Taliban leader Mullah Omar calls for holy war on U.S. - report

Reuters | February 17, 2003

[HAL9000]

ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (Reuters) - An unsigned message purportedly from the leader of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban, Mullah Mohammad Omar, has urged Afghans to wage a holy war against Washington and the Kabul government, an Afghan news service reported on Monday.

The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press quoted a statement from Omar as saying that Afghans who could not participate directly in a jihad, or holy war, should distance themselves from the government of President Hamid Karzai and the United States.

The statement was the first directly attributed to the reclusive, one-eyed Taliban leader made public since his government was ousted from power in late 2001 following a massive U.S.-led bombing campaign.

Its release comes after the emergence of two audiotape statements purported to be the voice of Mullah Omar's al Qaeda ally Osama bin Laden telling Muslims to fight the United States and saying holy war was the only way to win Muslim rights.

Bin Laden's al Qaeda, which was sheltered by the Taliban in Afghanistan, is blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Thousands of U.S.-led coalition troops have been pursuing Taliban and al Qaeda remnants in Afghanistan since late 2001, but have failed to locate bin Laden or Mullah Omar.

The Pashtu-language statement sent to newspapers in Peshawar, capital of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan, said a jihad was essential given "atrocities" being committed by the United States against the Afghan people.

"The Afghans should abandon the ranks of America, the crusaders and their allies, and should immediately start a jihad," it said.

"Vacate all offices, ministries, provinces so that the distinction between a Muslim and a crusader is made," it added.

The statement said that if any Afghan failed to distance himself from Karzai's U.S.-backed government, he would be considered an ally of the crusaders and punished according to an edict issued by Islamic scholars.

UNSIGNED STATEMENT

The statement carried Omar's name and title at the bottom but was not signed and did not mention what the punishment might be.

The emergence of the statements has coincided with a state of high alert in the United States and its ally Britain in the lead up to a possible attack on Iraq.

Both countries have said they have concrete information that al Qaeda was planning a slew of attacks. Attacks blamed on al Qaeda have in the past followed messages from bin Laden.

The purported statement from Mullah Omar, thought to be in his early or mid 40s, comes after coalition aircraft launched repeated strikes last week against suspected Taliban fighters in the Afghanistan's southwestern province of Helmand last week.

Local officials and villagers in the province said at least 17 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed in the raids, but the U.S. military said an eight-year-old boy was the only non-combatant wounded.

Following the reports Karzai met coalition commander U.S. Lieutenant-General Dan McNeill on Saturday and expressed concern for the safety of civilians in such operations.

[Howlin]

They're really churning out the PR, aren't they?

And then there's this:

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea (news - web sites) marked leader Kim Jong Il's birthday on Sunday by urging the military to be on alert and imploring its people to "burn with hatred" against the United States.

Don't tell me it's not coordinated.

[T'wit]

Omar calls for jihad about twice an hour -- especially when he doesn't take his meds. After the first few hundred calls for jihad, only an American reporter would be stupid enough to regard today's calls for jihad as news.

I wonder why all these jihad-declarers don't get out their trusty sword and lead a charge the U.S. army? Only a sniveling yellowbelly with no guts would tell someone else to do the dirty work. Why don't these brave mullahs themselves do what they call on all to do? Do you suppose they have French blood?

[nocommies]

its very coordinated, youre right! the nkoreans are essentially directly allied with the evil muslims. all of them! let us remember, if it werent for a dumba$$ed judge advocate genl at the start of the war, the one eyed camel jockey would have been squashed a long time ago. we had the bugger in our sites, but our forces were told not to "assassinate." way to go, jag!

[ex-Texan]

The Taliban, aQ and N. Korea have discovered the wonders of international news by Reuters. Amazing, isn't it. They have had more news room exposure in the months following 911 than anytime in history. Well, bugger them anyway, the socialist and Islamic creeps.

Leave it to Reuters to appeal to Weasels in the Axis.

[BJungNan]

Wait, Martin Sheen told them we were supposed to have peace, no war. Somebody better tell the Mullah. I'm calling Martin right now.

