World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #4.

Tehran & Damascus Move to Lebanon Lebanon-born Walid Phares is a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. Author of the recent book Future Jihad, he was also one of the architects of 2004’s United Nations resolution 1559, which called for the disarming of Hezbollah. NRO editor Kathryn Lopez recently talked to Phares about what’s going on in the Mideast, what happened to the Cedar Revolution, and this war we’re all in.

Kathryn Jean Lopez: What is “Future Jihad”? Are we seeing it in the Mideast now?

Walid Phares: “Future Jihad,” which has already begun, refers to a new and potent form of Islamic terrorism, characterized by a Khumeinist-Baathist axis. These are the two trees of jihadism, so to speak — the Salafism and Wahabism embodied in al Qaeda and the sort of jihadism led by Iran and also including Syria, Hezbollah, and their allies in Lebanon.

The alliance has not been in entire agreement as to strategy. The al Qaeda branch began its “Future Jihad” in the 1990s; its efforts culminated on 9/11 and have continued explosively since then. The international “Salafists” aimed at the U.S. in the past decade in order to strengthen their jihads on various battlefields (Chechnya, India, Sudan, Algeria, Indonesia, Palestine, etc.). “Weaken the resolve of America,” their ideologues said, “and the jihadists would overwhelm all the regional battlefields.”

As I argue in Future Jihad, bin Laden and his colleagues miscalculated on the timing of the massive attack against the U.S. in 2001. While they wounded America, they didn’t kill its will to fight (as was the case, for instance, in the Madrid 3/11 attacks). I have heard many jihadi cadres online, and have seen al Jazeera commentators on television, offering hints of criticism about the timing. They were blaming al Qaeda for shooting its imagined “silver bullet” before insuring a strategic follow up. But bin Laden and Zawahiri believe 9/11 served them well, and has put a global mobilization into motion. Perhaps it has, but the U.S. counter strategy in the Middle East, chaotic as the region currently appears, has unleashed counter jihadi forces. The jury is still out as to the time factor: when these forces will begin to weaken the jihadists depends on our perseverance and the public understanding of the whole conflict.

The other “tree” of jihadism, with its roots in Iran, withheld fire after 9/11. They were content to watch the Salafists fight it out with the U.S.-led coalition in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention within the West, as terror cells were hunted down. Ahmedinejad, Assad, and Nasrallah were analyzing how far the US would go, and how far the Sunnis and Salafis would go as well.

The fall of the Taliban and of the Baath in Iraq, however, changed Iran and Syria’s patient plans. The political changes in the neighborhood, regardless of their immediate instability, were strongly felt in Tehran and Damascus (but unfortunately not in the U.S., judging from the political debate here), and pushed the Khumeinists and the Syrian Baathists to enter the dance, but carefully. Assad opened his borders to the jihadists in an attempt to crumble the U.S. role in Iraq, while Iran articulated al Sadr’s ideology for Iraq’s Shiia majority.

A U.S.-led response came swiftly in 2004 with the voting of UNSCR 1559, smashing Syria’s role in Lebanon and forcing Assad to withdraw his troops by April 2005. In response, the “axis” prepared for a counter attack on the Lebanese battlefield by assassinating a number of the Cedar Revolution leaders, including MP Jebran Tueni. In short, the attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah and the kidnappings of soldiers were the tip of an offensive aimed at drawing attention away from Iran’s nuclear weapons programs and Syria’s assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Hariri. Hezbollah was awaiting its moment for revenge against the Cedar Revolution too.

What we see now is 1) a Syro-Iranian sponsored offensive aimed at all democracies in the region and fought in Lebanon; 2) Israel’s counter offensive (which it seems to have prepared earlier); and 3) an attempt by Hezbollah to take over or crumble the Lebanese government.

