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Video links al-Qaeda to 7/7 bombings
Osama bin Laden's chief lieutenant praised the July 7 bombings in London in a videotape that also featured a statement from a man who closely resembled one of the bombers. The tape, broadcast on Al Jazeera, also said Al Qaeda would carry out more attacks.If proved authentic, the tape would either be evidence of a link between Al Qaeda and the bombings, or an attempt by the group to associate itself with the attacks after the fact. Officials in Britain and the United States said they were aware of the tape and were investigating it, but could not comment on its authenticity. The man resembling one of the British-born bombers, Mohammad Sidique Khan, read what Al Jazeera described as a testament, somewhat like those recorded by Palestinian suicide bombers for broadcast after an attack. Speaking in a Yorkshire accent, he praised "our beloved sheik, Osama bin Laden," and declared, "We are at war, and I am a soldier and now you too will taste the reality of this situation." The video included what appeared to be a section showing Ayman al-Zawahiri, the second in command of Al Qaeda, speaking of "the blessed London battle, which came as a slap to the face of the tyrannical, crusader British arrogance." "Like its glorious predecessors in New York, Washington, and Madrid, this blessed battle has transferred the battle to the enemies' land," Mr. Zawahiri said, speaking in Arabic. The two men did not appear together on the tape. It was not clear when the tape was recorded or why it took so long to be released. It was broadcast exactly eight weeks after the July 7 attack, in which 56 people died, including the four bombers. While Scotland Yard said investigators were aware of the tape, the office of Prime Minister Tony Blair declined to comment. An American intelligence official said the Central Intelligence Agency was aware of the tape, and a second official said counterterrorism officials were particularly interested in the statement made by the man resembling Mr. Khan. Mr. Blair has strenuously resisted the idea that the bombings were inspired by Muslim anger at his decision to commit British troops to the Iraq war alongside American forces. In the tape, Mr. Zawahiri referred specifically to the "inferno of Iraq," and said Mr. Blair was conducting a "crusader war against Islam." Up until now, investigators had leaned toward the theory that the two sets of bombers were local cells operating separately and without a common mastermind. One of the July 21 suspects has said he and others launched a copycat attack with no intention to cause harm. The deadly July 7 attack was much more carefully planned. British investigators have said the July 7 bombers apparently began to plan their attack in November 2004, when they bought the backpacks they later stuffed with homemade explosives and detonated on London's transportation system. The four men had earlier reported their passports lost, possibly to cover evidence of trips to Pakistan, British investigators have concluded, according to foreign police officials with knowledge of the inquiry. They spoke in return for anonymity. Immediately after the July 7 bombings, Sir Ian Blair, head of the Metropolitan Police, and Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, said the attacks bore "all the hallmarks" of Al Qaeda. But no firm link has been found, and until Thursday night, the only claims for responsibility had come from small groups on the Internet with unproved credibility. The video broadcast on Al Jazeera, the Arabic satellite network, was the first purporting to show one of the July 7 bombers offering his reasons for the attack. "I am going to keep this short and to the point because it's all been said before by far more eloquent people than me," said the man, whom the BBC said identified himself in the tape as Mr. Khan. "But our words have no impact upon you. Therefore I'm going to talk to you in a language that you understand. Our words are dead until we give them life with our blood. "I'm sure by now the media has painted a suitable picture of me. This predictable propaganda machine will naturally try to put a spin on it to suit the government and to scare the masses into conforming to their power and wealth-obsessed agendas." According to earlier accounts from people who knew the bombers, Mr. Khan seemed to have been the dominant force in the group. "I and thousands like me are forsaking everything for what we believe," the man said. "Our driving motivation doesn't come from tangible commodities that this world has to offer. "This is how our ethical stances are dictated: Your democratically elected governments continuously perpetuate atrocities against my people, and your support of them makes you directly responsible, just as I am directly responsible for protecting and avenging my Muslim brothers and sisters. "Until we feel security, you will be our target. Until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people, we will not stop this fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too will taste the reality of this situation," he said. Separately, Mr. Zawahiri called the London attacks "a sip from the glass that the Muslims have been drinking from." Apparently addressing Britons, Mr. Zawahiri said: "Blair not only disregards the millions of people in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he does not care about you, as he sends you to the inferno in Iraq and exposes you to death in your land because of his crusader war against Islam. "Oh, nations of the Christian alliance, we have warned you before. So taste some of what you have made us taste." "We will respond in kind to all those who took part in the aggression on Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine," Mr. Zawahiri said. "Just as they made rivers of blood flow in our countries, we will make volcanoes of anger erupt in their countries." His words fell short of an explicit claim of responsibility, but the evident ability of the Al Qaeda leadership to secure the video of the man who seemed to be Mr. Khan, a July 7 bomber, suggested at least that Al Qaeda wished to associate itself with the bombings. That last sentence looks to me to be grasping at straws. It was an al-Qaeda attack, probably ordered by Binny and Ayman. Get over it. Posted by: Dan Darling 2005-09-02 |
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