtful to me, but not impossible. It depends on the age of the man in question. Here's a little idle speculation to fill your time as we await more specific and verifiable information.

There was a jihadist during the late 1990s named Adam Mohammed Noor, who was an associate of Wadih El-Hage, an American who was actually a close associate of Bin Laden. There was also an American "Adam" who was a close friend of Ali Mohamed, another American who kept close company with Bin Laden. It's not clear if these two Adams were the same person. (Mohamed himself used the alias "Ahmed Bahaa Adam" occasionally.)

As more information comes out, I will post updates.

Labels: Abu-Yahya-Mujahdeen-al-Adam, Adam-Gadahn, Ali-Mohamed, American-Al-Qaeda, American-Jihadists, American-Terrorists

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Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink

 

Different American Al Qaeda Arrested

NYT identifies the man as Abu Yahya Mujahdeen al-Adam, hailing from Pennsylvania.

Initial reports seemed to have confused the American with Adam Gadahn, a California native who has been a Qaeda spokesman and often appears on videos calling for strikes against targets in the United States.

Senior administration officials said on Sunday that they did not believe the arrest was of Mr. Gadahn. For hours, information was difficult to confirm from Pakistan. President Obama was briefed on news reports of the arrest, but later learned they were most likely not correct.

Scattered reports are now surfacing that Al-Adam is an alias for Gadahn. Your guess is nearly as good as mine at this point. I will only say that reports from Pakistani officials on the arrest or killing of senior Al Qaeda and Taliban figures tend to be wildly inaccurate. Wait a week, and we might know by then.

Labels: Abu-Yahya-Mujahdeen-al-Adam, Adam-Gadahn, American-Al-Qaeda, American-Jihadists, Azzam-the-American

Views expressed on INTELWIRE are those of the author alone.

Posted by J.M. Berger | Permalink