Posted on 01/05/2004 7:42:27 AM PST by areafiftyone
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- A speaker who was purportedly Osama bin Laden said on an audiotape that the U.S.-led war in Iraq was the beginning of the "occupation" of Gulf states for their oil and called on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East. The tape is likely authentic, U.S. officials said Monday.
The voice on the audiotape, which was broadcast Sunday on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel, referred to recent events - including the Dec. 13 capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and peace initiatives between Israel and the Palestinians.
The speaker urged Muslims to "continue the jihad to check the conspiracies that are hatched against the Islamic nation."
A CIA official speaking on condition of anonymity said that a technical analysis determined that the tape was likely an authentic audio message from bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terror network.
On CBS's "The Early Show," Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge also said that "preliminary assessments says this is the voice of Osama bin Laden."
Al-Jazeera played the audiotape while showing a still photo of bin Laden against a dark blue background.
"My message is to incite you against the conspiracies, especially those uncovered by the occupation of the crusaders in Baghdad under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, and also the situation in (Jerusalem) under the deceptions of the road map and the Geneva initiative," the speaker said.
A Mideast peace plan dubbed the Geneva Accord was launched Dec. 1 by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. The phrase "road map" refers to a U.S.-backed plan for a Palestinian state by 2005.
Ibrahim Hilal, Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief, told The Associated Press the network received the message Sunday. However, he declined to reveal how it was delivered.
Hilal said he was certain the voice on the tape was bin Laden's.
"It is bin Laden's superb and special Arabic language that is very hard to emulate," Hilal said. "It is undoubtedly his voice, his style, and the typical examples from history he uses."
The original message was 47 minutes long but the network aired only 14 minutes, Hilal said.
In those excerpts, the speaker urged Muslims to "liberate the Islamic world from the military occupation of the Crusaders."
He said Gulf countries have given in to U.S. pressures "thinking that would not open the door for toppling of the dictatorial regimes by military force from outside, especially after they saw the capture of their previous comrade in treachery, a hireling of America," referring to Saddam.
The speaker criticized leaders of Muslim nations for refusing to pressure the United States on the Palestinian issue and for not supporting the Palestinian resistance.
He also criticized Gulf countries for receiving members of the U.S.-appointed interim Iraqi Governing Council.
He said the "big powers" were trying to control the region for its oil.
"The occupation of Iraq is the beginning of the full occupation of the other Gulf states. ... The Gulf is the key for control of the world in the point of view of the big powers because of the presence of the biggest deposits of oil."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Monday in London that he had no confirmation that the voice on the tape was bin Laden's but that it was a safe assumption.
"There is no question that the al-Qaida organization and its networks are still around. And so far as we know, Osama bin Laden is still alive," Straw told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
Al-Jazeera last broadcast an audiotape purportedly from bin Laden in October. CIA analysts examining that tape concluded it probably was authentic.
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I agree it should have been handled differently.
This should have been the 9/12/01 area map.
You really need to "read" what people write. You keep creating "strawman" arguments. I NEVER SAID BUSH KNOWS. Trust me, many things that happen within the military the President isn't aware of. What I said is I think a select few within the "black ops" section of the military are very confident they "got UBL".
I never said Bush knows. In fact, I think I said 3 times, he didn't know and that is why he has said "if he's alive, we will get him".
You really need to read instead of just making up BS.
And again, Saddam DID put out a video showing himself alive after the first week of the war when many thought he was dead. He put out a video to prove to those fighting for his side that he was alive and leading. Fact.
Now that I totally agree with you on. We do have a long way to go in this war. But we are winning and winning decisively at this point.
Your completely wrong about AQ's goals though. OBL has been quite clear that his goal is to bring about the a conflict between the West and Islam that will result in the West being tossed from that Araba penisula (or anyplace else Muslims are the majority). A reverse crusade of sorts.
Yes. A lot more. Whether they like it or not. I heard about this on the radio a couple of months ago, and the article below is the first one I could find that explains it. OBL is hiding out in Pashtun country, and he's a guest of every one of them. Because of their customs, they'd rather die defending him (and keeping him hidden) than to give him up and lose honor:
Why Bombing and Warnings are Not Working (published in 2001)
"Unlike the Bush administration, bin Laden knows the Afghans well and he acted within pashtunwali to exploit its third tenet, melmastiya, or hospitality. As we know and have heard repeatedly, he is a "guest" in Afghanistan. Bin Laden's hosts, the Taliban, are bombed and beleaguered and had no way of responding. Cleverly, their guest timed his Al Jazeera ultimatum so that in addition to being a terrorist threat it was also a token of gratitude.
Of all aspects of pashtunwali, melmastiya is the one to which U.S. policymakers need to pay the closest attention. A complex etiquette surrounds the treatment and status of guests such as bin Laden. In a tribal Pashtun house, the male members of a family, the host and his sons, serve food to their guests but remain standing all evening in a show of respect.
Melmastiya's other and perhaps most relevant dimension is the requirement (nanawati) of providing refuge to anyone within the confines of one's home or country. It is a code related to nang. It is also the reason why Osama bin Laden has found a home in Afghanistan when nobody else will have him.
Bin Laden's stay in Afghanistan is not made possible by Islamic brotherhood or by the hard-line Islam he preaches. It is made possible by melmastiya. In Pashtun culture, a host gains honor by serving and protecting his guest.
The Taliban's extraordinarily polite requests to bin Laden to leave Afghanistan earlier this month were interpreted as weakness, skulduggery and time-buying ploys by Washington. In fact, the Taliban were acting the only way they know how. If necessary, in Pashtun custom, a host must sacrifice his life in the course of extending protection or refuge to a guest. That is precisely what the Taliban are now continuing to do, and what Osama bin Laden wants."
Yeah, during the war. But I think after the war it was pretty clear he was alive. I didn't see many at all saying that he was dead after the end of heavy operations.
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