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Bin Laden issues warning on Iraq, Israel
By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago
Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida
and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new
audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for
destruction."
Most of the 56-minute tape dealt with Iraq, apparently al-Qaida's
latest attempt to keep supporters in Iraq unified at a time when the
U.S. military claims to have al-Qaida's Iraq branch on the run.
The tape did not mention Pakistan or the assassination of Benazir
Bhutto, though Pakistan's government has blamed al-Qaida and the
Taliban for her death on Thursday.
But bin Laden's comments offered an unusually direct attack on Israel,
which has warned of growing al-Qaida activity in Palestinian
territory. The terror network is not believed to have taken a strong
role there so far.
"We intend to liberate Palestine, the whole of Palestine from the
(Jordan) river to the sea," he said, threatening "blood for blood,
destruction for destruction."
"We will not recognize even one inch for Jews in the land of Palestine
as other Muslim leaders have," bin Laden said.
In Iraq, a number of Sunni Arab tribes in western Anbar province have
formed a coalition fighting al-Qaida-linked insurgents that U.S.
officials credit for deeply reducing violence in the province. The
U.S. military has been working to form similar "Awakening Councils" in
other areas of Iraq.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said bin Laden's tape shows that al-
Qaida's aim is to block democracy and freedom for all Iraqis.
"It also reminds us that the mission to defeat al-Qaida in Iraq is
critically important and must succeed," Fratto said. "The Iraqi people
-- every day, and in increasing numbers -- are choosing freedom and
standing against the murderous, hateful ideology of AQI. And we stand
with them."
Several hours before the tape was issued, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said al-Qaida was becoming increasingly
fearful of losing the support of Sunni Arabs and had begun targeting
the leaders of the Awakening Councils.
Petraeus said al-Qaida attaches "enormous importance" to "these tribes
that have turned against them, and to the general sense that Sunni
Arab communities have rejected them more and more around Iraq."
"They are trying to counter this and they have done so by attacking
them," which is increasingly turning Sunnis against al-Qaida, he
said.
Iraq's interior ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf
claimed that 75 percent of al-Qaida in Iraq's terrorist network had
been destroyed in 2007, and gave some of the credit to the rise of
anti-al-Qaida in Iraq councils.
Petraeus said that despite a number of successes against al-Qaida in
recent months, the terror network remains "the most significant enemy
Iraq faces because it carries out the most horrific attacks."
In the audiotape, bin Laden denounced Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the
former leader of the Anbar Awakening Council, who was killed in a
September bombing claimed by al-Qaida.
"The most evil of the traitors are those who trade away their religion
for the sake of their mortal life," bin Laden said.
Bin Laden said U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeking to set up a
"national unity government" joining the country's Sunnis, Shiites and
Kurds.
"Our duty is to foil these dangerous schemes, which try to prevent the
establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq, which would be a wall of
resistance against American schemes to divide Iraq," he said.
He called on Iraq's Sunni Arabs to rally behind the Islamic State of
Iraq, the insurgent umbrella group led by al-Qaida. Besides the
Awakening Councils, some Sunni insurgent groups that continue to fight
the Americans have rejected the Islamic State.
Bin Laden said Sunnis should pledge their allegiance to Abu Omar al-
Baghdadi, the little known "emir" or leader of the Islamic State of
Iraq. U.S. officials have claimed that al-Baghdadi does not exist,
saying al-Qaida created the name to give its coalition the illusion of
an Iraqi leadership.
"Failure to give allegiance to the emir after he has been endorsed
leads to great evils," bin Laden warned. "Emir Abu Omar would rather
have his neck severed than betray the Muslims ... Emir Abu Omar and
his brothers are not one of those who accept compromise or meeting the
enemy halfway."
The authenticity of the tape could not be independently confirmed. But
the voice resembled that of bin Laden. The tape was posted on an
Islamic militant Web site where al-Qaida's media arm, Al-Sahab, issues
the group's messages.
The tape was the fifth message released by bin Laden this year, a
flurry of activity after he went more than a year without issuing any
tapes. The messages began with a Sept. 8 video that showed bin Laden
for the first time in nearly three years. The other messages this year
have been audiotapes.
In an October tape, bin Laden sought to patch up splits between Iraqi
insurgent factions, urging them to unite with the Islamic State of
Iraq -- the insurgent coalition led by al-Qaida. He took a conciliatory
stance, chiding even al-Qaida's followers for being too "extremist" in
their positions toward other insurgents.
Bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri took a sharper tone in a Dec. 16
video, branding as "traitors" those who work with the anti-Qaida
tribal councils and calling for Sunnis to purge anyone cooperating
with the Americans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US Support of Israel's Brutal OPPRESSION of the Palestinians PRIMARY
MOTIVATION for 9/11 attack and earlier attack on the World Trade
Center in 1993 as well:
http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=39590
Video that gets to the Israel question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1bm2GPoFfg
Ron Paul March on New Year's Eve
http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=83073
By SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writer 28 minutes ago
Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida
and vowed to expand the terror group's holy war to Israel in a new
audiotape Saturday, threatening "blood for blood, destruction for
destruction."
