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| Terror Networks |
| Qaeda backers may be questioning tactics: U.S. official |
| 2008-04-04 |
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Questions put to Osama bin Laden's deputy in an online forum this week indicated Al Qaeda's violent tactics may be seriously questioned by some of the movement's sympathizers, a U.S. counterintelligence official said on Thursday. The U.S. official, interpreting the questions and the answers given by Ayman al-Zawahri, said: "They've been taken to the online woodshed on a number of things." "Some of the questioners are raising tough issues, such as the legitimacy of murdering innocent civilians and the effectiveness of al-Qaeda's overall strategy," the U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. "Since al-Qaeda chose what questions to address, it suggests al-Qaeda's tactics have raised serious concerns -- even among potential sympathizers -- and that the group's leadership recognizes that it has some serious explaining to do," he said. Zawahri, in the first batch of answers to questions solicited by al Qaeda-linked Web forums in December, was asked about issues including the justification for killing Muslims in Algeria or for killing women and children. Another questioner asked about al Qaeda's killing "innocents in Baghdad, Morocco and Algeria." Al Qaeda's wing in North Africa has claimed responsibility for several major attacks, including against Algerian soldiers and two suicide bombings that targeted U.N. offices and a court building. Zawahri in his responses denied killing innocents, and said that if any died in attacks it was through error or necessity, such as they were serving as human shields. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Again, the OSAMA BIN LADEN [includ ZAWIHIRI, etc] that I rememeber from the anti-Soviet Afghani War is committed to fight for his Faith-Beliefs to the Death, even unto MUTUAL DESTRUCTION IN LIEU OF ISLAM'S/ISLAMISM'S DEFEAT. I interprete this article as concerns about Radicla Islamism's willingness to escalate unto GLOBAL MUTUAL DESTRUCTION > IMO, Osama must be aware that, all things equal, IT IS THE US-WEST/COALITION THAT WILL LIKELY PREVAIL AND WIN THE "LONG WAR", NOT RADICAL ISLAMISM. SOMETHING(S) THEN, MUST SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGE FOR ISLAMISM TO "WIN" OR "NOT LOSE" PAR AGZ THE USA, etc. Iff Radical Islamism, then, hopes to unilater control its own destiny, by and for itself + Allah-Islam, IT NEEDS MORE RESOURCES + FIREPOWER THAN PRESENT AS IT IS CONSUMING AND LOSING TOO MANY MEN AND MATERIEL AGZ US-ALLIED IN IRAQ-AFGHANI. Iff Osama + Islamists still desire their Jihad and their desired GLOBAL ISLAMIST-JIHADIST STATE, THEY NEED A LARGE QUANTITY/ARSENAL OF NUKES-WMDS AND TO START WAGING NUCLEAR-WMD TERROR + RELATED INSIDE THE USA + WEST PROPER. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2008-04-04 01:15 |