Bin Laden Promises more attacks in the U.S.

A videotape purporting to show al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden aired Wednesday on the Arabic-language news channel Al-Jazeera. The videotape was accompanied by an audiotape in which the voice of a man claiming to be bin Laden’s top deputy promised new attacks in the United States and denounced the U.S.-backed Middle East peace process as a “road map to hell.”

THE VIDEOTAPE showed bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, walking down a mountainside in Afghan-style robes. As with numerous previous messages purportedly released by bin Laden, there was no way to immediately judge its authenticity.
The videotape was produced by an Arabic production company and carried lettering identifying it as “the most modern images” of bin Laden and Zawahiri.
Al-Jazeera also called it a new videotape, but it was not clear whether the station meant the tape itself was newly shot or had simply been recently received. An al-Jazeera analyst who has interviewed bin Laden in person said later that it appeared to be stock footage with a new audio track.
U.S. officials told NBC News on condition of anonymity that U.S. authorities were examining the tape and had reached no firm conclusions on when it was produced. However, they agreed that it appeared that the audio had been laid on top of what could be old video.
Regardless, a senior U.S. official said, “wherever bin Laden was on that tape, you can be sure he isn’t there now. He might think we can recognize that rock and move in.”
It appeared to be the first video image of bin Laden since he was shown at a dinner with associates on Nov. 9, 2001, in Afghanistan. That tape was made public a month later.
Bin Laden was last heard from on April 7, exhorting Muslims in a tape obtained by The Associated Press to rise up against Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other governments that he claimed were “agents of America.”
That audiotape, which CIA analysts said appeared to be authentic, made a vague reference to the Iraq conflict, although it was not specific enough to determine whether it had been recorded before or after the Iraqi war began on March 20.
Advertisement

PRAISE FOR 9/11 HIJACKERS
Al-Jazeera reported that the latest package was produced in late April or early May. It did not say whether it knew why the tapes were not delivered until now, but Wednesday was the eve of the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, which were widely blamed on al-Qaida.
On the audiotape, a man purporting to be bin Laden spoke briefly, praising the 19 men who flew hijacked jetliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon two years ago in terms closely similar to statements bin Laden has purportedly made in numerous earlier statements.
The speaker mentioned five of the Sept. 11 hijackers by name.
“I am honored to have known those men,” he said. “Saeed Alghamdi and his brothers have proven their true faith by sacrificing themselves and their heads for the sake of Allah ... causing the infidels great wrath, which will continue for a long time, Allah willing, when they moved to practical implementation and radical solutions in support of the religion.”
He praised the attackers as true believers who should become an ideal for other believers.
“Whoever wanted to learn loyalty and courage in support of the religion should learn from Alghamdi, Mohammed Atta, Khalid al-Mihdhar, Ziad Jarrah, Marwan Al-Shehhi and others,” he said, saying they had learned from “the path of our prophet, Muhammad.”
But much of the roughly hour-long audiotape was taken up by a statement in which the man claiming to be Zawahiri denounced the Middle East peace process.

MORE ATTACKS PROMISED
President Bush did not directly refer to the tape in an address Wednesday at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va. However, he warned that al-Qaida “still plots against our people” and promised that it would be hunted down and defeated.
Other U.S. officials dismissed the message as predictable rhetoric, telling NBC News that bin Laden appeared to be trying to take advantage of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks to rally his troops.
Wednesday was also, however, the same day that Israel bombed the home of a political leader of the Islamist militant group Hamas in response to Hamas suicide bombings that killed 15 Israelis on Tuesday.
According to a translation of the excerpts by MSNBC television, the man claiming to be Zawahiri called on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories “not to be be deceived by America.”
“Do not abandon your weapon,” he said. “Do not ally yourself with those who ally with and recognize Israel.”
“Victory is an hour away,” he added.
But, like the man claiming to be bin Laden, the second speaker also noted the anniversary of the U.S. attacks two years ago and promised more strikes.
“On the second anniversary of the raids on New York and Washington, we challenge America and its crusade, which is teetering from its wounds in Afghanistan and Iraq,” the man said. “We tell them that we do not seek to kill, but we will chop off the hand that seeks to inflict harm on us, God willing.
“... We assert that what you saw until now are only the first skirmishes. ... The true epic has not begun. Brace yourselves for the punishment for your crimes.”

[Adam D]

Really? You mean all those assertions that terrorism would rise (as it has) after the US invaded Iraq are true?


WOW.

[bfp]

a pathological liar on a spending spree. we are hunting him down. there is an average of a "cell" a day broken up here in the united states and other countries. coming from the justice department. but the media doesnt talk about that. 2/3 of top al qaeda figures have been killed and caught. we will eventually catch him or kill him. and it will also be a huge blow to their morale.

[bfp]

Originally posted by WarLord
Which is why Newsweek knows exactly where he is at and be able to have a correspondant in the area.....

yea, they know his exact location.

im sure washington knows the area he travels, but only a few know where he will reside for the next day or so.

[Adam D]

Obviously Newsweek knew a lot better than Washington did.

Originally posted by bfp
we are hunting him down. there is an average of a "cell" a day broken up here in the united states and other countries. coming from the justice department. but the media doesnt talk about that. 2/3 of top al qaeda figures have been killed and caught. we will eventually catch him or kill him. and it will also be a huge blow to their morale.

yeah well, i seem to remember a post that quoted the state department and the military saying that he isint a priority.
and how is breaking up a cell a day helping to catch him?
you can hack off the tail of a lizard all day long, but as long as hes still alive the tail will grow.
hes still alive and preaching. and as long as hes still around there will be more cells to replace the ones lost.

its like killing one VC and leaving Ho Chi Minh sitting in Hanoi preaching away gaining more followers everyday.

[KING SIZE]

i would enjoy nothing more than to slit his throat and piss down his neck.. and have the video tape sent to al jazeera. i can only hope that if someone is lucky enough to catch him that they torcher him thorougly.

[KING SIZE]

that actually almost seems more amusing.. hopefully at the moment one of his own is about to take him out he will realize at least to himself how full of shit his whole life has been.

[KING SIZE]

also i hope they have their al jazeera cam out during the battle of his body guards vs. special forces.