Phares: Actually, it would be more accurate to say that the Cedar Revolution was failed. The masses in Lebanon responded courageously in March 2005 by putting 1.5 million people on the streets of Beirut. They did it without “no-fly-zones,” expeditionary forces, or any weapons at all, for that matter, and against the power of three regimes, Iran, Syria, and pro-Syrian Lebanon, in addition to Hezbollah terror. The “revolution” was for a time astoundingly successful; since then it has been horribly failed, and first of all by Lebanon’s politicians themselves. One of their leaders, General Michel Aoun, shifted his allegiances to Syria and signed a document with Hezbollah. Other politicians from the “March 14 Movement” then stopped the demonstrations, leaving them with the support of God knows what. They failed in removing the pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud and brought back a pro-Syrian politician to serve as a speaker of the house, Nabih Berri. Meanwhile, even as they were elected by the faithful Cedar Revolution masses, they engaged in a round table dialogue with Hezbollah, a clear trap set by Hassan Nasrallah: “Let’s talk about the future,” he said — with the implication, of course, that they forget about the Cedar Revolution and the militia’s disarming. While political leaders sat for months, enjoying the photo ops with Hassan Nasrallah, he was preparing his counter offensive, which he unleashed just a few days before the Security Council would discuss the future of Iran’s nuclear programs.

The Lebanese government of Prime Minister Seniora also abandoned the Cedar Revolution. His cabinet neither disarmed Hezbollah nor called on the U.N. to help in implementing UNSCR 1559. This omission is baffling. The government was given so much support by the international community and, more importantly, overwhelming popular support inside Lebanon: 80 percent of the people were hoping the Cedar Revolution-backed government would be the one to resume the liberation of the country. Now Hezbollah has an upper hand and the government is on the defensive.

The U.S. and its allies can be accused of certain shortcomings as well. While the speeches by the U.S. president, congressional leaders from both parties, Tony Blair, and Jacques Chirac were right on target regarding Lebanon, and while the U.S. and its counterparts on the Security Council were diligent in their follow up on the Hariri assassination and on implementing UNSCR 1559, there was no policy or plan to support the popular movement in Lebanon. Incredibly, while billions were spent on the war of ideas in the region, Lebanese NGOs that wanted to resume the struggle of the Cedar Revolution and fighting alone for this purpose were not taken seriously at various levels. Policy planners thought they were dealing with the “Cedar Revolution” when they were meeting Lebanon’s government and Lebanese politicians. The difference between the high level speeches on Lebanon and the laissez-faire approach from lower levels is amazing. Simply put, there was no policy on supporting the Cedar Revolution against the three regimes opposing it and the $400 million received by Hezbollah from Iran.

The Cedar Revolution was basically betrayed by its own politicians and is now essentially without a head. Nevertheless, as long as the international support remains, the Revolution will find its way and will face the dangers. The one and a half million ordinary citizens who braved all the dangers didn’t change their minds about Hezbollah’s terror. The resistance and counter-attack was to be expected. Unfortunately, thus far Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah have outmaneuvered the West and are at the throats of the Cedar Revolution. The international community must revise its plans, and, if it is strongly backed by the U.S. and its allies, including France, the situation can be salvaged. The good seeds are still inside the country.

[Learned a new word "syabu"....granny]

http://www.bruneitimes.com.bn/section.php?class=News

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[First report on new tape, sounds to me, like he listened to Bernie Ward program last night on KGO, LOL, sounds like same words...granny]

http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/09/29/ap/headlines/d8keo9go1.txt

al-Qaida No. 2 Calls Bush Failure, Liar
By BASSEM MROUE
Sep 29, 2006 - 01:46:57 pm PDT
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri condemned President Bush in a video statement released Friday, calling him a failure and a liar in the war on terror.

"Can't you be honest at least once in your life, and admit that you are a deceitful liar who intentionally deceived your nation when you drove them to war in Iraq," al-Zawahri said in a portion of the video released by the Washington-based SITE Institute.

Al-Zawahri also criticized Bush for continuing to imprison al-Qaida leaders in prisons, including al-Qaida No. 3 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind who was captured in Pakistan in March 2003.

"Bush, you deceitful charlatan, 3 1/2 years have passed since your capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, so how have you found us during this time? Losing and surrendering?" he said, according to the SITE Institute.

"What you have perpetrated against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other Muslim captives in your prisons and the prisons of your slaves in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and elsewhere is not hidden from anyone, and we are a people who do not sleep under oppression and who do not abandon our revenge until our chests have been healed of those who have aggressed against us," the Virginia-based IntelCenter quoted the message as saying. "And we, by the grace of Allah, are seeking to exact revenge on behalf of Islam and Muslims from you and your soldiers and allies."

