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Purported al-Qaida Audiotape Taunts Bush
"... or I shall taunt you again!"Two audiotapes purportedly of Osama bin Ladenâs top lieutenant were broadcast on Arabic TV stations Tuesday, one taunting President Bush and threatening more attacks on the United States, the other criticizing Franceâs decision to ban Islamic headscarves in schools. The tapes, attributed to Ayman al-Zawahri, came as Pakistani forces backed by helicopters searched villages in a remote region between Pakistan and Afghanistan where bin Laden and Taliban suspects are believed hiding. Al-Zawahri, an Egyptian-born physician, is thought to be with bin Laden in the rugged mountains. Brave little big man taunting us so. A CIA spokesman said the agency conducted a technical analaysis on the tapes and determined that the voice was probably al-Zawahriâs. "Then again, it could be Squeaky Fromme. We canât tell." In the past, U.S. intelligence officials have noted that some tape releases have been preludes to attacks. The latest audiotapes aired a few hours apart on Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera networks. Officials at both stations said they broadcast only Special delivery from Mahmoud the Weasel! "There are rumors these days that the arrest of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri is nearing; (these tapes) are a response to that," said Mohammed Salah, an expert on radical Islamic groups and the Cairo bureau chief of the pan-Arab daily newspaper Al-Hayat. Diaa Rashwan, an expert on radical Islam for Egyptâs Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said issuing both tapes almost simultaneously "requires logistical ability ... and also a central decision." A tape recorder in the boonies and a runner to deliver them. What logistical might. In Al-Jazeeraâs tape, the voice believed to be al-Zawahri challenges Bushâs claim to have liberated Iraq and indicates al-Qaida - the group blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States - is still running operations from Afghanistan. "We remind Bush that the situation is not stable in Afghanistan, or else how do we wage, with Godâs support and might, our attacks on your troops and agents?" the tape said. "We remind Bush that he didnât destroy two-thirds of al-Qaida. On the contrary, thanks be to God, al-Qaida is still in the holy war battleground raising the banner of Islam." Can you raise it just a bit higher and to the right? Youâre blocking the screen on the GPS locator. Ah, thatâs better. "Bush, fortify your targets, tighten your defense, intensify your security measures," the tape recording warned, "because the fighting Islamic community - which sent you New York and Washington battalions - has decided to send you one battalion after the other, carrying death and seeking heaven." Yeah, sure, whatever. [yawn] Posted by: Steve White 2004-02-25 |
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