[Cindy]

Isn't calling for an un"holy war" aka "jihad" aka "reistance movement" the catch phrases of terrorists these days?

LINKS OF INTEREST:

***ISLAM-ONLINE.net: "MULLAH OMAR URGES JIHAD AGAINST U.S. WAR ON IRAQ" by Hasbanullah Mutawakel, IOL Correspondent (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Peshawar, December 18 (IslamOnline) - Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar exhorted Muslims on Tuesday, December 17, to prepare for Jihad against the United States if it unleashes a military offensive against Iraq. In a statement published in the Pakistani Mashraq newspaper, Mullah Omar stressed it was time for the Islamic nation to stand in the face of world atheism and to attack American interests worldwide.") (121802)

***ALBAWABA.com: "NASRALLAH CALLS ARABS TO DEFEND IRAQ" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The leader of Lebanon's Hizbullah movement warned the international community Friday against cooperating with America in a war that would be a disaster for Iraq and urged Arabs to take up arms and fight at Iraq's side. Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah...")(020703)

MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Special Dispatch Series No.462: "FAROUQ AL-QADDOUMI: IN SUPPORT OF "RESISTANCE ATTACKS" INSIDE ISRAEL AND PRESSURING EUROPE WITH OIL HIKES; WE [FATAH] WERE NEVER DIFFERENT FROM HAMAS" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Question: "If war with Iraq comes, what do you expect to happen?" Al-Qaddoumi: "I think that the region will be ignited [as a result of operations] against American interests and that many Arab regimes will fall..."")(January 28, 2003)

stepping back in time...MEMRI.org - MIDDLE EAST MEDIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE Special Dispatch Series No.415: "PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AND IRAQI MEDIA ON IRAQI SUPPORT OF THE INTIFADA" (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "'Abbas Zaki, member of the Fatah Central Committee and of the Palestinian Legislative Council, gave a detailed analysis of "Saddam's inspiring qualities of leadership" that should be imitated. Zaki also analyzed martyr Marwan Zalum's qualities of leadership and warfare, and stated that Zalum's "eyes were always lifted aloft to martyrdom, and not towards [obtaining] a job." On behalf of the martyrs' families, Dr. Yunes Zalum thanked Saddam Hussein for his Pan-Arab stand and called for uniting around the Iraqi leadership and the Iraqi people. [5] Saddam on His Determination to Support the Intifad In a meeting in Baghdad (March 2002) with PLO Political Bureau Chief Farouq Al-Qaddoumi, Fatah Central Committee member 'Abbas Zaki, and the head of the Arab Department of the PLO Political Bureau Omar Al-Shak'a, Saddam Hussein elaborated on his determination to support the Intifada:") (August 28, 2002)

***stepping back in time...WorldNetDaily.com: "PLO LEADERS TARGET U.S." (ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Just days before the suicide bombing that killed 20 young Israelis, Farouq Al-Qaddoumi, head of the political department of the Palestine Liberation Organization, called for action against U.S. and European interests in the region.") (June 6, 2001)

[TexKat]

Those idiots, one eyed, one leg, one armed, all of them are just insistent on assisted al quedaside, jihadiside, and talibaniside.

They are so good at encouraging all brainwashed jihadist to go out and wage war while they bunker down and stay out of the line of fire. I was reading a part of olb's message that media reported on yesterday 2/16/03. It stated that obl said that the infidels are such cowards when one is face to face with them. Well, I've got a message for your stinky caveman arse. Come out and show your face, you yellow belly coward. Be an example for your fellow jihadist, show your face punk. Our leader is not inhiding, he is not on the run. In your last message all you could talk about was the bombs. The bombs thank allah the bombs did not get me. I'm sure those 72 virgins don't mind a slight delay.

Oh and hey Omar get your good eye out of the back of obl's skirt, you funky monkey.

[Nix 2]

Attacks on Americans by Islamic Terrorists, (before 911.)

