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| Terror Networks & Islam |
| Ayman rants, raves, and claims the London bombings ... again |
| 2005-09-20 |
| Al Qaeda carried out the July suicide bombings in London to strike at "British arrogance," the group's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video tape aired on Arab satellite channel Al Jazeera on Monday. "The London attack is one of the attacks that al Qaeda ... had the honour of carrying out against ... British arrogance, the aggression of the crusader British against the Muslim nation for over a hundred years," Zawahri said. He denounced Britain for "the historical crime of setting up Israel and the continuing crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. "These and other attacks have revealed the true hypocritical face of Western civilisation that talks about human rights and freedom only as long as it is in its interest," he said, citing the planned toughening of British security laws after the London blasts. A U.S. counterterrorism official said the tape was "al Qaeda's clearest public statement to date suggesting that they were responsible (for the London attack). But that in and of itself does not prove that al Qaeda planned or directed the attack. They're quite happy to take responsibility for any terrorist attack." The U.S. official, who said the tape was still being reviewed by intelligence officials, said it was "still unclear what the nature and extent of their involvement (in London) was." Oh, please ... Zawahri denounced elections in Afghanistan, saying they were not free and were carried out under U.S. occupation. "These elections are a farce more than anything else," he said. I find this interesting because it means he knew the Afghan elections were a success even though they just happened yesterday, which implies that he threw together a tape and had it smuggled to Qatar in a little more than 24 hours. I think that this goes along way towards affirming the position that he and Binny, wherever they are, certainly aren't living in a cage. He insisted the Taliban were still powerful and said U.S. forces had to "hide" in their bases. Al Jazeera said the tape was prepared by al Qaeda's media group al-Sahab, which distributes Islamic militant videos on the Internet, to mark the fourth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. The video, excerpts of which were aired by TV network, had English subtitles and showed Zawahri apparently talking to an off-camera interviewer. The U.S. counterterrorism official said the subtitles, along with the use of English speakers in past tapes, were a sign al Qaeda leaders wanted their messages to resonate better in the West and to get "better play" in the Western media. "They are quite savvy on the propaganda front," he said. In the latest tape, Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, also denounced reforms in the Muslim world promoted by the United States, saying Washington would not tolerate independent Islamic governments. "The Americans will not allow any Islamic system to come to power even in the heart of the Muslim world unless it collaborates with them," said Zawahri, who wore a black turban and a white robe. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #4 "The Americans will not allow any Islamic system to come to power even in the heart of the Muslim world unless it collaborates with them," said Zawahri If by "Islamic" Dr. Z means "committed to the violent overthrow of the United States and the utter destruction of all who share its values", well then he's on to something. Shockingly, the US refuses to cooperate in its own annihilation. From the Z-man's point of view, this is a grave injustice. |
| Posted by: Baba Tutu 2005-09-20 21:13 |
| #3 I'd bet Bin Laden is back in Saudi Arabia or some other remote desert region, probably fomenting the building mess on the Gaza/Egyptian border. That, Danielle, is a horrifying thought. |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2005-09-20 20:04 |
| #2 "The Americans will not allow any Islamic system to come to power even in the heart of the Muslim world unless it collaborates with them," said Zawahri, who wore a black turban and a white robe. He doesn't understand a government "of the people, by the people, for the people", as his worst nightmare is a free and fair election. No one would willingly choose enslavement to such cruel self-appointed dictators. By the way, what does 'al-Sahab' mean? The Iranian Shahab missile means 'star', but that would be Persian, not Arabic, right? No one but US intelligence seems to think Zawahiri and Bin Laden are in the Afghan-Pakistan border region anymore, but maybe Zawahiri is no longer in Iran. I think they separated some time ago, but they could either surmise the outcome of the election or delay for two months before releasing them to confuse everyone. I'd bet Bin Laden is back in Saudi Arabia or some other remote desert region, probably fomenting the building mess on the Gaza/Egyptian border. |
| Posted by: Danielle 2005-09-20 11:02 |
| #1 He could hae been condeming the elections in advance. And how hyprocritical for him to complain that the elections were unfair when his ideology holds that all elections are unIslamic anyway. |
| Posted by: Paul Moloney 2005-09-20 01:14 |