The nearly 18-minute statement, titled "Bush, the Pope, Darfur and the Crusades," was produced by al-Qaida's media arm, as-Sahab. An initial segment shows al-Zawahri in an office-type setting, while in the second part, he is in front of a brown backdrop, according to the IntelCenter. The first segment also has English subtitles.

Al-Qaida has released a string of videos earlier this month timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, showing increasingly sophisticated production techniques in a likely effort to demonstrate that it remains a powerful, confident force despite the U.S.-led war on terror.

An intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. experts view the latest video as a typical propaganda message, whose main thrust is a call for more people to join the jihad, or holy war.

It wasn't immediately clear when the message was recorded, but al-Zawahri made a reference to the pope, indicating the message was produced sometime after Pope Benedict XVI's controversial comments about Islam on Sept. 12, the official said.

In remarks that sparked outrage across the Muslim world, Benedict cited a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."

A service of the Associated Press(AP)

[a post for study and research]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-arms0929,0,5089978.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines

Alleged arms brokers for terrorist group charged
Suspects accused of trying to buy weapons in Md. for Tamil Tigers organization

By Brian Witte
The Associated Press

September 29, 2006, 3:24 PM EDT

Arms brokers for the Tamil Tiger terrorist group are charged with trying to buy missiles and other weapons through undercover agents in Maryland, along with arms dealers who tried to get military equipment for the Indonesian Army, federal officials said today.

Haji Subandi, a suspected international arms dealer from Indonesia, was at the center of two conspiracies to buy weapons and other military equipment, said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.

"The common tie between the two conspiracies is that members of both conspiracies dealt with a suspected international arms dealer named Haji Subandi, who acted as a broker and arranged for military equipment to be purchased," Rosenstein said at a news conference in Baltimore.

The Tamil Tigers are a rebel group that began fighting in 1983 for a separate state on the Indian Ocean island of Sri Lanka. The group was added to the U.S. State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations in 1997. The designation bars the group from raising money, obtaining weaponry or lobbying for support in the United States.

In one conspiracy, Subandi made numerous requests to the undercover agents between March 2004 and April 2006 on behalf of Tamil Tigers to acquire night-vision goggles, special forces weaponry, communication devices, sonar technology and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a federal indictment.

Subandi, 69, has been charged with Haniffa Bin Osman, 55, and Erick Wotulo, 60, in a three-count indictment unsealed today. They are charged with conspiracy to export arms and munitions, conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and money laundering.

Thirunavukarasu Varatharasa, 36, of Sri Lanka, also is charged with being part of the conspiracy.

Wotulo, who identified himself to undercover agents as a retired Indonesian Marine Corps general, submitted a purchase order in June to a dummy business set up by U.S. investigators for weapons totaling about $3 million, authorities said. Osman told undercover agents that if the first order was successful, a second order could be worth as much as $15 million.

In another conspiracy, Subandi is charged with conspiracy to violate the arms export control act, along with Reinhard Rusli, 34, and Helmi Soedirdja, 33. The three are Indonesian citizens. They allegedly conspired to ship night-vision goggles and a holographic weapons sight to customers in Indonesia, according to the indictment.

All the men were arrested Thursday and today in Guam, where they met to examine the weapons, which weighed 3.5 tons and filled up 14 pallets in a truck, said Mark Bastan, acting special agent in charge of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Baltimore.

"They had a plan to ship these weapons from Guam to members to the Tamil Tigers in the Indian Ocean, where they would then be used for their terrorist purposes," Rosenstein said.

The weapons waiting for them included grenade launchers, submachine guns, sniper rifles and night-vision devices, Bastan said.

Bastan said the weapons were intended to be used against the Sri Lankan government, but it was unclear whether they were to be used for a specific attack.

Authorities said that among the weapons Osman sought to purchase were surface-to-air missiles.

"The indictment quotes one defendant as saying that the Stinger missiles were for the Tamil Tigers to use in downing Israeli aircraft flown by Israeli pilots in Sri Lanka for the Sri Lankan Air Force," Bastan said.

Under the operation initiated by ICE, investigators posed as arms dealers, wining and dining Osman when he came to Baltimore in July to work out the deal. Investigators even took him to the Havre de Grace police department's firing range near the Susquehanna River to test some of the guns.

