US born al-Qaida spokesman threatens Bush with bombs

Al-Qaida’s American-born spokesman urged fighters to greet US President George Bush with bombs not flowers when he visits the Middle East this week, according to a video posted on the internet today.

Adam Gadahn also tore up his US passport as part of a “symbolic” protest against the US in al-Qaida’s first message of the new year.

The release comes just three days before President Bush is scheduled to arrive in Israel for a week-long trip that will also bring him to the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of his push for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

“Now we direct an urgent call to our militant brothers in Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula… to be ready to receive the Crusader-slayer Bush in his visit to Muslim Palestine and the Arab peninsula in the beginning of January and to receive him not with flowers or clapping but with bombs and booby-trapped vehicles,” Mr Gadahn said in Arabic.

In Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Mr Gadahn’s threats show “once again, al-Qaida offers nothing but violence and death.”

“The purpose of President Bush’s trip is to meet with mainstream Arab leaders and people to talk about a positive future for the region, based on hope and opportunity,” Mr Johndroe said.

During the rest of the 50-minute video, titled An Invitation To Reflection And Repentance, the 29-year-old spoke mostly in English, appearing to specifically address the American people.

He said al-Qaida felt the need to release the statement after Washington’s “defeat” in Iraq and Afghanistan and failed attempts by the Bush administration to bring peace to the Middle East.

“We felt it necessary to address the American people and explain to them some of the facts about these critical and fast-moving events,” said Mr Gadahn, who wore a white and red headscarf and sat behind a desk with a laptop computer and coffee mug nearby.

“The first questions Americans might ask is has America really been defeated? The answer is yes and on all fronts,” he added.

The video could not immediately be independently verified, but it appeared on a website often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of al Qaida’s media wing, al-Sahab.

At the beginning of the video, the date December 2007 was displayed. Mr Gadahn also mentioned Robert Hawkins, who killed eight people at a shopping centre in Omaha, Nebraska on December 5, suggesting the tape was made sometime after then.

Mr Gadahn, who grew up in California and is also known as Azzam al-Amriki, was charged with treason in the US in 2006 and has been wanted since 2004 by the FBI, which is offering a one million dollar reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

He has appeared in several al-Qaida videos including one in August when he threatened new attacks on foreign embassies. In May, al-Qaida released another video featuring Mr Gadahn, who warned President Bush to end US involvement in Muslim lands or face an attack worse than the 9/11 strikes.

At one point in the video, Mr Gadahn took out his US passport, showed it to the camera and tore it into several pieces.

“In symbolic rejection of the American citizenship that honourable and decent and compassionate people are ashamed to carry, I will now proceed to destroy my American passport,” he said.

“But don’t get too excited, I don’t need it to travel anyway,” he added with a smile after tearing it apart.

Mr Johndroe said even before Mr Gadahn destroyed his passport, it was “already void” because he is wanted for treason.

Mr Gadahn is the first American to be charged with treason in more than 50 years and could face the death penalty if convicted. He also was indicted on a charge of providing material support to terrorists.

Earlier this month, FBI spokesman Richard Kolko said the agency would review the latest tape for intelligence value and vowed never to give up the hunt for Gadahn.