Posted on 01/19/2006 8:49:06 AM PST by snowrip
Bin Laden Offers Truce in Purported Tape Terrorist Leader Threatens New Attacks Against U.S. By Yara Bayoumy, Reuters
DUBAI (Jan. 19) -- Osama bin Laden warned that al-Qaida was preparing new attacks inside the United States, but said the group was open to a conditional truce with Americans, according to an audiotape attributed to him on Thursday.
Al Jazeera television, which aired the tape, said it was recorded in the Muslim month that corresponded to December.
"The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete, God willing," said the speaker on the audiotape, who sounded like bin Laden .
In the tape, broadcast by al Jazeera television, bin Laden said al-Qaida was willing to respond to the fact that public U.S. opinion favored withdrawing troops from Iraq.
"We have no objection to responding to this with a long-term truce based on fair conditions," he said.
Bin Laden issued an audiotape in April 2004 in which he also offered a truce -- on that occasion to Europe, but not to the United States. Bin Laden Messages, Past and Present
AFP/Getty "The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete, God willing." -- Audiotape, purportedly by Osama bin Laden, aired by Al-Jazeera Jan. 19
Timeline: Bin Laden's Messages
Analysts saw the move at the time as an attempt to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies and to scare wavering coalition members out of Iraq.
In the brief segments aired on Thursday, bin Laden ridiculed President Bush for misreading public opinion which he said showed Americans wanted U.S. forces to quit Iraq.
He also said Iraq had become a recruiting ground for militants. Al-Qaida in Iraq, led by one of bin Laden 's deputies, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, is one of several insurgent groups fighting U.S. and foreign forces. U.S. and Iraqi officials say many of their members are non-Iraqis.
"Your president is misinterpreting public opinion polls which show that the vast majority of you support the withdrawal of your forces from Iraq," bin Laden said.
"He (Bush) disagreed with this desire and said the withdrawal of troops will give the wrong message to the enemy and that it is better to fight them on their ground than on our ground."
"Reality shows that the war against the U.S. and its allies is not just restricted to Iraq as he claims, but Iraq has become a gravitational point and a recruiting ground for qualified (mujahideen)."
A U.S. counterterrorism official said U.S. intelligence was assessing the tape to determine its authenticity.
Bin Laden 's last audiotape was in December 2004. The interval between then and now is his longest public silence since al-Qaida's September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001.
Saudi-born bin Laden and his right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahri, are believed to be hiding in a mountainous area on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On Thursday, Pakistani intelligence sources said four top al-Qaida militants were believed to have been killed in a U.S. airstrike last week which U.S. officials say was aimed at Zawahri.
This is exactly what the Democrats have been saying. Exactly.
Leni
WEAKNESS IN SPADES!
First it was "We will not stop till the Great Satan is destroyed", and now it's "Please leave us alone and we'll make a truce with you".
HOW PATHETIC!
#1 Democrat talking points
#2 Truce from TERRORIST N1?
Something fishy.. Osama breaking new grounds in terrorism..
this tape is a sign that the Pakistan drone attack has had a significant effect on AQ - they needed to quickly get a moral booster out there to their cells.
You only accept a truce when you're losing. We ain't losin'.
"...the Muslim month that corresponded to December."
On a side note,expect, within the next ten years or so, a "separation of church and state" lawsuit against the US being based on the "Christian" Calendar...
I used to joke about this, but I also used to joke about the government wanting to ban pointy knives. The latter is no longer a joke, and I suspect the former won't be for long.
Putting on my tinfoil hat, the timing of this is simply perfect for one individual who would rather than her "plantation" comment AND the release of the Barrett report not be the top items for tomorrow's headlines.
the fact that he's offering a truce or time-out suggest to me that we're winning and he needs to re-group. we've got our foot on his throat and we don't dare let up.
very true. we need someone, perhaps Bush himself, to make that very point.
Why must you offend troglodytes?
Are we sure this tape wasn't recorded by a Howard Dean clone who speaks Arabic fluently??? Sounds like the Hellfires are making things a little too hot for Osama and his pals, but it also sounds like this tape was created by our very own DNC.
This tape, if it is real, is proof that al Qaeda sees the battle as lost. And his followers see it the same way.
All they want is a delay to rebuild and reorganize. They are losing and know it. Now is the time to up the pressure in any way possible.
THANK YOU, YOU NO GOOD POS DEMOCRATS!!!
The message certainly puts the emphasis on that one bad dude...who has been making tapes instead of bin laden.
I don't think it's bini...It would be the worst time to risk a communication intercept.
And a truce?? That's not bini!! That would be about the worst thing he could say to his hired hands.
GWB pulled his chain good this time!
Which Democrat will be the first to accept the truce? My money is on Howard Dean!!!
Nancy "Queen of Stupid" Pelosi
According to all of the garbage that the Muslim fanatics have put out...once you get on the enemy list...you cannot be removed, and its a finsh to the end type of episode...so I'm wondering how Ossama can face his big fans and announce that he is ready for a peace treaty. The Muslim religion doesn't allow for that...you have to finish the job or die trying. so ethically, the guy just blinked a thousand times and told his followers that he can't never win. Makes you wonder just how much damage has really been done to his organization and how many friends of his no longer exist.
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