Posted on 11/16/2002 7:15:48 PM PST by Michael2001
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - A statement attributed to al-Qaida threatened more attacks in New York and Washington unless America stops supporting Israel and converts to Islam, an Arab TV reporter who received the unsigned document said Saturday.
Yosri Fouda, correspondent for the satellite station Al-Jazeera, told The Associated Press he received the six-page document on Wednesday. That was a day after the TV station broadcast an audiotape purportedly made by Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).
Fouda, who is known for good contacts within al-Qaida, would only say that the statement came from his sources with the group. But he insisted he was certain it came from the terrorist movement's leadership.
Fouda, speaking by telephone from London, said the statement called on Americans to stop supporting Israel and other governments that "oppress" Muslims or face more attacks. The statement also called on Americans to convert to Islam, he said.
Fouda quoted the statement as saying: "Stop your support for Israel against the Palestinians, for Russians against the Chechens ... for corrupt leaders in our countries ... (and) leave us alone or expect us in Washington and New York."
He added the statement demanded U.S. troops leave the Arabian Peninsula, and justified the killings of American civilians because they pay taxes that finance military operations.
There was no immediate reaction from Washington. No officials were available for comment at the Pentagon (news - web sites) or the National Security Council Saturday afternoon. A report on the statement as described by Fouda was carried in The Sunday Times of London.
Fouda is a prominent Arab television journalist who has broken several important stories about al-Qaida. In September, Al-Jazeera broadcast Fouda's interviews with two top al-Qaida operatives hiding in Pakistan, Ramzi Binalshibh and Khaled Sheik Mohammed.
Binalshibh was arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, shortly after the broadcast and was transferred to U.S. custody.
Fouda said the statement also referred to the crisis between the United States and Iraq as one more reason to attack Americans.
"You are placing Muslims under siege in Iraq, where children die every day. Oh, how weird that you don't care for 1.5 million Iraqi children who died under siege, but when 3,000 of your compatriots died, the whole world was shaken," Fouda quoted the statement as saying.
Meanwhile, a militant Islamic Web site that carries news about al-Qaida has dismissed as lies a report that a senior member of the terror group is in U.S. custody.
U.S. officials in Washington said Friday that one of the leaders of al-Qaida had been detained in a foreign country and handed over to U.S. authorities.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to identify the detainee, but said he was not al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, his chief depity, his son or the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The site scoffed at the U.S. officials' refusal to name the detainee. "Maybe they fear to announce a certain name, and al-Qaida would issue a denial so their (the U.S.) situation would become worse," it said.
I agree with you, if we have one more attack, our government better realize, that there will be vigilante groups in America taking on every muslim they can find. I hope our leaders are aware of this & act soon!
I agree. They have probably "what if'ed" this thing to death. When the action begins in Iraq, keep your eye on the things off-camera in places like Somalia, Yemen and etc. that will get little notice. There is more than one noose that is being tightened. ...and I can't think of another bunch of guys I would want 'running things.'
Now I don't know for sure, and If I did I couldn't tell you or I'd have to shoot you afterwards. However I am an electrical/electronics engineer with some experience in RF propagation and such. If your intercept sites are reasonably close to the source, you can triangulate. But if they are in orbit or in the case of high frequency (like CB) very far away, the inaccuracies in bearing measurements will tell you that they are somewhere in general region of say Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Hardly enough to send in troops, or even a Predator drone. Sometimes you might get luckey and get a much better fix, most of the time you won't have anything better than plus or minus a few hundred miles, in two directions. If you have access to an HF radio with a good antenna, say a dipole or verticle on your roof, or at least a long wire in your attic, tune around a bit and see how much stuff you can hear. Then see if you can tell where it's coming from. Even if you used the higher bands, say 10 Meter/15 MHz, and had a really big beam, you'd still only know within a few degrees of bearing where the signal was coming from. Now have a friend a few hundred miles away to the same thing. Now you can figure out about where the signal is coming from, but you region of uncertainty will be pretty darn big.
They are calculated, smart, and a worthy rival. They are so calculated and smart that every Islamic nation is a despotic hell hole. They are so worthy, they always run from soldiers, and specialize in blowing up pizza parlors and discos full of unarmed kids.
Do not dismiss them.
We won't. We are going to wipe the pestilence from the earth.
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