Will $5M Bring Down Tweeting, Rapping US Jihadi?
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Will the allure of a $5 million reward be the downfall
of a tweeting, rapping American jihadi who once fought alongside the Somali
militant group al-Shabab but now denounces their methods and motivations in
online feuds?
A U.S. State Department official who specializes in Somalia said Thursday
that the new $5 million reward offered for the arrest of Omar Hammami could
exploit what are believed to be fault lines between extremist groups in
Somalia that may be for and against Hammami. The Alabama-born American was
once close to al-Shababab's leadership, but has since had a falling out with
the group's leader.
"I think that this kind of (reward) program is designed precisely to elicit
those who have information and those who are willing to respond to that
offer," Pamela Friest, the State Department Somalia expert, said in a
telephone news conference. "As far as the internal dynamics to where Hammami
is, etc., I think it's anyone's guess as to whether he's sheltered by anyone
in particular."
Hammami, whom the FBI named as one of its most-wanted terrorists in
November, "has always been a controversial figure inside Somalia. He's
certainly been a controversial figure for the United States," Friest said.
Part of that controversy stems from Hammami's high Internet profile. The
star of several YouTube videos where he raps about jihad or fights on the
front lines of Somalia's insurgent battles, Hammami over the last year has
become a mini-star on Twitter, where he engages in running conversations
with militant fighters and even U.S.-based terrorism experts.
Hammami appeared to confirm last week in a Twitter conversation with terror
analyst J.M. Berger what intelligence experts have long suspected - that he
posts on Twitter using the handle (at)abumamerican. Hammami's nom de guerre
is Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, or "the American."
While he's made his interest in global jihad well known, Hammami hasn't made
public threats against the U.S. Berger, who runs the website Intelwire.com,
said in an interview Thursday that the $5 million bounty is "an awfully
large reward" for someone who "hasn't taken direct violent action against
the U.S. or worked with al-Qaida proper in any meaningful capacity."
Kurt R. Rice, a top official at the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic
Security, said the reasoning behind reward levels are classified but that
the threats posed by individuals to Americans and U.S. property are taken
into account. The U.S. announced the $5 million reward for information
leading to the arrest of Hammami and another $5 million reward for a second
American fighting in Somalia, Jehad Mostafa, on Wednesday.
"The fact that these rewards are at the $5 million level should give you
some understanding where they are with regard to the threat that they pose,"
Rice said.
Along with Adam Gadahn in Pakistan - a former Osama bin Laden spokesman -
Hammami is one of the two most notorious Americans in jihad groups. He grew
up in Daphne, Alabama, a bedroom community of 20,000 outside Mobile. He is
the son of a Christian mother and a Syrian-born Muslim father.
Hammami had a falling out with al-Shabab and has engaged in a public fight
with the group over the last year. He first expressed fear for his life in
an extraordinary web video in March 2012 that publicized his rift with the
al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab. He said he received another death threat earlier
this year that was not carried out.
Hammami accuses al-Shabab leaders of living extravagant lifestyles with the
taxes fighters collect from Somali residents. His second major grievance is
that the Somali militant leaders sideline foreign militants inside al-Shabab
and are concerned only about fighting in Somalia, not globally. He also
claims that al-Shabab assassinates fighters inside its group.
Al-Shabab slapped Hammami publicly in a December Internet statement, saying
his video releases are the result of personal grievances that stem from a
"narcissistic pursuit of fame." The statement said al-Shabab was morally
obligated to stamp out his "obstinacy."
The U.S. will advertise the rewards for Hammami and Mostafa inside Somalia
on posters and matchbooks and over the Internet on Facebook and Twitter.
Both wanted Americans are believed to be in Somalia, Rice said.
One question that cropped up on Twitter on Thursday was if members of
al-Shabab would try to turn Hammami in and claim the reward. Rice said the
government would closely vet any claimant to "to be sure we don't end up
becoming a terrorist financier."
Hammami might be in an area of Somalia controlled by Mukhtar Robow, a rival
al-Shabab leader of Mukhtar Abu Zubeyr, who is also known as Godane,
terrorism expert Clint Watts previously told The Associated Press.
Wherever Hammami might now be, he continues to tweet, and has survived death
threats issued by al-Shabab. Analysts have suggested that al-Shabab would
suffer big damage to its reputation among foreign fighters if it kills off
an American militant.
"I suspect that Hammami's major enemies are unlikely to turn him over to the
Americans, but you never know," said terror analyst Berger. "It seems to me
that the bigger challenge in arresting Hammami is physically getting him
into custody rather than locating him."
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