The Adam Gadahn Video-The False Reasoning

Adam Gadahn


In the last couple of days, I came across the latest videotape produced by American Al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn on the Internet. I guess the only reason I sat through the entire one hour and twenty-six minutes of it was because Gadahn is a native of Southern California and attended the Garden Grove mosque under the tutelage of Imam Muzammil Siddiqi. I happened to meet Siddiqi some months ago at Chapman University in Orange during an interfaith event. (See posting dated 11-21-2008-"Muzammil Siddiqi at Chapman University") During that event, I asked Siddiqi to comment on anti-Semitic language that had been used at Muslim Student Union events. While Siddiqi portrays himself as a soft-spoken moderate, I found his reply less than satisfactory. But I digress. This posting is about the young man who turned his back on his country and his latest propaganda video on behalf of Al-Qaeda. I would like to address some of the statements made by Gadahn, which I think are lacking in judgment and in knowledge of history.

(The video may be found at the below website:)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6448605501878940932

This latest video was produced sometime in April and is now on the Internet. It features Gadahn as the narrator. It begins with a description of America's "crimes against humanity" going back to World War II, when the US and the Brits destroyed German cities like Hamburg and Dresden by aerial bombing. It also shows scenes of the dead and wounded in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where we dropped atomic bombs. Then it transitions to the bombings we did in Viet Nam and more recently have done in Afghanistan and Iraq.

When it comes to World War II, Gadahn conveniently leaves out all mention of the fact that Japan initiated war against the US at Pearl Harbor and that Hitler declared war on the US immediately thereafter. In fact, nothing is mentioned about the crimes of the Nazis or the atrocities committed by the forces of Imperial Japan in the nations they occupied. Was there any question in Gadahn's mind who was on the right side of that conflict? Must one delve into Auschwitz to make the point?

That is not to suggest that the above-mentioned bombings are not subject to honest debate. I have been to Hiroshima (as well as Dresden). One cannot visit the Peace Park, where the bomb fell without feeling emotion and sadness-just as one is moved by visiting the USS Arizona. On the day I visited the Peace Park, the area was filled with small children playing. You cannot help but imagine all those children playing there when the bomb fell. Yet, what Gadahn fails to take into account is that the dropping of the two bombs brought an end to a war that was about to require the full-scale invasion of Japan, which was thought at the time would result in the loss of a million lives-including untold numbers of Japanese.

Rightfully or wrongfully, World War II was a fight for survival. Part of winning the war was not only to destroy military targets, but also to destroy the will of the populace to continue. Yes, it was tragic that so many civilians died in World War II, but it was a war that we could not lose. One might ask if we had lost that war, who in the world would be living in freedom today? Gadahn might also consider the fact that we helped Japan and Germany to rebuild into free and democratic nations-arguably two of the most decent countries in the world.

Viet Nam was another war that divided Americans. I know because it was my generation that was involved. Though my own military years were spent in Germany, Viet Nam is, in a sense, a part of all my generation's lives. I wouldn't expect Gadahn to appreciate my arguments here, but it is fair to say that Viet Nam must always be judged within the context of the Cold War. Our ally, South Viet Nam, was invaded by North Viet Nam. Had they (the South) no right to be defended? Surely, during his years in Orange County, Gadahn must have met many Vietnamese who had stories to tell of fleeing from communist rule.

When it comes to Iraq, that is another issue that divides even Americans. Yet, I wonder if Mr Gadahn cared a whit about the crimes that Saddam Hussein and his sons were committing against the Iraqi people. I won't attempt to appeal to Gadahn's sympathy for Iraq's neighbors-since he regards those governments as being apostates, but had it not been for the invasion, millions of Iraqis would still be tortured, raped, killed and thrown into mass graves. We stopped that.

Similarly, we brought a chance for freedom to the people of Afghanistan. Under the Taliban, with whom Mr Gadahn now consorts, women could not go to school. They had no rights. Executions of women were being carried out in soccer stadiums during half-time of soccer matches for offenses such as adultery. The Taliban could have avoided being driven from power if, in the wake of 9-11, they had turned over Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda to responsible international authorities. Instead, after they had given Al-Qaeda a sanctuary from which they attacked the US on 9-11, they refused to hand them over. What self-respecting nation would not have gone after the perpetrators?

