American Al Qaeda Operative Says Western Countries’ Economies ‘On The Brink Of Failure’

from CBS News

American al Qaeda figure Adam Gadahn called on Muslims to support jihad with "men and money," while claiming that the West was now on the verge of collapse under the strikes of the militants.

Gadahn's comments came in a one-hour and 30-minute video produced by al Qaeda's media wing As Sahab and released on the Internet on Monday.

"The enemy under the leadership of the unbelieving West has began to stagger and falter, and the results of its unabated bleeding has began to show on its economy, which is on the brink of failure," said Gadahn.

Gadahn appeared dressed in a greyish Pakistani traditional dress, and sitting at a desk with two computers to his right and a Kalashnikov and a suicide belt hanging on the wall behind him. He looked a little thinner than usual.

He dismissed efforts by U.S. President Barack Obama to improve relations with the Muslim world, saying that his predecessors had all made the same claim but all, including President Obama himself, have maintained the same policies and the same approach towards Muslims.

"Obama’s own statements contradict his claims," Gadahn asserted, as he referred to the U.S. president's assurances to Israel that Jerusalem will remain its undivided capital, and his pledge to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Gadahn then went to claim that big U.S. corporations and financial institutions, which he said were mostly run by corrupt individuals, dictated America’s domestic and foreign policies.

He mentions the case of Bernard Madoff and referred to books written by American author John Perkins, in which he talked about his efforts to spread U.S. political, military, cultural, and economic dominance, during the years he spent as what he called "an economic hitman."

The video also included a documentary-style historical introduction at the beginning that Gadahn described as being about crimes perpetrated by U.S. forces in the different wars it fought in the 20th century. He referred to the killing of Germans during World War II, the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the use of agent orange in Vietnam. "Agent orange contains Dioxin, one of the most poisonous substances on earth," he noted, adding that "just three ounces of it in the water supplies of New York, is enough to poison its entire population."

The video contained excerpts from statements released previously by other al Qaeda leaders, such as al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, his deputy Ayman al Zawahri, al Qaeda’s leader in Afghanistan Mustafa Abu al Yazid and al Qaeda ideologue Abu Yahya al Libi.

Their statements all stressed on jihad as the only way to rid Muslim countries from their corrupt rulers and liberate them from Western occupation.

It also included footage of operations carried out by Arab and Afghan fighters against NATO and Afghan forces in Afghanistan, including a succession of rocket attacks, IED attacks and suicide bombings.

Gadahn pointed to a U.S. army handbook called "Route Clearance" that he said was seized during an attack on U.S. forces. A copy of the handbook has been distributed along with the video.

The book explains the various tools and techniques used by the U.S. army to minimize the damage caused by IED attacks. Gadahn noted that the procedures explained in the handbook were not being followed, and suggested that this was probably because the U.S. war budget did not allow its forces to have the necessary number of minesweepers to carry out such complicated operations.

He also deducted that the failure by U.S. minesweepers such as the Husky to detect the militants' mines was either caused by the inefficiency of the vehicle or that of its operators. He insinuated that the minesweepers' operators probably chose to sacrifice a "relatively cheaper Humvee, than a highly priced Husky."

"After all, what’s wrong with a few soldiers dying to save uncle Sam from having to account for the waste of another few hundred grands," said Gadahn.

The tape also included footage showing preparations for an attack on Camp Salerno in Khost. This included reconnaissance pictures of the base, with U.S. helicopters taking off and landing, as well as pictures of the operatives who carried out the attack undergoing training, dressed in full military gear.

An attack fitting the description of that mentioned in this tape was reported in August 2008. According to the U.S. military, the militants failed to gain entry to the camp and 13 were killed.

The video also revealed a new technique used by the group for suicide operations, consisting of placing a number of rocket launchers on top of the vehicles, and firing those rockets before the suicide bomber detonates the car bomb.