He's calling his followers to arms in the Sudan... Purported bin Laden tape links stoppage of Palestinian aid to anti-Islamic war http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-04-23-binladentape_x.htm?csp=24 CAIRO (AP) — Osama bin Laden issued ominous new threats in an audiotape broadcast Sunday, purportedly saying the West was at war with Islam and calling on his followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed U.N. force. In his first new message in three months, bin Laden said the West's decision to cut off funds to the Palestinians because their Hamas leaders refuse to recognize Israel proved that the United States and Europe were conducting "a Zionist crusader war on Islam." "The blockade which the West is imposing on the government of Hamas proves that there is a Zionist crusader war on Islam," said the speaker on the tape broadcast by the Al-Jazeera network. "I say that this war is the joint responsibility of the people and the governments. While the war continues, the people renew their allegiance to their rulers and politicians and continue to send their sons to our countries to fight us." The voice on the tape sounded strong and resembled that on previous recordings attributed to bin Laden. There was no way to independently verify the authenticity of the tape. "We are aware of the tape and a technical analysis of the recording is being conducted," a U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin said bin Laden had decided to attack Israel to deflect growing Arab animosity toward al-Qaeda. "When he attacks Israel, this is something the Arab world can agree upon," Gissin said. "He has been criticized for the destruction and carnage he's causing the Muslim nation. He's looking for another justification ... "Criticizing Israel sounds more politically correct." al-Qaeda is believed to have no direct links to Hamas, which is an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, but they share an anti-Israel ideology that calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Recent media reports in the Middle East have said al-Qaeda is building cells in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Sudan. Israel has indicted two West Bank militants for al-Qaeda membership and a Palestinian security official has acknowledged al-Qaeda is "organizing cells and gathering supporters," although Israeli officials say the inroads appear preliminary. A Hamas spokesman said the militant group's ideology is vastly different from al-Qaeda's but noted that international sanctions on the Palestinian government would naturally cause anger among some Muslims. "It's natural that this tension is going to create an impression that there is a Western-Israeli alliance working against the Palestinians," Sami Abu Zuhri said, adding that Hamas is interested in having good relations with the West. Bin Laden also addressed the conflict in Sudan, where he was based before being expelled under threats from the United States. He then moved to Afghanistan and is believed to be hiding out in the rugged mountains on the Pakistani side of their common border. In Washington, U.S. intelligence officials said bin Laden is separated from his top deputy and, in a sign he has to be careful about whom he trusts, surrounded by fellow Arabs. His No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, is hiding in a more settled area along the border, also surrounded by al-Qaeda operatives from Egypt, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. A three-year conflict between Darfur's rebels and the Arab-dominated central government has caused about 180,000 deaths — most from disease and hunger — and displaced 2 million people. The United Nations has described the conflict as the world's gravest humanitarian crisis. The United States has described it as genocide. Negotiators are trying to broker a peace deal between warring factions by an April 30 deadline. Members of the African Union have agreed in principle to hand over peacekeeping duties to the United Nations beginning Sept. 30. "I call on mujahedeen and their supporters, especially in Sudan and the Arab peninsula, to prepare for long war again the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan. Our goal is not defending the Khartoum government but to defend Islam, its land and its people," bin Laden purportedly said. "I urge holy warriors to be acquainted with the land and the tribes in Darfur." al-Qaeda has targeted Western forces in Africa before — including its attacks against U.S. troops trying to bring peace to Somalia in 1993. Al-Jazeera apparently had the tape long enough to make significant edits, with its news reader providing substantial transition and background comments between excerpts from bin Laden. It was the first purported new message from bin Laden since Jan. 19. In that audiotape, he warned that his fighters were preparing new attacks in the United States but offered the American people a "long-term truce" without specifying the conditions. That tape was posted in full on a website a month later and included a vow by the terrorist chieftain never to be captured alive. "I have sworn to only live free. Even if I find bitter the taste of death, I don't want to die humiliated or deceived," bin Laden said in that previous 11-minute, 26-second tape. In the message broadcast Sunday, bin Laden also called for a global Muslim boycott of American goods similar to the recent boycott of Danish products after the publication there of caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed. He also said the artists who drew those offending cartoons should be handed over to him for trial and punishment. The Al-Jazeera news reader said bin Laden, in a portion of the tape not aired by the Qatar-based broadcaster, scoffed at Saudi King Abdullah for his calls for a "dialogue among civilizations" and blasted liberal-minded Arab writers for taking part in the Western cultural invasion of Muslim lands. Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.
The prophet Bin Laden has spoken. He, who pretends to speak for all Muslims and is leader of the jihad against the West. He's not biased in the least. He's just calling it like it is. Each and every poster in this forum is responsible. He's targeting this BBS. He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans! Yeah...right!
His death would do the world a great favor. I am not a person who would be inclined to shoot anyone, but with him I would pull the trigger repeatedly. DD
And, just think....Dubya went after him with 11,000 troops...two months after 9/11. Meanwhile, we have over ten times that number in Iraq. Go figure.
And where did the tape air? Could it be Al Qaida TV? Oh, sorry, I'm not supposed to call it that because a movie says it's not Al Qaida TV.
Call it whatever you want, but don't freak when you hear people call Fox News the "White House public relations department" either.
And why not? The Bush family and the Bin Laden family have been doing business with each other since the 1970s. That is what is driving American foreign policy at the moment, and that is what will continue to drive it for as long as Dubya is in office.
Hum, and CBS gave us Mary Mapes/Dan Rather/Robin Rather. ABC has George Steponallovus, CNN had Eason Jordan playing footsy with Saddam. The NYT and WaPo publish classified info from a CIA babe who gave money to Kerry. So, hang on to the anti-Fox News bias if you want.
So you think its OK then for Fox to be biased too? As far as Al Jazeera airing the tape do you think that if any other non-government run news service in the World got the tape they wouldn't have aired it?
gwayneco, Fox News is a joke, and a propaganda arm of the Bush Administration. Yes, CBS embarrassed itself over what should a been a blip on the Nation's radar screen, and Dan Rather paid for that with his job. How often have you seen Fox news anchors and taking heads get fired for reporting false, patently false information as truth? Unlike Rather, who thought he had a legit story, and came out with it too quickly, before it had been properly vetted, Fox knowingly cranks out distorted and blatantly false information all the time, and when called out for it, reacts the same way texxx does, by changing the subject, ignoring being called out for doing it, or promoting those who are best at spewing their BS. (well, I guess texxx can only promote himself, to be fair) And what in god's name does Robin Rather have to do with anything?? Keep D&D Civil.
I didn't say Fox was biased. I suppose that they are biased in so far as they don't share the drive-by media's left-wing assumptions. Did these people work for Fox? Mary Mapes Dan Rather Jayson Blair Eason Jordan Janet Cooke Eric Slater Michael Hiltzik Jack Kelley
Welcome to "toss out every cliche about the liberal media I've ever heard" by gwayneco, Junior Underdeputy of Basketball BBS affairs, Greater Houston Federalist Society.
But your response to the claim that Fox is biased was to argue that other news sources are rather than to make an argument that Fox isn't biased. Therefore your argument is that other news sources are biased so its OK that Fox is. If your argument was to say that Fox isn't biased you should have argued it along those lines.
My argument was simply to point the hypocrisy of labelling Fox as biased without conceding that Fox was biased. I have no interest in defending Fox from the charges, I just find it amusing when there are so many examples of bias and incompetence to be found in other news sources.