Of course, Gadahn defends 9-11. He rails about innocent civilians killed when they are Muslims, but calls 9-11 the "Mujahadeen attack" on the US. He forgets the distinction that we (World War II notwithstanding) are not deliberately targeting civilians as we go after the terrorists who tend to deliberately do their fighting in the midst of civilians (I am specifically thinking of Hamas and Hezbollah) so as to maximize their own civilian casualties and draw attention from the international media.

Gadahn also makes reference to non-believers "violating" Muslim women. Really? I have not heard of any rapes of Muslim women being committed by our troops. I am aware, however, of Muslim women being raped and stoned to death for the "crimes" of adultery or having an affair-by other Muslims.

Of course, Gadahn's video deals with the Israel/Palestinian question in a predictable manner. He shows several featured speakers, many of whom waste no words in denouncing not just Israel, but Jews in general. One speaker's words go something like this: "As long as one Jew remains in the Holy Land....". Another speaks of "criminal Jews". In addition, there are references to "striking the Jews", "Crusader and Jewish targets", and "how I long to slaughter (Ariel) Sharon the Jew".

All of the above brings to mind the hypothetical question: What if, by some miracle, every Jew in Israel were to convert to Islam tomorrow? Many Muslims would reflexively answer, "Then everything would be solved." Yes, but what that means to me is that this Israel/Palestinian conflict is not so much about land as it is about religion.

Isn't that right, Mr Gadahn?

Along those lines, why do so many of the speakers in Gadahn's video speak about Crusaders, Jews, believers in the Cross and unbelievers? It is primarily about religion. Interesting how Christians, for the most part, have long forgotten about the Crusades. We really don't much care. Not so Muslims. Why do they carry that resentment in their hearts so many centuries later? Moreover, I wonder if Gadahn, whose ancestry is Jewish, ever thinks about the rabid anti-Semitism that infects radical Muslims.

Gadahn also attacks most of the Middle East regimes, which he feels are apostates and guilty of collaboration with the West. Yet, he leaves out one important fact. Which among the nations of the Middle East has any history whatsoever of any political freedom-whether aligned with the West or not? The answer is none-except for Israel. Whose fault is it, Mr Gadahn, that democracy has never existed among Arab nations? At what point do Arab peoples have to look in the mirror and accept personal responsibility for their own failures? How easy it is, Mr Gadahn, to blame others for your own shortcomings.

The latter part of the video consists of Gadahn narrating film of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, first firing artillery rockets at allied troops, then exploding land mines blowing up allied military vehicles. Yes, it is not easy to watch video of American soldiers being hit by rockets as Gadahn and his associates make speeches condemning Americans, Westerners, Jews, Christians and Crusaders. But it illustrates that the thesis of Gadahn and his ilk is that non-Muslims are the enemy. There is no possibility of a future negotiated peace. Islam-in Gadahn's view- must prevail over other faiths. This again raises the question: What exactly is Islam-a religion-or a political ideology?

Finally, Gadahn shows the "farewell speeches" of the suicide bombers as they go out to "do service to Allah". I often wonder about those Jihadist leaders who recruit and send young men out to kill themselves while remaining in the rear. We see them here in the US and Europe as well; fiery speakers who exhort and glorify suicide bombers from the safety of the West.

It also raises the question of why God would want his children to go out and kill his other children-in most cases, children who also worship Him. Why do these people think that God (who is all-powerful) needs them (Muslims) to protect Him from non-Muslims? That strikes me as a major fallacy in the thinking and reasoning of militant Muslims and the whole notion of Jihad.

I don't know what drove Gadahn to adopt this militant strain of Islam and turn against his country, nor do I much care. I am reasonably certain that eventually, he will receive his just punishment-both from his country and from the God he thinks he is following. Somewhere, things went awry in this young man's mind and he made a terrible choice. Had he a better grasp of his nation's history, he might have gone in a better direction. In the path that he has taken, he stands for nothing more than hatred, death and destruction. Not much of a legacy.