From inspiring to instructing: the significance of the March 2010 Adam Gadahn propaganda statement

Abstract

The December 24, 2009 attempted plane bombing attempt in Detroit catapulted Al Qaeda back into the popular consciousness but, despite the massive amount of publicity this attack created, the Al Qaeda leadership would instead prefer their adherents to follow the example of the Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan. Evidence of this emerged in March 2010 when high-ranking American-born Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn released a propaganda statement entitled ‘A call to arms’ which stated that the latter rather than the former approach should be taken by any of Al Qaeda’s supporters who were considering becoming terrorists. The contents of ‘A call to arms’ display a fundamental shift in Al Qaeda’s tactical planning, their propaganda output and indeed their relationship with their target audience in regard to their media output. If ‘A call to arms’ is not an isolated occurrence, then it could be argued that it is one of the most important Al Qaeda propaganda messages since the September 11, 2001 attacks.