| Submit your comments on this article |
| Africa Horn |
| The Bin Laden Tape |
| 2006-04-25 |
| Osama Bin Laden is not merely intent on killing Westerners. He is also happy to exploit mass civilian casualties in Muslim countries. His latest audiotape message rails against the prospect of a Western-backed peacekeeping force in the Sudanese territory of Darfur, where tens of thousands of Muslim villagers have been killed and hundreds of mosques have been desecrated. In the absence of a robust outside force, this mayhem has lasted for three years and has recently spread across the border into Chad; the point of a peacekeeping deployment, combining African troops with more mobile and sophisticated forces from NATO member states, would be to stop it. But al Qaeda's leader doesn't care that thousands of Muslim lives are at stake. He denounces the alleged U.S. plan "to send crusader troops to occupy the region and steal its oil" under the guise of preserving security. Osama bin Laden advances the novel theory that the United States fomented the violence in Darfur, having earlier sponsored Sudan's secessionist southern rebellion. The truth is that the Bush administration played a decisive role in brokering a north-south peace, thereby saving countless lives, while the Darfur conflict was begun by two obscure rebel groups with no American connections. Indeed, if there is an invisible hand behind the rebellion, it is that of Hassan al-Turabi, the former speaker of Sudan's parliament. Far from being an American stooge, Mr. Turabi is a radical Islamic cleric who has often referred to Osama bin Laden as a hero. The al Qaeda leader's delusional theories create a test for mainstream Arab governments. Until now, they, too, have resisted the idea of a Western-backed deployment in Darfur, pandering to their citizens' resentment of occupying armies while offering no alternative for saving lives there. Now that this cynical policy has been embraced by Osama bin Laden, might these governments be shamed into rethinking it? Or are they content to sound the same as a terrorist? |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #2 test |
| Posted by: Tharong Flemp8427 2006-04-25 18:15 |
| #1 His latest audiotape message rails against the prospect of a Western-backed peacekeeping force in the Sudanese territory of Darfur, where tens of thousands of Muslim villagers have been killed and hundreds of mosques have been desecrated. For once, I agree with Senor Pigsh*t. Arm and train the non-muslims. F* the rest. |
| Posted by: BH 2006-04-25 10:20 |