"We just took the police signs off" the range, Bastan said, describing the set up.

Last month, U.S. officials in New York announced that eight emissaries of the rebel group had conspired to buy surface-to-air missiles in the United States amid an escalating conflict with military forces in Sri Lanka. The men charged in that case also tried to get the Tamil Tigers removed from a list of terrorist organizations and sought to bribe U.S. officials for classified information, according to a criminal complaint.

Copyright © 2006, The Associated Press
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Officials: Principal shot in rural Wis. school

Shotgun was wrestled from suspect, but he fired with second weapon

By Todd Richmond
The Associated Press

Originally published September 29, 2006, 5:38 PM EDT

CAZENOVIA, WIS. // A teenager brought two guns to his rural school and critically wounded the principal today after a struggle with adults and other students, authorities said.

The 15-year-old was taken into custody, officials said. No one else was hurt.

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It was not clear why the student opened fire or if Weston Schools Principal John Klang was the intended target, Sheriff Randy Stammen said.

Witnesses said the student walked in with a shotgun before classes began. A custodian, teachers and students wrestled with him, but he broke through, took out a handgun and shot Klang three times, Stammen said.

The custodian said that the teen was a special-education student who told him he was there to kill someone, but did not say who.

"He was calm, but he was on a mission," said Dave Thompson, 43, who also has two children at the school.

Sophomore Shelly Rupp, 16, described the boy as a freshman with few friends and said he was "just weird in the head."

"He always used to kid around about bringing things to school and hurting kids," she said at a gas station nearby where students and townspeople gathered.

Thompson said the student first pointed a shotgun in a teacher's face. Thompson grabbed away the gun, but the student then appeared to be reaching for another gun, so Thompson and the teacher took cover. Thompson then ran into a kitchen to call 911.

Junior Timmy Donovan said the student "pulled a .22 pistol out of his pants, and then started shooting the principal. And at that point, I guess the principal ran and tackled him to the ground."

Klang, 49, was shot in the head, chest and leg, and underwent surgery, authorities said.

Children from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade attend the small school near Cazenovia, a community of about 300 people about 60 miles northwest of Madison.

The shooting took place two days after a gunman took six students hostage in a Colorado high school and killed one of them before committing suicide.

Laurie Rhea, 42, said the principal spent last weekend at the gas station washing cars for a homecoming fundraiser.

"All the kids just loved him," she said.

The shooting happened as the school was preparing for homecoming weekend. The homecoming parade, football game and dance were canceled or postponed.

On the Net

http://www.weston.k12.wi.us

Copyright © 2006, The Associated Press

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22 accused of smuggling Ecstasy into U.S.

Group said to have imported more than 250,000 pills into Md., other states

The Associated Press
Originally published September 29, 2006, 10:42 AM EDT

NEW YORK // Twenty-two people were accused Thursday of smuggling more than $5 million in Ecstasy pills from Canada into the United States.

Of the defendants, 19 were arrested in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland and one was arrested in Canada, according to a news release from U.S. and Canadian federal investigators, which didn't account for the other two.

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The smuggling organization had imported more than 250,000 pills of the synthetic drug into the United States since 2005, authorities said. The pills, often packaged to look like candy, were distributed in the streets, clubs and brothels of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, North Carolina and Georgia, among other places.

On July 14, law enforcement officers seized approximately 53,000 pills worth more than $1 million at a storage facility in Edison, N.J. The pills were labeled with stamps and markings including "cherry," "Versace" and "6-point star," the news release said.

The arrests were based on an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. They resulted from a yearlong probe involving many federal and local law enforcement organizations.

The defendants each could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Copyright © 2006, The Associated Press

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Port supervisor's death accidental
Medical examiner's office rules 3 months after incident; delay laid to co-workers' false account
By Michael Dresser
sun reporter
Originally published September 29, 2006
After almost three months of investigation, the Maryland Transportation Authority Police said yesterday that a Maryland Port Administration maintenance supervisor who died under suspicious circumstances was fatally injured in an accidental fall.

The state medical examiner's office said the determination of the cause of death of Robert L. Benway Jr., 45, was delayed because two co-workers who were with him at the time of the June 26 incident initially gave a false account. Benway died of his injuries July 1.

