Arab militant vows attacks on Russia - Jazeera

reuters.co.uk ^ | Sat 13 March, 2004 16:02 | Reuters

[Destro]

Arab militant vows attacks on Russia - Jazeera

Sat 13 March, 2004 16:02

DUBAI (Reuters) - Arab television channel Al Jazeera has broadcast a videotape of the man it says is the leader of Arab fighters in Chechnya, vowing to stage a new wave of attacks inside Russia.

Abu al-Waleed, said by the Kremlin of being among those behind last month's bombing on the Moscow underground, added that his campaign might depend on the outcome of Russia's coming presidential polls.

"The enemies of God drop mines in the forests and, God willing, we will return them to the Russians and they will find them on their land and in the midst of their families," said the bearded man who was standing in a forest.

"But perhaps we may wait a little to see the upcoming elections. If they elect someone who declares war on Chechnya, then the Russians are declaring war against the Chechens and by God we will send them these (mines)... Not only these but also things that did not cross their minds," he said.

The man, wearing military fatigues and a beret and speaking in Arabic, was shown picking up a "butterfly" mine from foliage. He said his fighters had found hundreds of them.

"We will return these to you (Russians)...You will, God willing, see hundreds of people crippled," he said.

Officials at Qatar-based Al Jazeera were not immediately available on Saturday to comment on when or how they received the videotape.

Security has been tightened across Russia ahead of Sunday's elections and extra troops have been stationed along the border of Chechnya, where rebels have long been fighting Russian rule.

The Kremlin blames Chechen rebels for a spate of attacks including a suicide bombing which killed close to 50 people on a train in southern Russia before last December's parliamentary polls and the attack on the underground, which killed around 40.

The Kremlin believes Abu al-Waleed was also among those behind the 1999 apartment bombings across Russia that prompted President Vladimir Putin to send troops back into Chechnya.

[Destro]

Spain train attack, foiled Greek propane train bombing, and this. Spring will see Euro-Russia as a target of al-Qaeda it seems. If al-Qaeda targets Europe or Canada that means they have gone to seed since that will end their European and Canadian safe havens. Attacks on Europe mean al-Qaeda is losing, IMHO.

[Betaille]

I agree... until Europe stops supporting terror against Israel and America they ahve no right to be angry at the terror coming to them

[Destro]

If we see al-Qaeda targeting Canada it means they lost that ability to strike targets on their terms: [Canada] - Black sheep of 'al-Qaeda family' unwelcome at home, in mosque - One of the dead men, blown to smithereens, was a Vancouver man he knew well -- just one of several men from Canada that Abdurahman said he met in the camps. Despite this, "al-Qaeda will never hurt Canada," he said, arguing that while members might want to hide here, they would never identify the country as a target.

[Destro]

That was not really my point but I understand what you are saying.

[Paleo Conservative]

So what part of Canada would they strike? Is there any chance it would be in Quebec?

[ZOTnot]

I agree. Attacks on Spain may have been perceived as upon a 'soft target,' but only for the time being. Spain will not make the same mistake again, and will bring swift justice to those apprehended. And European countries (France, Poland, Germany) have upped the terror alerts. This is a desperate move by AQ to make a last gasp call for new recruits.

[squidly]

Seems that if we want better intel on terrorists we just need a well placed mole at Al Jazeera. They're the terrorist advertising agency.

[GeronL]

The Chunnel would be a tempting target.... it is for me because it goes to France. Just kidding.

[yianni]

"The enemies of God drop mines in the forests and, God willing, we will return them to the Russians and they will find them on their land and in the midst of their families," said the bearded man who was standing in a forest.

Is it genetic or does Islam induce psychotic babble?

[Destro]

I am not saying Canada will be attacked - only that if we see attacks on Canada it means that al-Qaeda is using their safe haven bases to launch attacks as a last result because they have no ability to strike from any where else. Spain was such a safe haven where al-Qaeda could move about freely. After 9/11 it seems the Spanish cracked down and Spain was lost to al-Qaeda as a base of infiltration/operation so it has nothing to lose there anymore.

[stuck_in_new_orleans]

Attacks on Europe mean al-Qaeda is losing, IMHO.

maybe not...it depends on how Europe reacts. Will they balls up and go after these guys like we did or will they retreat and pull their soldiers out of Iraq and the hunt for bin laden

[randog]

Is it genetic or does Islam induce psychotic babble?

Maybe the translators have a sense of humor.

[bobo1]

I fathom that the plan is to align the Moslem world against the vast majority of unbelievers who do not believe that the pedophile Mohammed was the chosen one, whether they be Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or agnostic or atheist.

They believe that Allah will give them victory in this crusade. They simply believe that the Koran is true. Hitler wrote "Mein Kampf" and he believed it was true. Only the wise like Churchill understood. Chamberlain didn't have a clue.

blessings, Bobo

[yianni]

Translations of other languages do not seem to produce the same style of meandering, disjointed text.

[Spruce]

Hey. Abu. Chill. It's quite easy to get laid. What a dipsh*t.

[Cindy]

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Abu al-Waleed, said by the Kremlin of being among those behind last month's bombing on the Moscow underground, added that his campaign might depend on the outcome of Russia's coming presidential polls."


GOOGLE Search Term: "Abu al-Waleed"
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Abu+Al-Waleed%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&filter=0

[navyblue]

Isn't it interesting that they hit Spain just before their election and now with Russia having an election today, they threaten Russia? I don't think they are going to scare the Russians into not voting for Putin. The bad guys know that he will kick a$$. This is going to be interesting.

[Myrddin]

The wording seems pretty clear. The Chechens are pissed off about having the Russians dropping mines into the forests around their homes. They are going to return the misplaced property to the area around the homes of the Russians.

The Russians aren't always the innocents in this feud. My boss shared information about a Russian operation that cut electricity to a Chechen village in the middle of a sub-zero night, then blew the windows out of the village homes with a ground hugging supersonic pass of a jet fighter.

When the Islamists attack simply to force Islam on other people, I'm quick to denounce the behavior. What I see in this instance is a tit-for-tat blood feud. The Russians provoked the action by mining. Unspoken is the possibility that the mines themselves are a reaction to having Islamist homicide bombers at work in a Russian city.

[Cindy]

Link of Interest:

KAVKAZ CENTER
http://www.kavkazcenter.com