Nov. 4, 1979 Hostages taken at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran
Fifty-two American citizens were taken hostage when militant students of radical Islam stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.
###############################

May 1981 Threats from Libya
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April 18, 1983 Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut
A suicide bomber in a pickup truck loaded with explosives rammed into the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Sixty-three people were killed, including 17 Americans, eight of whom were employees of the Central Intelligence Agency, including chief Middle East analyst Robert C. Ames and station chief Kenneth Haas.

Reagan administration officials said that the attack was carried out by Hezbollah operatives, a Lebanese militant Islamic group whose anti-U.S. sentiments were sparked in part by the revolution in Iran. The Hezbollah operatives who carried out the attack on the embassy reportedly were receiving financial and logistical support from both Iran and Syria.

Oct. 23, 1983 Bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut
A suicide bomber detonated a truck full of explosives at a U.S. Marine barracks located at Beirut International Airport; 241 U.S. Marines were killed and more than 100 others wounded. They were part of a contingent of 1,800 Marines that had been sent to Lebanon as part of a multinational force to help separate the warring Lebanese factions. (Hamas and Hezbollah v PLO.)
#################################

Dec. 12, 1983 Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait
The American embassy in Kuwait was bombed in a series of attacks whose targets also included the French embassy, the control tower at the airport, the country's main oil refinery, and a residential area for employees of the American corporation Raytheon. Six people were killed, including a suicide truck bomber, and more than 80 others were injured. The suspects were thought to be members of Al Dawa, or "The Call," an Iranian-backed group and one of the principal Shiite groups operating against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The U.S. military took no action in retaliation. In Kuwait, 17 people were arrested and convicted for participating in the attacks. One of those convicted was Mustafa Youssef Badreddin, a cousin and brother-in-law of one of Hezbollah's senior officers, Imad Mughniyah.
##########################

March 16, 1984 CIA Station Chief William Buckley kidnapped
Buckley was the fourth person to be kidnapped by militant Islamic extremists in Lebanon. The first American hostage, American University of Beirut President David Dodge, had been kidnapped in July 1982. Eventually, 30 Westerners would be kidnapped during the 10-year-long Lebanese hostage-taking crisis (1982-1992).

Americans who were kidnapped included journalist Terry Anderson, American University of Beirut librarian Peter Kilburn, and Benjamin Weir, a Presbyterian minister. While some of the prisoners lived through captivity -- Anderson spent the longest time as a hostage, 2,454 days -- some, including Buckley, died in captivity or were killed by their kidnappers.

U.S. officials believed that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah was behind most of the kidnappings.
##########################

Sept. 20, 1984 Bombing of U.S. Embassy annex northeast of Beirut
In Aukar, northeast of Beirut, a truck bomb exploded outside the U.S. Embassy annex killing 24 people, two of whom were U.S. military personnel. According to the U.S. State Department's 1999 report on terrorist organizations, elements of Hezbollah are "known or suspected to have been involved" in the bombing.
########################################

Dec. 3, 1984 Hijacking of Kuwait Airways Flight 221
Kuwait Airways Flight 221, on its way from Kuwait to Pakistan, was hijacked and diverted to Tehran. The hijackers demanded the release of the Kuwait 17. When the demand wasn't met, the hijackers killed two American officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development. On the sixth day of the drama, Iranian security forces stormed the plane and released the remaining hostages.

Iran arrested the hijackers, saying they would be brought to trail. But the trial never took place, and the hijackers were allowed to leave the country. There was no U.S. military response. The State Department announced a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrests of those involved in the hijacking. Later press reports linked Hezbollah's Imad Mughniyah to the hijackings.
####################################

June 14, 1985 Hijacking of TWA Flight 847
TWA Flight 847 was hijacked en route from Athens to Rome and forced to land in Beirut, Lebanon, where the hijackers held the plane for 17 days. They demanded the release of the Kuwait 17 as well as the release of 700 fellow Shiite Muslim prisoners held in Israeli prisons and in prisons in southern Lebanon run by the Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army. When these demands weren't met, hostage Robert Dean Stethem, a U.S. Navy diver, was shot and his body dumped on the airport tarmac. U.S. sources implicated Hezbollah.

