It's just a flesh wound.......
Posted on 06/23/2002 6:17:02 AM PDT by SJackson
Osama Bin-Laden's terror group Al-Qaeda issued a series of threats Sunday morning against the United States and Jews, proclaiming that Bin-Laden and the other leaders of the organization were alive and well.
The threatening message enunciated by Al-Qaeda spokeman Suleiman Abu-Gheith was the first major Al-Qaeda message in many weeks, specifically mentioning President George Bush and other key members of his Administration such as Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
"Sheikh Osama Bin-Laden is in good health, praise Allah," said the Al-Qaeda spokesman, "and so it is with Dr. Ayman Zawahri and Mullah Omar," he continued referring to the organization's three key leaders who were believed to have been wounded in the Tora Bora battles in Afghanistan.
Abu-Gheith promised that Al-Qaeda was getting ready for new attacks on the United States and on Jews around the world to protest America's "anti-Muslim tendency.,"
However, at least one intelligence source in Israel told The Media Line that the Bin-Laden group may be trying to harass the American security community into making erors of judgment that will reveal areas of weakness and readiness.
While there was no clear indication of the terror group's continued operational capabilities, the message was a strong sign that the terror group continued in its hatred from America and its desire at least to harass it on the eve of its Independence Day celebration.
The Al-Qaeda threats came in an apparently new, seven-minute long audio tape message delivered to Al-Jazeera Arab satellite television, and they included the following key points:
*--Bin-Laden and "98-per cent of the Al-Qaeda leadership" are alive and well and plotting to strike at America and the world's Jews at various points around the world;
*--Al-Qaeda took responsibility for an attack on an ancient synagogue and tourist site in Tunisia in which 17 people were murdered, including 11 German tourists;
*--And Bin-Laden and his organization were planning on initiating new terror attacks on the United States beyond the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks of last September in which more than 2,000 people were murdered.
"While the Palestinians bleed in their land, the Jews will scream in their city, as they saw in their synagogue in Djerba (the island community in Tunisia)," proclaimed Al-Qaeda spokesman Abu-Gheith.
He said America was fooling itself into believing that it had hurt Bin-Laden with the military strikes at his bases in Afghanistan.
"In fact, I can say that 98-percent of the Al-Qaeda organization are in completely good health," said the organization spokesman.
"Muslims around the world who struggle in Allah's path will soon see Sheikh Osama Bin-Laden again," Abu-Gheith said, adding "the war has only begun."
© 2002 Michael Widlanski
Michael Widlanski is senior analyst at The Media Line and lecturer at The Rothberg School of the Hebrew University. Fuller versions of this article and others are available at www.themedialine.org
1. Incite the 'enemies of Islam' wherever possible to strike out at Muslim countries. The attacks on India's government and military dependents almost succeeded in starting a regional nuclear war. A series of planned attacks in Europe against religious (Italian cathedrals, various synagogues) and political targets (U.S. embassies in Italy, France and the Netherlands, the U.K. parliament building, German targets during Christmas) which have been thankfully disrupted also follow this pattern. This includes the incessant suicide bombings in and around Israel and against the U.S. directly or its military (USS Cole, Singapore bombing plans and Morocco naval attack plans). One would think he would go after one target at a time, say only India, Israel or the U.S., but not all at once unless he needed a critical mass not found in regional conflicts.
2. Isolate Islamic countries from western influences or alliances. Examples include: the rape and terrorization of western aid workers in Afghanistan; abduction and murder of westerns in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan (Pearl, church attacks); the attack on western consulates at the expense of numerous Pakistani casualties; and the attack on French engineers working on Pakistani submarines which at first appears illogical unless one determines that the plan is to isolate the Pakistani government from western support of any kind. Without western help how can the existing Pakistani government survive except to turn to radical Islam? And when it does, radical Islam has the bomb.
