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Al Qaeda demands US to end air strikes in Afghanistan,Pakistan,Somalia
(Sh.M.Network) Elderly US development worker Warren Weinstein has appeared in an al-Qaeda video for the first time since he was kidnapped in Pakistain just days before he meant to return home last August.

The two minute, 40 second video was posted on jihadist forums by al-Qaeda's media arm as-Sahab on Sunday, according to the US monitoring service SITE. There is no sign of when the video was made and Weinstein appears alone before the camera.

Dressed in a traditional Pak tunic and speaking impassively in English, he urges US President Barack Obama
Because I won...
to respond to his kidnappers' demands.

He also tells his wife Elaine that "I'm fine, I'm well, I'm getting all my medications, I'm being taken care of".

There was no response from the US embassy inIslamabad. Pak security officials said they were not immediately aware of the video but believe Weinstein is being held by al-Qaeda and local Taliban near the Afghan border.

Weinstein, 70, suffers from asthma, heart problems and high blood pressure.

"If you accept the demands, I live; if you don't accept the demands, then I die," he told Obama in the video, sitting behind a table with books and food on it.

He also appealed to Obama as a father. If the president responds to the jihad boys' demands, Weinstein said, "then I will live and hopefully rejoin my family and also enjoy my children, my two daughters, like you enjoy your two daughters."

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
 in December claimed that the group was holding Weinstein, but at the time provided no proof.

Zawahiri demanded that Washingtonend air strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistain, Somalia and Yemen, and release the 1993 World Trade Centre bombers along with relatives of the late Osama bin Laden.
... who has made the transition back to dust...
Pakistain last month deported bin Laden's widows and children toSoddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in their national face...
, a year after they were tossed in the slammer
Please don't kill me!
 following the US commando operation that found and killed the al-Qaeda founder in Abbottabad.
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
... sometimes described as The Heroine of Tuzla and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another William Jennings Bryan ...
 said Monday that theUSbelieves Zawahiri is inPakistain, vowing to keep up pressure onIslamabadto crack down on Islamist forces of Evil during a visit to the country's arch-rivalIndia.

Weinstein was snatched after gunnies tricked their way into his Lahore home on August 13, shortly before he was due to return home after seven years in Pakistain.

He was country director for US-based consultancy J.E. Austin Associates, which does contracting work with theUSgovernment's development agency, USAID.

Security officials believe Weinstein is being held inPakistain's lawless northwestern tribal belt, probably close toNorth Wazoo, which is the focus of US drone strikes targeting al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Informants have suggested he is moved regularly to avoid detection.

"He is with al-Qaeda and local Taliban, but we are unaware about his exact location," one Pak official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

A Pak working for J.E Austin told AFP that the company had not received any demands for Weinstein's release, nor for a ransom.

"We came to know that Weinstein is with al-Qaeda through the media. You see their demands are of state level and we are not in a position to fulfil these," he told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Weinstein's kidnapping started a wave of abductions of foreign aid workers.

On April 29, British aid worker Khalil Dale was found beheaded in the southwestern city ofQuetta, with a note from his captors saying he had been killed because their demands were not met.

He was snatched on Jan 5. A German aid worker and his Italian colleague remain in captivity. A Kenyan aid worker kidnapped in January was released around three months later, a Kenyan diplomat told AFP, giving no further details.

A Swiss couple snatched in July last year were held for nine months before claiming to have escaped in March, but the nature of their liberation is clouded in mystery.

Negotiate

The White House said Monday that it would not negotiate with al-Qaeda over the fate of an elderlyUSaid worker seized inPakistain, after he made an emotional video plea to President Barack Obama.

"We cannot and will not negotiate with al-Qaeda," White House front man Jay Carney said, adding that officials were greatly concerned for the safety of the aid worker Warren Weinstein, and were working to find him.

Earlier, the elderly Weinstein appeared in an al-Qaeda video for the first time since he was kidnapped inPakistainjust days before he meant to return home last August.

The two minute, 40 second video was posted on jihadist forums by al-Qaeda's media arm as-Sahab on Sunday, according to theUSmonitoring service SITE.

Dressed in a traditional Pak tunic and speaking impassively in English, he urged US President Barack Obama to respond to his kidnappers' demands.

"If you accept the demands, I live; if you don't accept the demands, then I die," he told Obama in the video.

Weinstein, 70, suffers from asthma, heart problems and high blood pressure.

Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri has demanded that Washington end air strikes in Afghanistan,Pakistain,Somalia and Yemen, and release the 1993 World Trade Centre bombers along with relatives of Osama bin Laden.
Posted by: Fred 2012-05-09
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=344275