| Submit your comments on this article |
| Terror Networks |
| Bin Laden and Mullah Omar ’still alive’ |
| 2003-08-18 |
| Osama bin Laden, leader of terror network al-Qaida, is still alive according to an audio tape purportedly recorded by a spokesman for the group and broadcast today on an Arab television network. The message, which also claimed that Taliban chief and key Bin Laden ally Mullah Omar is alive, was broadcast on al-Arabiya television. Not a video of Binny, not a bad audio tape, not a letter or a fax, but a audio tape from a "spokesman". The channel attributed the recording to Afghan-based al-Qaida official Abdel Rahman al-Najdi, who it said was on a US list of wanted al-Qaida members. So that makes him a reliable source. "I would like to bring the good tidings to Muslims everywhere that Sheikh Osama bin Laden is well, very well and that Mullah Omar is also alive," the voice on the recording said. "I can’t prove it, but trust me, I know he is." The tape also urged Muslims to continue their resistance against US troops in Iraq, saying: "The Americans are begging the world to stand by their side in Iraq. Asking yes, begging no. "I would also like to congratulate our brothers in Iraq for their valiant struggle against the occupation, which we support and urge them to continue," it added. "We’ll fight to the last Iraqi!" "To our brothers in struggle in Iraq: the whole world has witnessed the collapse of the regime in Iraq and your steadfastness and victory against the invading US and British troops. They came to invade and no one could stop them occupying Iraq. But when the young men of jihad [holy war] started fighting in the name of God and the killing began day and night, they began looking for someone to help them and stand by their side." "Keep fighting, we’ll be there,,soon. Trust me." "The group of believers carrying jihad in the name of God planted fear and terror in the hearts of the Americans, who have violated all international laws and human conventions," the speaker added. Are we sure this isn’t a French press release? Reuters news agency, which monitored the broadcast in Dubai, said it could not verify the authenticity of the tape or the identity of the speaker. Being Reuters, that didn’t stop them from promoting it. Unlike Kuwaiti-born spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith and other members of the militant network blamed for the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, Abdel Rahman al-Najdi has not previously been identified as an al-Qaida member. New spokesman? Old guy retired, or just on vacation? Saudi-born Bin Laden and Mullah Omar have been at large since the US-led war in Afghanistan. Bin Laden and his deputies recorded several video messages in 2001. An audio tape allegedly made by the al-Qaida leader was broadcast on an Islamist website in February 2003. It has been a long time since the last fake Binny tape. Guess their Osama impersonator found a better job. |
| Posted by:Steve |
| #4 BH -- I think you meant to say "hosted" instead of "held". |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-8-18 4:29:49 PM |
| #3 It would be super if we could have a picture of Binny holding up a Dawn from yesterday, wouldn't it? Don't hold your breath. |
| Posted by: Brian 2003-8-18 1:52:57 PM |
| #2 "Reuters news agency, which monitored the broadcast in Dubai, said it could not verify the authenticity of the tape or the identity of the speaker." Broadcast the |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-8-18 11:33:58 AM |
| #1 The old guy (Ghaith) is being held by Iran, if I'm not mistaken. |
| Posted by: BH 2003-8-18 10:52:49 AM |