MEMRI: The Alleged Al-Qa'ida Statement of Responsibility for the Madrid Bombings
MEMRI ^ | March 12, 2004 | Yigal Carmon
Posted on 03/12/2004 12:30:25 PM CST by yonif
On March 12, 2004, the pro-Saddam pro-bin Laden London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi(1) published the alleged statement by the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades of Al-Qa'ida, in which the brigades claimed to be responsible for the March 11, 2004 bombings in Madrid.
{{{It should be noted that the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades claimed responsibility for the August 2003 blackout in the U.S. (which was a large-scale technical failure), calling it "Operation Quick Lightning in the Land of the Tyrant of This Generation."(2) }}}
The following is the translation of the statement, followed by commentary:
Text of the Statement
[The statement begins with the following three Qur'anic verses:]
"When you punish, punish them in the way they have punished you." (Qur'an 16:126)
"Kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from where they have driven you out; for internal strife [Fitna] is worse than killing." (Qur'an 2:191)
"Whoever attacks you, attack him in the same way that he attacked you, and trust Allah and know that Allah is with those who put their trust [in Him]." (Qur'an 2:194).
"The Trains of Death Operation
"In their last statement, of March 2, 2004 [on the bombings in Karbala and Baghdad] the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades promised that they were preparing for their upcoming operations, and behold, they are fulfilling their promise.
"The Death Brigades penetrated into the European Crusader heartland, and struck a painful blow at one of the foundations of the Crusader coalition. This is part of a settling of old accounts with Crusader Spain, the ally of the U.S., in its war against Islam...
"Where is America, Aznar? Who will protect you? Who will protect Britain? Who will protect Japan, Italy, and other agents? By striking at the Italian forces in Nasiriyya [Iraq], we sent you and America's agents a warning, demanding that you quit the coalition against Islam, but you did not get the message...
"Now we say it clearly, hoping that you [Aznar] will understand it this time. We at the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades are not sorry for the deaths of so-called civilians. Are they permitted to kill our children, our women, our elderly, and our youth in Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Kashmir, and we are forbidden from killing them? Allah, may he be praised, said: 'Whoever attacks you, attack him in the same way that he attacked you' [Qur'an 2:194].
"Take your hands off us! Release our prisoners! Get out of our lands! Then we will leave you alone.
"The peoples of America's allies must pressure their government to withdraw immediately from their alliance with America [in its fight] against terror (Islam)... And if you renounce [fighting us], we too will stop fighting you.
"We say to you that the Death-Smoke Squad will reach you soon, and then you will see [i.e. count] your dead by the thousands, Allah willing, and this is a warning.
"In another operation, the Al-Quds Army Brigades struck the Jewish Masonic temple in Istanbul, and this was the main Masonic temple, and three of the greatest Masons were killed... Had it not been for the technical failure, all the Masons would have been killed. But for reasons of divine wisdom, only three were killed. Allah be praised.
"We announce to the Bilal [I]bn Rabah Squad(3) that headquarters has approved [its] proposal. When the emissary arrives, the work will begin. We announce to the Abu Ali Al-Harithi Squad(4) that headquarters has decided that Yemen will be the third swamp(5) [in which] America the Tyrant of This Generation [will sink], in order to discipline the [Yemeni] government which is collaborating [with the U.S.] and that has abandoned Islam and now ranks second to [Pakistani President Pervez] Musharraf. Therefore, all the squads must be placed on alert, so that the operation will begin at 4515 S.B... [sic]. Do not forget to strike to the death; do not forget Abu Ali Al-Harithi; do not forget Sheikh Abd Al-Qader Abd Al-'Aziz (Al-Sayyed, Imam Al-Sharif), the great sage who was arrested three months after the September [11] events, and was extradited by Yemen to Egypt.
"We say to those who killed the clerics of the Muslim Sunnis in Iraq to stop, or else... and we promise the Muslims in the world that the strike of the Winds of Black Death (the anticipated strike on America) is now in its last phase [of preparation]. [It is] 90% [complete], Allah willing... Soon (when it suits the Jihad warriors), the believers [i.e. Muslims] will rejoice at Allah's victory.
"A warning to the nations: Keep away from the civilian and military institutions of Crusader America and its allies. Allah Akbar, Allah Akbar. Islam is coming, reinforcing [the Muslims] and humiliating [the infidels].
"The Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades (Al-Qa'ida), Thursday, the 20th of Muharram, 1425, which is March 11, 2004.
Commentary
The text of this statement includes linguistic usages and concepts that are incompatible with or alien to authentic Al-Qa'ida writings by Osama bin Laden, Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, and others. The following are some examples, in order of appearance:
* Following the Qur'an verses is the title "The Trains of Death Operation." This is uncommon in bin Laden's writing. Also, it is noteworthy that the phrase "Trains of Death" is not reiterated in the text as the name of the operation.
* "Settling old accounts," both as a linguistic form and as a concept, is alien to authentic Al-Qa'ida writings.
* The use of the concept of "agents" is taken from the vocabulary of nationalist ideology, while bin Laden and his followers relate to their enemies primarily as infidels.
* The phrase "but you did not get the message" is not one used by bin Laden, who does not cast his operations in the light of "messages," rather, as acts in and of themselves to further the goals of Al-Qa'ida for the sake of Allah. Thus, it follows that:
* The concept of conditionality, as in the statement "And if you renounce [fighting us], we too will stop fighting you" is not a bin Laden concept.
