http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad&ID=SP241709
Special Dispatch - No. 2417
June 22, 2009
No. 2417
“Al-Qaeda Leader in Afghanistan Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid Talks About Using Pakistani Nuclear Weapons Against U.S., Offers Americans ‘Peace Plan’: Convert to Islam, or Else Be Ruled by Islam and Pay Poll Tax to the Muslims”
SNIPPET: “Following are excerpts from an interview with Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid, the general commander of Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on June 22, 2009.
To view the full clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2152.htm “
www.jihadica.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/06-21-09-faloja-abu-al-yazid-interview.pdf
www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefa_yazidqa0609.pdf
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Blog:
http://www.jihadica.com/abu-al-yazid-mending-fences-with-hamas/
“Abu al-Yazid Mending Fences with Hamas”
Thomas Hegghammer
July 10th, 2009 | Arab media, Hamas, Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, propaganda
I
SNIPPET: “The most significant part of the interview was Abu al-Yazid’s endorsement of Hamas. “We support the sincere mujahidin in Palestine, even the mujahidin of Hamas. We support them and help them; they are our brothers; we and they have the same ideology and the same method,” Abu al-Yazid said. This is quite a different message from that of Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, who have been relentless in their criticism of Hamas in the past few years.
Not surprisingly, this caused quite a debate on the forums (see also here and here), where Hamas has long been subject of criticism (see e.g. here, here and here).
Abu al-Yazid’s statement was clearly an attempt by al-Qaida to mend fences with the broader Islamist movement and reach out to a wider audience. His choice of podium was surely no coincidence, for he is well aware that most al-Jazeera viewers are sympathetic to Hamas.
It has been a while since I heard a top al-Qaida member speak as clearly and straightforwardly as Abu al-Yazid did here. He gave simple and seemingly honest answers to questions about al-Qaida’s organizational structure in Afghanistan, attacks called off against the US, the issue of two Islamic emirates (Iraq and Afghanistan), and many other things. Rob at the Shack is also right that overall, Abu al-Yazid’s remarks were not outlandishly radical when seen from the Arab street (the nuclear remark apart, obviously).
With the Abu al-Yazid interview, al-Qaida undoubtedly regained some of the popular support lost over the past few years. It is a reminder of how good al-Qaida can be at PR when they want to.”