In what was widely perceived as an implicit, never explicit, quid pro quo, the hostages started being released by the hijackers, followed some days after by Israel starting to free some of its hundreds of Shiite prisoners. At the time, U.S. officials denied there was a deal and said Israel had already committed to releasing the prisoners.

Imad Mughniyah, a senior officer with Hezbollah, was secretly indicted for the TWA hijacking in 1987, along with three others. One of those indicted, Mohammed Ali Hamadei, was arrested in Frankfurt, Germany. In 1989 he was convicted in a German court and sentenced to life in prison. Sixteen years later, Imad Mughniyah is still at large. (Editor's Note: See the FBI's list of the "Most Wanted Terrorists," released Oct. 10, 2001.)
###################################

October 1985 - January 1986: Hijacking of cruise ship Achille Lauro; Bombing of Rome, Vienna airports
On Oct. 7, 1985, off the coast of Egypt, four gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in Egypt, Italy, and elsewhere. When the demands weren't met, they killed Leon Klinghoffer, a 69-year-old disabled American tourist. Investigators blamed the Palestine Liberation Front, which some believed to be allied with Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Liberation Organization. Later, U.S. officials were able to link Libya to the PLF and the hijacking.

After the hijackers escaped the Achille Lauro and left Egypt by air, U.S. Navy fighters intercepted their plane and forced it down in Italy. The four hijackers were apprehended, and in 1986, they were found guilty in an Italian court. Two of the hijackers escaped from prison. One, Magid al-Molgi, who confessed to killing Mr. Klinghoffer, was caught and returned to prison. The man identified as the mastermind of the hijacking, Abu Abbas, was released by Italy despite Washington's pleas that he be held for trial.
(Note: The Italian government feared reprisals from supporters of Abu Abbas. Consequently, he never stood trial for these offenses.)

Then on Dec. 17, 1985, airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 20 people, five of whom were Americans. This time, U.S. officials said they were able to link Libya to the bombing attacks.
##################################

April 5, 1986 Bombing of La Belle Discotheque
An American soldier was killed when a bomb was detonated at La Belle, a discotheque in West Berlin known to be popular with off-duty U.S. servicemen. A Turkish woman was killed, and nearly 200 others were wounded. U.S. intelligence sources identified Libya as being responsible for the attack. [For more on the evidence pointing to Libya, see interviews with Paul Bremer, Caspar Weinberger, and Robert Oakley.] In Berlin, five individuals -- a Libyan diplomat, two Palestinians, and two Germans -- were tried for carrying out the bombing of the discotheque. As of October 2001, the trial is still underway, with closing arguments expected in November.
######################################

Greece, April 1986.

Four Americans are killed in an explosion aboard a TWA passenger jet approaching Athens. Hizbollah claimed credit.
#######################################

Sept. 5, 1986: Hijackers seize Pan Am jumbo jet carrying 358 people at Karachi airport. Twenty people killed when security forces storm the plane. Hijackers were from Hamas Faction.
########################################

December 21, 1988 Bombing of Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York exploded over the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people on board were killed, along with 11 on the ground. According to the State Department's "Patterns of Global Terrorism, 1991," released in April 1992, the bombing of Pan Am 103 "was an action authorized by the Libyan Government." Though there were reports that Syria and Iran also played significant roles in the attack, U.S. officials were never able to tie the two countries to the bombing.
###########################################

Feb. 26, 1993: A bomb explodes in a parking garage below the World Trade Center in New York, killing six people and wounding more than 1,000. Six Islamic militants were convicted in the bombing.
############################################

April 19, 1995: Bomb rips through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 and wounding more than 500. Former U.S. soldier Timothy McVeigh is convicted and executed for the attack. Many people believe there was a Middle Eastern connection.
#############################################

Nov. 13, 1995: Car bomb detonates at a U.S. military headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, killing five American service personnel.
#############################################

June 25, 1996: Truck bomb explodes outside the Khobar Towers in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 American servicemen. Members of the Hezbollah were indicted for the attack.
#############################################

Aug. 7, 1998: Car bombs explode outside U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 224 people. Bin Laden is again blamed.
##############################################

And as someone reminded me earlier, TWA 800.

