The Irish Times - Monday, January 25, 2010
Bin Laden threatens more attacks
DUBAI – Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed December 25th bombing of a US-bound jet in an audiotape aired yesterday, and vowed to continue such attacks.
In his message, addressed “from Osama to Obama”, bin Laden said the attempt to blow up the jet as it neared Detroit was a continuation of al-Qaeda policy since 9/11.
White House adviser David Axelrod said he could not confirm the authenticity of the tape, which was broadcast by Al Jazeera television before international meetings this week on how to deal with militancy in Afghanistan and Yemen.
But Abdelbari Atwan, the editor of Al-Quds-Al-Arabi newspaper who met the al-Qaeda leader in 1996, said: “It is bin Laden’s voice and style. The poetry, the references he makes are identifiably his.” Bin Laden praised the Nigerian charged with trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253.
“The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of September 11,” he said. “If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words, we wouldn’t have carried them to you by planes.”
The botched attack by the Yemen-based regional wing of al-Qaeda on Christmas Day, and subsequent threats in Yemen, raised global pressure for a crackdown, helping to prompt the government to declare open war on the militant group in its territory.
Defence and counterterrorism officials say Washington has been quietly supplying military equipment, intelligence and training to Yemen to destroy suspected al-Qaeda hideouts.
Since the attempted bombing, Yemen has launched a series of air strikes targeting al-Qaeda leaders and has declared that some top regional leaders, including Qasim al-Raymi and Ayed al-Shabwani, have been killed.Al-Qaeda denies the claims. Yemen also attacked the rural home of Shabwani, but gave no hint on the result.
On yesterday’s tape, bin Laden cited Washington’s support for Israel as a motivator for more attacks on the United States, and vowed to continue as long as Palestinians cannot live in peace. “Our attacks against you will continue as long as US support for Israel continues,” bin Laden said. “It is not fair that Americans should live in peace as long as our brothers in Gaza live in the worst conditions.”
Mr Axelrod attacked bin Laden on CNN TV. “Assuming that it is him, his message contains the same hollow justifications for the mass slaughter of innocents that we’ve heard before,” he said.
Libyan analyst and former bin Laden associate Noman Benotman said the tape was intended to send a message to Arabs. “It’s a very smart ‘back to basics’ message, reminding his audience it is all about Israel and America. His main audience is the Arab world, where al-Qaeda has lost substantial moral support,” Mr Benotman said. – (Reuters)
Timeline: Bin Laden messages
More than 60 messages have been broadcast by Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahri, and their allies since the September 11th attacks in 2001. The following is a timeline of major statements attributed to bin Laden since 2007.
September 7th, 2007 - Bin Laden appears in his first videotape for nearly three years, to mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks . In a message to the American people, he says the US is vulnerable despite its economic and military power.
November 29th, 2007 - Bin Laden urges European countries in an audiotape to end their alliance with US forces in Afghanistan.
March 19th, 2008 - In an audio recording, bin Laden threatens the EU with grave punishment over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
March 20th, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to keep up the struggle against US forces in Iraq as a path to "liberating Palestine".
May 16th, 2008 - Bin Laden, in an audiotape addressed to "western peoples", calls for the fight against Israel to continue and says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the heart of the Muslim battle with the West.
May 18th, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to break the Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and fight Arab governments that deal with the Jewish state, in an audiotape posted on the internet.
January 14th, 2009 - Bin Laden, in an audiotape, calls for a new jihad over Gaza and says the global financial crisis has exposed waning US influence in world affairs.
March 14th, 2009 - Bin Laden accuses moderate Arab leaders of plotting with the West against Muslims, in an audio recording aired by al-Jazeera television.
June 3rd, 2009 - Bin Laden says in an audio message that US president Barack Obama has planted the seeds of "revenge and hatred towards America" in the Muslim world and warned Americans to prepare for the consequences.
September 14th, 2009 - Bin Laden warns Americans over their government's close ties to Israel, saying it was time for them to free themselves from the grip of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby.
September 25th, 2009 - Bin Laden demands that European nations withdraw their troops from Afghanistan in audio tape, saying they were sacrificing men and money in an unjust US-led war. The tape, released on the internet with a background picture of bin Laden, had German and English subtitles and was released days before a German federal election.
November 6th, 2009 - A videotape of bin Laden is the Pashto-language version of a tape released months earlier, says IntelCenter, a US-based terrorism monitoring firm.
January 24th, 2010 - A purported audio tape of bin Laden is aired on al-Jazeera and claims responsibility for the attempted bombing of a US-bound plane last Christmas Day. "The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of September 11th," it says. - (Reuters)
Bin Laden threatens more attacks
DUBAI – Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed December 25th bombing of a US-bound jet in an audiotape aired yesterday, and vowed to continue such attacks.
