By PATRICK QUINN, Associated Press Writer –

CAIRO – Al-Qaida's American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood.

In a 25-minute video posted on militant Web sites, Adam Gadahn described Maj. Nidal Hasan as a pioneer who should serve as a role model for other Muslims, especially those serving Western militaries.

"Brother Nidal is the ideal role-model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate regimes," he said.

Gadahn, also known as Azzam al-Amriki, was dressed in white robes and wearing a white turban as he called for attacks on what he described as "high-value targets."

Gadahn grew up on a goat farm in Riverside County, California, and converted to Islam at a mosque in nearby Orange County.

"You shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that military bases are the only high-value targets in America and the West. On the contrary, there are countless other strategic places, institutions and installations which, by striking, the Muslim can do major damage," he said, an assault rifle leaning up against a wall next to him.

Gadahn has been wanted by the FBI since 2004 and two years later was charged with treason. There is a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

He has in the past posted videos and messages calling for the destruction of the West and for strikes against targets in the United States. His location is unknown, but he is believed to be somewhere along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Hasan has been charged in the Nov. 5 shooting that killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas. The 39-year-old Army psychiatrist remains paralyzed from the chest down after being shot by two civilian members of Fort Hood's police force.

"Nidal Hasan is a pioneer, a trailblazer and a role-model who has opened a door, lit a path and shown the way forward for every Muslim who finds himself among the unbelievers," Gadahn said.

In the latest video, Gadahn said those planning attacks did not need to use only firearms like Hasan, but could use other weapons. "As the blessed operations of September 11th showed, a little imagination and planning and a limited budget can turn almost anything into a deadly, effective and convenient weapon."

Gadahn said fighters should target mass transportation systems in the West and also wreak havoc "by killing or capturing people in government, industry and the media."

He recommended finding ways to shake "consumer confidence and stifle spending" and noted that even unsuccessful attacks, such as the failed attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day, can bring major cities to a halt.

"I am calling on every honest and vigilant Muslim in the countries of the Zionist-Crusader alliance in general and America, Britain and Israel in particular to prepare to play his due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam," Gadahn said.

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Adam Gadahn Should Be Fair Game for an Oklahoma Grown JDAM. Can’t Wait for the Day This Traitor is Sploded.

Twenty-four hours after Joseph Stack committed suicide by flying an airplane into Building I of the Echelon office complex in Austin, Texas, the home pages of the New York Times and the Washington Post had no mention of the attack.

Stack's attack killed Vernon Hunter, a 67-year old revenue office manager for the Internal Revenue Service, but the words "Stack," "terror," and "airplane" were missing from CNN's front page. Only a small headline -- "Austin attack stuns community"-- sat near the top of the U.S. News section, above an equally vague "Colorado mourns education."

MSNBC offered "Plane crash pilot's background probed," under its "more news" tab, and only Fox News had the story at the top of its webpage, asking "Crime or Terror?" managing to ignore the fact that by any definition, the attack was an unambiguous example of both.

Perhaps the shock of a non-Muslim terrorist was too much to bear, or perhaps the lack of a clear-cut left-right, Democrat-Republican angle led to the story being downplayed, despite the fact almost every American blog of note was alive with discussion about the attack. It was very odd to see the mainstream press ignore what may turn out to be one of the most important events of 2010.

Stack's story is fairly clear-cut. According to his suicide note, the software consultant was upset at the IRS and changes in the U.S. tax code, upset at the fact that his efforts to address his grievances through normal political channels were ignored, and upset at the government-enabled transfer of wealth from the U.S. middle class to the elites. His note alluded to one of America's founding creeds -- no taxation without representation -- and urged Americans to revolt against government corruption.

Commentators on blogs spanning the political spectrum highlighted the fact that Stack's grievances resonated for a number of Americans, and terrorism expert Shlok Vaidya went as far as to call Stack's attack "the canary in the coal mine." Judging by the online response thus far with a number of impassioned debates on forums and blogs, the effects of his attack are potentially far more dangerous to stability in the U.S. than anything that al-Qaeda or any external enemy could presently generate.

Although only an extreme minority may see domestic terrorism as an answer to their political grievances, the online reaction to his note suggests that many agree with his take on the American political and economic system.

Despite his vulgar language and his heinous act, Stack struck a nerve, and his thoughts have found a wide and at least partially sympathetic audience online, especially when the note departed from his own story to the broader problems facing Americans:

"Why is it that a handful of thugs and plunderers can commit unthinkable atrocities (and in the case of the GM executives, for scores of years) and when it's time for their gravy train to crash under the weight of their gluttony and overwhelming stupidity, the force of the full federal government has no difficulty coming to their aid within days if not hours?

"Yet at the same time, the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year and stealing from the corpses and victims they cripple, and this country's leaders don't see this as important as bailing out a few of their vile, rich cronies. Yet, the political 'representatives' (thieves, liars, and self-serving scumbags is far more accurate) have endless time to sit around for year after year and debate the state of the 'terrible health care problem.' It's clear they see no crisis as long as the dead people don't get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in."

So, considering that his message and his arguments have already spread online and found a somewhat captive audience, what will happen next? Will there be copycats? Will this be a wake-up call for America's ruling elite?

Judging by the muted official response and by the reaction of the mainstream press, the former may be more likely than the latter; something that should worry all of us.