Al-Qaeda Just Declared Open War on America’s Most Powerful Men
Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki, the new leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has returned with a violent message to the world in a troubling return to radical rhetoric. Al-Awlaki publicly called for violence against well-known Americans, such as President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and tech tycoon Elon Musk, in a recently made public propaganda video as payback for their ardent support of Israel. The terrifying broadcast is a sobering reminder that, despite being marginalised in popular culture, the threat of radical jihadist terror still exists in unstable areas and online lanes of the extremist underground.
Although most Americans had never heard of Saad bin Atef al-Awlaki before, his ascent within al-Qaeda’s Yemen-based wing has caused a shift in the focus of international intelligence towards a new ideological leader. In March 2024, he took over as AQAP’s leader, continuing a long history of anti-American animosity. His most recent action, the release of a propaganda video called “Inciting the Believers,” is not merely a threat; rather, it is a clear declaration of war against the business, military, and political elites of the United States.
Al-Awlaki doesn’t hold back in the three-minute video. He expressly demands that American influential people be killed. The list also includes U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, in addition to Trump, Vance, and Musk. The order was horrifyingly detailed: in addition to these people, their families and close associates were also listed as targets. Al-Awlaki urged his supporters to “hunt them down” and “show no mercy.”
The language used in the video is intended to incite and radicalise. In a clear call for lone-wolf attacks on American territory, al-Awlaki states, “Do not ask anyone for permission to kill kafirs (infidels).” He urged Western Muslims to commit retaliatory murders in response to Israeli and American military actions in Gaza. “After what is happening in Palestine, there are no more red lines,” he said, threatening violence if these incitements are successful.
This development is strikingly similar to al-Qaeda’s pre-9/11 propaganda days, when the organization’s charismatic radical commanders and preachers would use video to inspire followers all over the world. Al-Awlaki’s rhetoric demonstrates both outrage and a calculated goal: to incite domestic terrorism, in which radicalised individuals act independently of established networks to elude intelligence services.
The inclusion of Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and X (formerly Twitter), is especially noteworthy. In the eyes of extremists, Musk is a well-known adversary because of his outspoken support for Israel and the way his platforms spread Western narratives. Since Musk is so well-known in the fields of technology, media, and space exploration, a setback to him is seen as a setback to Western technological supremacy.
The U.S. State Department has a $6 million bounty on al-Awlaki’s head and is already keeping an eye on his activities. He is thought to be operating from deep within Yemen and is currently one of the most wanted terrorists in the world. Intelligence services worry that under his direction, AQAP might resurrect dormant cells or encourage radicalised people all over the world to take independent action.
Al-Awlaki’s speech went beyond just calling for more bloodshed. Additionally, he applauded earlier attempts on Donald Trump’s life and attacks against Jews. He pleaded, “Leave no safe space for the Jews.” “Give them no shelter in return; they have destroyed every house and shelter in Palestine.” He escalated his call for unrestrained total war by calling for retaliation even among the elderly, women, and sick in hospitals.
This threat is made even more powerful by AQAP’s media arm’s advanced digital capabilities. Radicalised audiences in North America and Europe were probably reached by the video’s extensive distribution on encrypted channels. The Islamic State’s propaganda apparatus, which was notorious for inciting hundreds of attacks via the internet alone, is modelled after this dispersed, online-first approach.
Groups like AQAP flourish in the background as the world’s focus shifts to geopolitical rivalries and great power competition. These new terror threats need to be taken seriously in light of the upcoming U.S. elections and the instability in parts of the world like the Middle East and South Asia. Although intelligence services are already increasing their monitoring of known jihadist sympathisers, combating this type of ideological conflict calls for more than just physical force; it also calls for counter-narratives, digital infiltration, and unrelenting diplomatic efforts.
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