In his message, addressed “from Osama to Obama”, bin Laden said the attempt to blow up the jet as it neared Detroit was a continuation of al-Qaeda policy since 9/11.
White House adviser David Axelrod said he could not confirm the authenticity of the tape, which was broadcast by Al Jazeera television before international meetings this week on how to deal with militancy in Afghanistan and Yemen.
But Abdelbari Atwan, the editor of Al-Quds-Al-Arabi newspaper who met the al-Qaeda leader in 1996, said: “It is bin Laden’s voice and style. The poetry, the references he makes are identifiably his.” Bin Laden praised the Nigerian charged with trying to blow up Northwest Flight 253.
“The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of September 11,” he said. “If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words, we wouldn’t have carried them to you by planes.”
The botched attack by the Yemen-based regional wing of al-Qaeda on Christmas Day, and subsequent threats in Yemen, raised global pressure for a crackdown, helping to prompt the government to declare open war on the militant group in its territory.
Defence and counterterrorism officials say Washington has been quietly supplying military equipment, intelligence and training to Yemen to destroy suspected al-Qaeda hideouts.
Since the attempted bombing, Yemen has launched a series of air strikes targeting al-Qaeda leaders and has declared that some top regional leaders, including Qasim al-Raymi and Ayed al-Shabwani, have been killed.Al-Qaeda denies the claims. Yemen also attacked the rural home of Shabwani, but gave no hint on the result.
On yesterday’s tape, bin Laden cited Washington’s support for Israel as a motivator for more attacks on the United States, and vowed to continue as long as Palestinians cannot live in peace. “Our attacks against you will continue as long as US support for Israel continues,” bin Laden said. “It is not fair that Americans should live in peace as long as our brothers in Gaza live in the worst conditions.”
Mr Axelrod attacked bin Laden on CNN TV. “Assuming that it is him, his message contains the same hollow justifications for the mass slaughter of innocents that we’ve heard before,” he said.
Libyan analyst and former bin Laden associate Noman Benotman said the tape was intended to send a message to Arabs. “It’s a very smart ‘back to basics’ message, reminding his audience it is all about Israel and America. His main audience is the Arab world, where al-Qaeda has lost substantial moral support,” Mr Benotman said. – (Reuters)
Timeline: Bin Laden messages
More than 60 messages have been broadcast by Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's number two Ayman al-Zawahri, and their allies since the September 11th attacks in 2001. The following is a timeline of major statements attributed to bin Laden since 2007.
September 7th, 2007 - Bin Laden appears in his first videotape for nearly three years, to mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks . In a message to the American people, he says the US is vulnerable despite its economic and military power.
November 29th, 2007 - Bin Laden urges European countries in an audiotape to end their alliance with US forces in Afghanistan.
March 19th, 2008 - In an audio recording, bin Laden threatens the EU with grave punishment over cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
March 20th, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to keep up the struggle against US forces in Iraq as a path to "liberating Palestine".
May 16th, 2008 - Bin Laden, in an audiotape addressed to "western peoples", calls for the fight against Israel to continue and says the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the heart of the Muslim battle with the West.
May 18th, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to break the Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and fight Arab governments that deal with the Jewish state, in an audiotape posted on the internet.
January 14th, 2009 - Bin Laden, in an audiotape, calls for a new jihad over Gaza and says the global financial crisis has exposed waning US influence in world affairs.
March 14th, 2009 - Bin Laden accuses moderate Arab leaders of plotting with the West against Muslims, in an audio recording aired by al-Jazeera television.
June 3rd, 2009 - Bin Laden says in an audio message that US president Barack Obama has planted the seeds of "revenge and hatred towards America" in the Muslim world and warned Americans to prepare for the consequences.
September 14th, 2009 - Bin Laden warns Americans over their government's close ties to Israel, saying it was time for them to free themselves from the grip of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby.
September 25th, 2009 - Bin Laden demands that European nations withdraw their troops from Afghanistan in audio tape, saying they were sacrificing men and money in an unjust US-led war. The tape, released on the internet with a background picture of bin Laden, had German and English subtitles and was released days before a German federal election.
November 6th, 2009 - A videotape of bin Laden is the Pashto-language version of a tape released months earlier, says IntelCenter, a US-based terrorism monitoring firm.
January 24th, 2010 - A purported audio tape of bin Laden is aired on al-Jazeera and claims responsibility for the attempted bombing of a US-bound plane last Christmas Day. "The message sent to you with the attempt by the hero Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is a confirmation of our previous message conveyed by the heroes of September 11th," it says. - (Reuters)