Most of the 56-minute tape dealt with Iraq, apparently al-Qaida's
latest attempt to keep supporters in Iraq unified at a time when the
U.S. military claims to have al-Qaida's Iraq branch on the run.
The tape did not mention Pakistan or the assassination of Benazir
Bhutto, though Pakistan's government has blamed al-Qaida and the
Taliban for her death on Thursday.
But bin Laden's comments offered an unusually direct attack on Israel,
which has warned of growing al-Qaida activity in Palestinian
territory. The terror network is not believed to have taken a strong
role there so far.
"We intend to liberate Palestine, the whole of Palestine from the
(Jordan) river to the sea," he said, threatening "blood for blood,
destruction for destruction."
"We will not recognize even one inch for Jews in the land of Palestine
as other Muslim leaders have," bin Laden said.
In Iraq, a number of Sunni Arab tribes in western Anbar province have
formed a coalition fighting al-Qaida-linked insurgents that U.S.
officials credit for deeply reducing violence in the province. The
U.S. military has been working to form similar "Awakening Councils" in
other areas of Iraq.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto said bin Laden's tape shows that al-
Qaida's aim is to block democracy and freedom for all Iraqis.
"It also reminds us that the mission to defeat al-Qaida in Iraq is
critically important and must succeed," Fratto said. "The Iraqi people
-- every day, and in increasing numbers -- are choosing freedom and
standing against the murderous, hateful ideology of AQI. And we stand
with them."
Several hours before the tape was issued, the top U.S. commander in
Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said al-Qaida was becoming increasingly
fearful of losing the support of Sunni Arabs and had begun targeting
the leaders of the Awakening Councils.
Petraeus said al-Qaida attaches "enormous importance" to "these tribes
that have turned against them, and to the general sense that Sunni
Arab communities have rejected them more and more around Iraq."
"They are trying to counter this and they have done so by attacking
them," which is increasingly turning Sunnis against al-Qaida, he
said.
Iraq's interior ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf
claimed that 75 percent of al-Qaida in Iraq's terrorist network had
been destroyed in 2007, and gave some of the credit to the rise of
anti-al-Qaida in Iraq councils.
Petraeus said that despite a number of successes against al-Qaida in
recent months, the terror network remains "the most significant enemy
Iraq faces because it carries out the most horrific attacks."
In the audiotape, bin Laden denounced Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the
former leader of the Anbar Awakening Council, who was killed in a
September bombing claimed by al-Qaida.
"The most evil of the traitors are those who trade away their religion
for the sake of their mortal life," bin Laden said.
Bin Laden said U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeking to set up a
"national unity government" joining the country's Sunnis, Shiites and
Kurds.
"Our duty is to foil these dangerous schemes, which try to prevent the
establishment of an Islamic state in Iraq, which would be a wall of
resistance against American schemes to divide Iraq," he said.
He called on Iraq's Sunni Arabs to rally behind the Islamic State of
Iraq, the insurgent umbrella group led by al-Qaida. Besides the
Awakening Councils, some Sunni insurgent groups that continue to fight
the Americans have rejected the Islamic State.
Bin Laden said Sunnis should pledge their allegiance to Abu Omar al-
Baghdadi, the little known "emir" or leader of the Islamic State of
Iraq. U.S. officials have claimed that al-Baghdadi does not exist,
saying al-Qaida created the name to give its coalition the illusion of
an Iraqi leadership.
"Failure to give allegiance to the emir after he has been endorsed
leads to great evils," bin Laden warned. "Emir Abu Omar would rather
have his neck severed than betray the Muslims ... Emir Abu Omar and
his brothers are not one of those who accept compromise or meeting the
enemy halfway."
The authenticity of the tape could not be independently confirmed. But
the voice resembled that of bin Laden. The tape was posted on an
Islamic militant Web site where al-Qaida's media arm, Al-Sahab, issues
the group's messages.
The tape was the fifth message released by bin Laden this year, a
flurry of activity after he went more than a year without issuing any
tapes. The messages began with a Sept. 8 video that showed bin Laden
for the first time in nearly three years. The other messages this year
have been audiotapes.
In an October tape, bin Laden sought to patch up splits between Iraqi
insurgent factions, urging them to unite with the Islamic State of
Iraq -- the insurgent coalition led by al-Qaida. He took a conciliatory
stance, chiding even al-Qaida's followers for being too "extremist" in
their positions toward other insurgents.
Bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri took a sharper tone in a Dec. 16
video, branding as "traitors" those who work with the anti-Qaida
tribal councils and calling for Sunnis to purge anyone cooperating
with the Americans.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
US Support of Israel's Brutal OPPRESSION of the Palestinians PRIMARY
MOTIVATION for 9/11 attack and earlier attack on the World Trade
Center in 1993 as well:
http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=39590
Video that gets to the Israel question:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1bm2GPoFfg
Ron Paul March on New Year's Eve
http://www.itszone.co.uk/zone0/viewtopic.php?t=83073
