Al Qaidas American spokesman
The week's news at a glance.
Cairo
A Californian convert to Islam urges American soldiers to “join the winning side,” in the latest video release from al Qaida. “You know you’re considered by Bush and his bunch of warmongers as nothing more than expendable cannon fodder,” says Adam Yehiye Gadahn, speaking in English. “Why not surrender to the truth? Escape from the unbelieving army.” Gadahn, 28, disappeared shortly after the 9/11 attacks and is believed to have trained in Pakistan. The FBI said Gadahn, popularly known as “Azzam the American,” seems to have access to high-ranking members of al Qaida. The video, posted on an Islamic militant Web site, has an introduction by al Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
'Weed or a gun?'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Five solutions to the UK's housing crisis
The Explainer Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said the situation in Britain is 'worse' than most people think
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published