Portions of the Web are all agog tonight over two sinister pronouncements by an unknown person , who identifies himself as : Sheik Abu Hamza al-Muhajer , and whom the Media unquestioningly describes as "the new head of al-Qaeda in Iraq".
One announcement, sent out on 9/23/06 , calls for all righteous believers to kidnap somebody: preferably a "Crusader" , or an infidel. All manner of blessings will result if this is accomplished before the end of Ramadan.
Then, to make the cheese more binding, the "Sheik" calls for volunteers having experience in atomic ,chemical, or biological warfare to come help him deploy such weapons against the infidels in Iraq...again , before the end of Ramadan.
So: Here's a Sheik, he's online for all to see, he's making some dreadful threats (by inference,of course),and the Media claim he is the new head honcho of al-Qaeda in Iraq. What's not to like ?
If your memory is not completely shot to hell, you may recall similar blood-curdling threats-issued by a group that called itself Abu Hafs al Masri Martyrs Brigade. They created quite a sensation - but existed only in Cyberspace : most likely the product of some pimple-faced computer geek who wanted to do jihad , but didn't have the stones for it.
With this droll example in mind, let's have a look at the "Sinister Sheik" .
Let's look at his adopted name. "Sheik". In addition to being the registered name of a popular brand of condoms (plain, ribbed, receptacle end,lubricated, etc.) ,it is also an honorific - usually bestowed on a distinguished leader. I doubt this rascal has earned any such honor !
"Abu" means father of.
"Hamza" is where things start to get a little cutesy: It is the name of a popular Islamic internet search engine. So : Our "Sheik" is the "father" of a search engine. Dang ! This is getting scarey !! Hope he don't byte us,Hortense !!!
How about " al-Muhajer" ? The name literally means " the Immigrant".
(Hmmmm.....) Adam Gadahn comes to mind: the California kid who went to Pakistan to play jihad ,but wound up being a glorified flack. He would certainly qualify as an "immigrant" , and, if computer literate ( like most California kids ) just might become "father" of an Islamic computer network.
Hoooooo-kay ! Let's get to the threats themselves. Ramadan lasts about a month-(probably closer to 28 days) : not much time to develop a nuclear program, or do much research into chemical or biological warfare - much less figure out delivery systems , allocation of protective gear, construction of shelters, etc.
Mentioning Bio-warfare was a smart play, because it is bound to bring up the subject of the Anthrax attacks of 2001 ; but - as it said on one of the Anthrax letters: " Are you afraid ?"
In a word : No !
ps: The picture shown for the "Glorious Sheik" is obviously not that of Gadahn.Young Adam , if you've seen his video, is a person more apt to inspire chuckles than terror !
So who is the man in the wire service pictures ? Could it be this outstanding lad ? (Let's see: He's supposed to be sneaking across the border from Mexico - or Canada - one , or hanging out at a shopping mall , or off in Guatamala , or somewhere in California , sprinkling spinach plants with E. coli tea...
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