3. Unify disparate Islamic countries against the attacking infidels. By chasing away western influences within Islam and by prodding non-Islamic nations to war, Islamic countries might be forced to overcome their differences in self-defense from the infidels; at least that seems to be the OBL's plan. How else would Iraq and Iran ever cooperate in assisting Al-Qaeda? Afghanistan is lost as a base of operations so he must move to other countries, weaving between Iran, Iraq, Syria and Saudi Arabia to accomplish his objectives. How else would the faithful servants of Allah unify and expand Islam?
The decline in tensions between India and Pakistan, the planned withdrawal of British and Canadian troops from Afghanistan, the seeming restraint of Israel against repeated terrorist provocations and the evident disruption of repeated terror attacks around the globe simply will not do for OBL. Its time for him to throw another log on the fire of religious hatred, lest the fire go out before he dies. The summer forecast may be unseasonably hot.
Its also typical Hyena strategy.
Indeed, this could well be the case and moreover explain the recently proclaimed/alleged Saudi interest in stopping terrorism...realizing their favorite son has been slain, they've lost their will and courage to continue in this so called "holy jihad."
It's true. They will. In Hell.
Also interesting is that they are claiming responsibility for the attack on the synagogue in Tunisia. That attack was done in a manner consistent with the types of warnings being issued by the FBI now - fuel tanker trucks crashing into synagogues.
It's just a flesh wound.......
Did anyone hear a U.S. politician say we "have dismantled al qaeda's ability to strike and plan attacks?"
And I'm living my life exactly as I've lived it for all the years God has granted me. One day at a time. Doing what I have to do. Going where I have to go. And that's the way it will always be until God calls me.
Apologies to Abu Gheith in that I don't feel the need to wring my hands with anxiety or go hide in my basement when I hear his proud threats. I'll leave this one in the good Lord's hands.
The religious superiority implicit in the blatherings of these people is so empty. "We good, holy people. You bad people. We go kill you."
Whatever.
Al-Qaeda took responsibility for an attack on an ancient synagogue and tourist site in Tunisia in which 17 people were murdered, including 11 German tourists.
You simply don't go out and threaten to carry out massive attacks on the United States, then try to give credence your threat by claiming responsibility for an attack that any third-rate thug with an IQ of 71 could have carried out. They would have been better off not even mentioning the attack in Tunisia.
They may have attacks ready for many cities, (truck bombs?) and figure at least a couple will come off.
Having Osama on TV is for the dumb ass muslim demographic.
Islam will never be able to coexist with the civilized world.
It is a sick and perveted heresy, and its adherents a danger to our way of life.
It must be destroyed before it destroys us.
That might be a tad crude. Israel knows who these people are. She knows where they are. She asks Arafat to arrest them, and he chuckles.
Justice administered along the lines of Israel's murdered Olympians would work.
I'd start with the guys vacationing in Cypress (?-don't know where they are). Don't have to throw them in the street, disappearing would work fine.
Everyone in Arafat's organization should be looking over their shoulder, every minute of their lives (short works).
They would have to get the trucks, fertilizer, oil and blasting caps.
Tim McVeigh made that very hard to come by and 911 made the money even harder to come by. Al Qaida made transfers into the US as needed for 911. They got the money for the tickets and travel just days before the attack. That means Al Qaida did not have large funds stashed here. If they bucks were here, they would not have risked transfering the funds. Transfering now is very hard.
Why did they train the Chicago Spanish Muslim and then send him back? I figure he was trained be the bag man for money. They won't be looking for a Hispanic tobe receiving Al Qaida money.. They reasoned. I would be he came back to the US trained in how to go from city to city with fake Ids to receive transfers of the money to do terrorist stuff. We picked him up, held him incognito while we collected all the money Al Qaida sent. Then and only then we went public with him so they would know their money was in our hands. We also have some nice ears into what they are doing. Bet the story on how we got on to him is false.
For all of their history, Al Qaida has worked on a very tight budget. They have not been able to get the money in it takes to do stuff... even truck bombs.
Truck rental guys might rent you a truck for cash or even sell them one, but bankers that deal in international money transfers are not going to transfer money with out US governement approval. Al Qaida may have some people here but they are now at the point where they have to work for a living.
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