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The medical examiner determined that the co-workers' revised explanation was consistent with the 21-year state employee's injuries.

According to transportation authority police, the death was ruled an accident on the basis of the autopsy, physical and forensic evidence and the revised eyewitness account.

"The important thing in these cases is not to get it done quickly, but to get it done right," said Chief Gary W. McLhinney.

The police said they are continuing to investigate "possible illegal activity on the part of co-workers of Mr. Benway."

Richard Scher, a spokesman for the port administration, said the two men who were with Benway at the time of his death are no longer employed by the agency. Scher said their departures were voluntary.

Benway died at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center five days after the accident at Clinton Street Marine Terminal, a largely vacant MPA-owned warehouse, of massive injuries to the back of his head.

The circumstances of Benway's death raised suspicions in the mind of his widow, Linda Benway, 49, a fellow MPA employee. Instead of calling 911, one of his co-workers rushed Robert Benway to Bayview in his truck.

Police were not notified of the accident when it occurred, and an investigation began only after he died. And neither the MPA nor the police notified the media of the death before Linda Benway brought her concerns to The Sun in August.

At the time, she expressed doubt that the incident took place at the Clinton Street terminal, as first reported. But the investigation concluded the accident did occur in that building, though not necessarily at the location police were first told.

Benway's injuries were inconsistent with the original account that he fell from a ladder about 12 feet high that was bolted to a wall, according to the medical examiner's office.

"The original story didn't add up to anybody because the guys who were with him lied," an official with the medical examiner's office said.

Under further questioning, officials said, the co-workers changed their account and said Benway fell from a much higher extension ladder after his feet became tangled while he was pulling out wiring that apparently came loose more abruptly than he expected.

Linda Benway said she was told by port officials that the ladder and copper wiring were disposed of before the investigation began. Neither Scher nor the police would comment, saying the investigation is continuing.

Investigators suspect the wire was being removed from the building to be sold illegally, Linda Benway said. Police would not comment.

Benway said she is not satisfied with the explanation she has been given.

"They would have to prove that to me that Rob was doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing," she said.

But the medical examiner said there is now no question that Benway's death was accidental. Toxicological tests showed that he was not intoxicated or impaired by drugs.

The medical examiner's office also concluded that Benway would not have lived if his co-workers had called 911.

"This gentleman had nonsurvivable injuries - period," said the official, who asked to not be identified because of office policies. "His brain was not going to recover."

michael.dresser@baltsun.com

http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications214806&Category=publications&Subcategory=0

Abu Jihad al-Misri of the Egyptian Islamic Group Issues a Response to Comments Made by Pope Benedict XVI on Islam and the Prophet Muhammad
By SITE Institute

September 27, 2006

Muhammad Khalil al-Hukaymah AKA Abu Jihad al-Misri, a prominent member of the Egyptian Islamic Group [al-Gama’a al-Islamiya] who had spoken in an August 2006 as-Sahab video announcing a merger with al-Qaeda, recently issued to an affiliated website a statement regarding slanderous comments made by Pope Benedict XVI to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. Abu Jihad calls the Pope a “spiteful Crusader,” and states that ever since Joseph Ratzinger chose the Benedict name, he knew that the Pontiff would join U.S. President Bush and his alleged Crusade against Islam. Ignoring to respond to support given by both German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bush to Pope Benedict XVI, and disregarding apologies he offered, Abu Jihad states that a call went out to the Mujahideen in Europe in general and Italy in particular to execute acts of revenge.

The statement adds that the Muslim Nation does not fail to provide “heroes” that avenge the Prophet Muhammad and Islam. To this end Abu Jihad al-Misri cites Islamic history and recent history, including the murder of Meir Kahana, the founder of the Jewish Defense League, who was killed in November 1990 by Sayyid Nosair. Nosair was also convicted with Sheikh Omar Abdul Rahman, the “Blind Sheikh” and spiritual leader of al-Gama’a al-Islamiya, in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing conspiracy.