[sd-joe]

"Vacate all offices, ministries, provinces so that the distinction between a Muslim and a crusader is made,"

Yes, yes do it. This will make targeting easier.

[livius]

Leave it to Reuters to appeal to Weasels in the Axis.

Who or what owns Reuters?

[Nix 2]

Founded in London in 1851
World's largest international news and television agency -
2,498 editorial staff, journalists, photographers and camera operators in 198 bureaux serving 150 countries
Approximately 30,000 headlines, including third party contributions, and over eight million words published daily in over 26 languages
Over 511,000 professional users
52,900 client locations
Data provided on 960,000+ shares, bonds and other financial instruments
More than 150 million data records maintained and updated containing over 3,000 billion discrete data points (or record fields)
Information on 40,000 companies.
Financial information from 244 exchanges and over-the-counter markets
Financial data updated 8,000 times per second
More than 5,000 clients contribute prices, opinions and analysis
Over 18,000 staff in 220 cities in 97 countries
2001 revenue £3.9 billion (US$5.6 billion)
Constituent of FTSE100 index
Stock codes: RTR.L (LSE) and RTRSY.O (NASDAQ)
Reuters is one of the most read news source on the Internet reaching millions in their offices, homes or on PDAs
Updated: January 2003

Sir Christopher Hogg - Chairman (appointed to the Board in 1984, Chairman since 1985)

Non-executive Chairman of GlaxoSmithKline plc since May 2002. Non-executive Chairman of the Royal National Theatre since 1995 and non-executive director of Air Liquide SA since May 2000. Former Chairman of Courtaulds PLC 1980-1996 (Chief Executive 1979-1991); former non-executive Chairman of Allied Domecq Plc 1996-2002; former non-executive director of the Bank of England 1992-1996. Age 66.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom Glocer – Chief Executive (appointed to the Board in 2000, Chief Executive 2001)

In 2000 became Chief Executive Officer, Reuters Information. Joined Reuters in 1993 as Vice President and Deputy Counsel, Reuters America Inc. Appointed Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Reuters America Holdings Inc in 1995, Chief Executive Officer, Reuters Latin America in 1997 and President & Senior Company Officer, Reuters America Inc in 1998. Former mergers and acquisitions lawyer with Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York, Paris and Tokyo.
Age 43.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Grigson - Chief Financial Officer(2000)

Joined Reuters in July 2000 from Emap plc where he was Group Finance Director and Chairman of Emap Digital.
Formerly with Saatchi & Saatchi (1984-1989)

REUTERS BOARD

[livius]

Thank you, very interesting. I wonder where their bias comes from. Perhaps it's just another expression of the free-floating, polymorphous left-wing bias that took over the media in the 60s. And of course, it took over the academy and the J schools as well, making it self-perpetuating.

[a_Turk]

How many calls to "Jihad" is this now? Silly bastards..

How about finding and killing these guys? Time is being wasted..

[Grampa Dave]

Reuters is not able to print the truth when it comes to Islamofacist/kazi terrorism and the thugs in control of Iraq.

Reuters is controlled by an rich Opecker Prince who will not allow the words terrorism or terrorist to be used in any article where the Islamofacists/kazis are responsible.

The pure bull $ that Reuters has printed since New Years to save their Uncle Soddomite's rear end is massive and like a continuing wet dream by Reuter with little if any basis on reality!

This meter should be run with the posting of any Reuters article. Reuters makes the Ny Slimes look all most honest.

Believe nothing that Reuters has to say about the Islamofacists leaders and our administration. Reuters creates more Bravo Sierra in a day than 1,000,000 cattle do.

[mhking]

Mallomar is still alive? No matter: he'll get swatted soon enough. Next!

[AF68]

Tell it like it is, TexKat!

[vbmoneyspender]

You know there was a story on FR within the last 2 weeks about a North Korean who was arrested in Syria for trying to carrying out terrorist attacks against US targets. It didn't seem like the story got too much attention, but if I read it correctly, it appeared that there might be a link between the arrested North Korean and Iraq.

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

A Little Rant:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/845248/posts