* The term "The Tyrant of the Generation" was used in the previous statement of alleged responsibility by the Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigades, for the August 2003 U.S. blackout - which was caused by a large-scale technical failure.
* In authentic Al-Qa'ida writings, the September 11 attacks are not referred to as "events" but as "raids" (the early Islamic term ghazwah).
* The announcement of an operation to begin at "4515 S.B." or reference to an operation that is "90% completed" is alien to bin Laden's scholarly Islamist style.
Thus, this statement does not seem to be an authentic Al-Qa'ida document.(6)
* Yigal Carmon is President of MEMRI
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1096414/posts Bump Yonif!!!
NOTE: This article is dated March 12, 2004 and is reprinted here intact (exact quote):
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Jeremy Reynalds
P O Box 27693
Alb., NM 87125-7693
Tel: (505) 400-7145
www.joyjunction.org
Al Qaida "Operative" Says Ignoring Group's Previous Demands Produced Spain's Train Massacre,
and Will Also Result in an Imminent Attack on the United States
A self-proclaimed al Qaida operative reiterated the group's responsibility for the series of explosions on Spanish city commuter trains on Thursday that claimed almost 200 victims.
Investigators are still searching for suspects as government officials raised the death toll to 198, with 1,463 wounded.
The Arabic newspaper Al-Quds al-Arabi said it had received a claim of responsibility issued in the name of Al Qaeda. The e-mail claim, signed by a group calling itself the Brigade of Abu Hafs al-Masri, said the brigade's ‘death squad' had penetrated ‘one of the pillars of the crusade alliance, Spain.'"
In an e-mail titled "Our job is done" and sent to his Yahoo group, self-proclaimed al Qaeda operative Daleel Almojahid bragged that the explosions (killed) "two birds with one stone" and were "a blessed strike into Spain (the death trains)."
The letter sent to Al-Quds also referred to an imminent attack in its final stages of preparation. Reuters reported that a portion of the letter read "We bring the good news to Muslims of the world that the expected ‘Winds of Black Death' strike against America is now in its final stage... 90 percent (ready) and God willing near."
Apparently referring to that threatened strike, Almojahid also commented "The rest is coming."
Almojahid added, "90 percent means it's ready, and God willing it is soon, and then we will see who will take victory into his hands. Our job on the net has been done and this is the last message from Daleel Almojahid, the next time you will our name will be in the heart of your beloved America by the hands of the mojahideen."
Almojahid implied that the impending threatened attack is a result of the Bush administration not paying attention to a demand letter (reported on this site in Dec. 2003) that al Qaeda was alleged to have sent some months ago to America and its allies.
"Since then we have only seen more Muslim blood on their hands and their time to pay for this blood is coming near," he wrote most recently.
In the demand letter to the Bush Administration from an alleged representative of al Qaida and the Islamic Jihad Brigade Black Death Squad there was a purported reference to a document supposedly sent to the White House that contained a laundry list of requirements for the government.
The document writer warned of deadly consequences if those demands were not met. Since the original letter was published, the Department of Homeland Security has ratcheted up the terror alert to orange, fearing that terrorists may be attempting to attack the United States using weapons of mass destruction.
The warning read in part (sic), "Don't ever think that your ‘orange alert' system will help you, although you know very well that even ‘severe is less than the situation you are in.' Nothing will help you but delivering our demands and as soon as possible. Your arrogance and childish acts of dictatorship are leading you directly to the cave of darkness. We have not seen a single step that reflects any logic thinking of any sort, nor clear and wise decisions, and no fast actions. You're fooling yourself and the American people, making them believe that you can defend them, when you know very well that you're totally helpless."
In a portion of the letter addressed directly to President Bush, Almojahid allegedly wrote in part, "Are you really still wondering if we have weapons of mass destruction? Why are you lying to your people, Bush? Tell them what you know, we bet you to tell them what you and the administration know. Tell them ... ‘we have been losing all the wars with al Qaida since they ever started.' Tell them that al Qaida is simply unbeatable! Tell them that they have won the war before it has even started! You are leading your nations into total destruction, and time is slipping away from under our hands."
The alleged demands made in the letter from the same individual included a demand that the United States cease "invading" Islamic lands anywhere in the world and return all "stolen" Muslim money, "in gold not in any kind of money note."
Other demands read (sic), "The returning of the old borders known to you and we press on the northern borders, the release of all our prisoners in your jails whom you know and we know only. The dismantle of the so called (United Nations and its council) in an international decision."
Another portion of the letter read in part, "(sic), "We will give you a prior few minutes notice before our blessed attack so that you will be able to watch your destruction with your own satellite, as we would be by then have passed the skies of the seventh sky to heaven and your nation to the fires of hell."
Not everyone believes al Qaida was behind the massacre. Spanish officials are maintaining that the Spanish Basque ETA is the main suspect in the bombings, but international media are reporting that some western intelligence sources believe al Qaida employed insurgents from North Africa for the train bombings in Spain that killed about 200 people.
According to these media, these sources said Spanish and other European intelligence and security agencies believe that sleeper cells established by Al Qaida-affiliated groups helped designate the targets and provide other essential help for the operatives who detonated the bombs on the trains. Media further reported it is believed by some that these cells were established by organizations originating in Algeria and Morocco and employed local operatives, including Basque separatists.