A translation of the statement is provided to our Intel Service members.

http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications215406&Category=publications&Subcategory=0

A Video Speech from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: Bush, the Pope of the Vatican, Darfur, and the Crusader Wars, by as-Sahab Productions

By SITE Institute

September 29, 2006

As-Sahab, al-Qaeda’s multimedia production arm, issued today, Friday, September 29, 2006, a 17:51 minute video speech featuring Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri and titled: “Bush, the Pope of the Vatican, Darfur, and the Crusader Wars”. The video features two scenes: one, subtitled in English, with Zawahiri against an office-setup background of a lamp, flag bearing “No God, but Allah”, and a model cannon; the other is without a background, and depicts Zawahiri dressed entirely in white, without subtitles.

To U.S. President George W. Bush, Zawahiri brands him a "deceitful charlatan" and liar, and questions: “why don't you tell them how many million citizens of America and it's allies you intend to kill in search of the imaginary victory and in breathless pursuit of the mirage towards which you are driving your people’s sons in order to increase your profits?” He questions his motives for initating the War in Iraq, ridiculing the false prexets under which it was conducted. To this end he cites the purported links of Saddam Hussein to al-Qaeda, and the presence of weapons of mass destruction. He also addresses the capture of Khalid Shaikh Muhammad and questions that if it helped in the "war on terror" then “why are your troops retreating in secrete from the south and east of Afghanistan?... Bush...be aware that the liberation of our captives is a debt on our shoulders which we must fulfill”. Other individuals who have been captured, such as Ramzi Yusef, Omar Abdul Rahman (the "Blind Sheikh") and Abu al-Faraj al-Libi are also cited.

In the Arabic portion, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri discusses the issue of the Pope Benedict XVI's slanderous comments to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, by prefacing such attacks as beginning with the Satanic Verses of Salmon Rushdie, followed by desecration of the Qur'an at Guantanamo Bay, and banning of the hijab in French schools. He states that the current pope is reminiscent of Pope Urban II, who "provoked the people of Europe to fight the Muslims" in the Crusades. Zawahiri disregards Christianity due to its "supersitions" and alleged irrationality, but avers that Muslims are not enemies of Jesus as Pope Urban II claimed. On the pope's comments directly, Zawahiri adds: "if Benedict attacked us, we will respond to his insults with good things. We will call upon him, and all of the Christians to become Muslims who do not recognize the Trinity or the crucifixion, and say that Allah united with the human."

On the subject of Darfur, Zawahiri addresses the “Crusader plan” to send its armies to the region, rendering it a new battlefield for its war. He calls upon the Muslims in Darfur for defense, stating that the government in Khartoum is to weak to meet the task, and jihad is the only answer. He states: “O, people of Darfur, honorable and good, hold onto your religion: you can solve all of the disputes between you. Do not allow the government of Khartoum to interfere, nor the governments of the Western Crusaders to interfere in your business. Be ready to stop the Crusaders campaign against you”.

The speech concludes with five points, including the recognition of Muslims’ states and leaders respective weaknesses to the “Crusaders’ invasion” in their agreeing to the legality of the United Nations and accepting Western encroachment. Zawahiri urges that to reverse the trend, UN resolutions and accords declaring the sovereignty of Israel must be abandoned and the Muslim Nation must launch a “popular jihadi war” against the Crusader campaign. Finally, the Nation should recognize Afghanistan and Iraq as important fronts in the face of the “Crusader war,” and Muslims should support jihad and the Mujahideen as much as they can.

A one-minute clip is available here .

The full video and transcript are provided to our Intel Service members.

http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications214606&Category=publications&Subcategory=0

A Speech by Abu Hamza al-Muhajir on the Occasion of Ramadan 1427, “Come to a Word that is Just Between Us and You”
By SITE Institute

September 28, 2006

An audio message from the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, was issued to the Internet today, Thursday, September 28, 2006, by the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq. The speech, 20:31 in length, is titled: “Come to a Word that is Just Between Us and You,” which is taken from the Qur’an, Surah al-Imran, verse 64. Al-Muhajir bears three messages, each containing words encouraging support from Islamic scholars, Sunni tribal sheikhs, and foreign Mujahideen, and asking forgiveness. He notes sacrifices made by the Mujahideen for the defense of Islam, stating: “We made a ladder out of our bodies and we told you to come pick the fruits, so you can eat it and enjoy it;” however, an appearance of “evil… roaming with the valley” causes them to fear that their jihad will be for naught, as already 4,000 foreign fighters were killed, and more than double that number in supporters.

