Experts: Al-Qaida Boosts Video Offensive

This video frame grab image taken from an al-Qaida propaganda video released Tuesday May 29, 2007 and provided by the IntelCenter, shows Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Amriki, as he delivers a statement in English with Arabic subtitles, laying out al-Qaida's justifications for conducting future attacks against the United States. The video appeared on a Web site often used by Islamic militants and carried the logo of al-Qaida's media wing, as-Sahab. Gadahn is an American originally from California. (AP Photo/IntelCenter) (AP)

One recent release offered English-speakers the opportunity to listen to the original Arabic and read subtitles or opt for English dubbing, said Ben Venzke, IntelCenter's chief executive. Text transcripts for media coverage of jihadist speeches are routinely issued in Arabic and English and sometimes French and Urdu, he added.

The videos feature promotional title screens and animated graphics. A couple of recent versions were shot in wide-screen format, Venzke said. "We're expecting their next step to be high-definition TV."

Signs point to the heightened release tempo being a deliberate strategy directed by al-Qaida's senior leadership.

Recent video from al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri and al-Libi have stressed the importance of the group's video wing. Al-Libi recently urged Islamic insurgents in Somalia, who have mostly ignored the medium, to begin using videos to foster awareness of their fight, Venzke said.

"The exposure these things get now is very significant and moves quickly," he said. "Just look at the media coverage alone, not just in the States but all over the world. Younger people share these videos just like you and I share text e-mails. Some of these are getting huge exposure."

Audiences vary from budding terrorists to those bent on stopping them.

Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi security analyst, said he repeatedly watched a recent video from a man claiming to be al-Qaida's new leader in Afghanistan, Mustafa Abu al-Yazeed, to get a flavor for the man's intelligence and grasp of objectives.

"You get a personal connection to these people through video. I was impressed with his speech and the way he presented the policies of al-Qaida," said Alani, a Sunni Arab who was exiled from Iraq by Saddam Hussein's regime and now works for the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center.

For Western analysts, the biggest worry is the videos in English may help groups recruit the most dangerous kind of terrorist _ someone who has a Western passport and is familiar with the culture of the country he wants to attack, like the British citizens of Pakistani origin who staged the London transit bombings.

"They're interested in influencing that audience," said Binnie, the analyst at Jane's. "It's easier to conduct operations in the U.K. or the U.S. if you've already got a passport and know the culture."