Abu Hamza al-Muhajir calls upon scholars to not slacken in supporting the Mujahideen and claims success can only come from their direction. He reminds of the “Blind Sheikh” Omar Abdul Rahman incarcerated in an American jail, and urges every “free Mujahid” in Iraq to work hard during the month of Ramadan and capture “Roman dogs” to secure the sheikh’s release. Seemingly responding to the Sunni tribal sheikhs who have revealed a dispute between the tribes and the Mujahideen Shura Council, and assured cooperated with the Iraqi government to capture the Mujahideen, al-Muhajir extends an offer of forgiveness for this month only. He states: “We guarantee your safety and security and we will not harm you provided that you declare your repentance among your tribes and in the middle of your own people and let us know that you have done that by any means”.

Concluding the message, the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, asks Muslims who have experience in physical sciences, electronics, media, and “deep specialties,” in particular nuclear science and explosive engineering, to come to the Iraqi jihad battlefield for they are in need. Al-Muhajir tells them that American camps may best serve as experimental fields for their knowledge. Further, he announces a military campaign called the “Clear Conquest” to eliminate the “infidels” and “apostates”, and destroy the strongholds of those who act against the Mujahideen.

The Arabic audio clip and transcript are provided to our Intel Service members.

http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications215206&Category=publications&Subcategory=0

The Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq Announces the Beginning of a New Military Campaign Announced by Abu Hamza al-Muhajir
By SITE Institute

September 28, 2006

Immediately following the issuance of a speech by Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, the Emir of al-Qaeda in Iraq, today, Thursday, September 28, 2006, the Mujahideen Shura Council in Iraq announced in an Internet statement the cessation of the revenge attack for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Starting new, however, is the conquest called for by al-Muhajir in his message. The clear, or “great conquest,” will be fought until it “achieves it goals,” andtoday, the Mujahideen have gone to the streets of Baghdad to execute these operations.

The message states: “With Allah’s permission the blood and body parts of the Mujahideen and suiciders are the keystone that the Islamic nation will be built upon in the land of Iraq”.

The Mujahideen Shura Council is composed of eight insurgency groups in Iraq: al-Qaeda in Iraq, Victorious Army Group, the Army of al-Sunnah Wal Jama’a, Jama’a al-Murabiteen, Ansar al-Tawhid Brigades, Islamic Jihad Brigades, the Strangers Brigades, and the Horrors Brigades, collaborating to meet the “unbelievers gathering with different sides” and defend Islam.

A translation of the message is provided to our Intel Service members.
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[I see headlines that say 60 bodies were recovered in Iraq today]

[3 photos at link]

http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=publications215306&Category=publications&Subcategory=0

Photographs from Ansar al-Sunnah Providing Evidence of Iranian Support to the Shi’ites in Iraq, and Description of Diyala Battle with al-Mahdi Army
By SITE Institute

September 28, 2006

Six photographs of Iran-branded equipment and weapons, and a statement describing the discovery of these materials and the circumstances in which they were found in Diyala, were issued today, Thursday, September 28, 2006, by Ansar al-Sunnah in Iraq. The group indicates that a few days ago in the village of Khan Sa’ad in Diyala, east of Baghdad, members of the “fake army,” Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s al-Mahdi Army [Jeish al-Mahdi] attacked the Sunni people and bombed them with rockets and mortar shells. The Mujahideen were called upon by the villagers for help, and Ansar al-Sunnah claims that they engaged in battle with al-Mahdi Army and killed approximately twenty of its members, causing the remainder to flee.

At the battle’s end, Ansar al-Sunnah managed to capture one of the “assailants” and delayed his execution when they found a communication device on his person. The device and Katyusha rockets left on the field carried the name of the Iranian Department of Defense, and mortar shells were of a size used by Iranian forces. The group muses as to the reason for Iran’s support, questioning if it is “Persian greed in Iraq,” support to the “Crusader” forces, or suppression of the Mujahideen in a bordering area. They state: “There are many other questions which we leave for answering by every clever Muslim”.

A translation of the message is provided to our Intel Service members.

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