Bin Laden Message A Surrender In Iraq?
Yankee Sailor:
There’s been an intriguing series of events playing out over the past few weeks that appear to be forming a pattern. If you recall the happenings in Iraq from two years ago, Abu Musab Zarqawi was said to be demoted from his position as the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq. That ambiguity was removed with the death of Zarqawi in 2006 and he was succeeded by Abu Ayyub al-Masri.
Al-Masri made his public debut to much fanfare in jihadi circles, but his leadership has proven quite ineffectual, to the extent that the U.S. has slashed the reward for his capture from $5 million to a paltry $100,000 over the course of the last year.
Then, just this week, two new messages from Osama bin Laden were published in conjunction with Israel’s 60th birthday. The first was summarized by the superb new site, Jihadica, as follows:
In his address, Bin Laden stated the “Palestine question” is the chief cause of conflict between Western nations and the Muslim community. It is the ultimate reason why AQ attacked the U.S. on 9/11.
Not only does this represent a bit of historical revisionism on bin Laden’s part (his original struggle was over the presence of U.S. forces in Saudi Arabia) it was also a rebuke of Zawahiri’s recent statements that Iraq would remain the focus of their efforts.
The second message as summarized by a follower appears to refocus al Qaeda efforts entirely on the Palestinian conflict:
According to `Asqalani, Bin Laden has presented a complete program of action for the coming stage of the Jihadi movement, which is the liberation of Palestine.
1) Bin Laden explained that oppressive international order is in an alliance with Israel and its resources are at its disposal.
2) The apostate Arab regimes are the guardians of Israel’s security, so overthrowing these regimes will make liberating Palestine much easier.
3) The pressure of the repressive regimes causes the Islamic groups to abandon jihad on the justification that it harms the da`wa (spread of Islam).
4) Hezbollah is misleading the youth because it has duped them into thinking it is the only resistance to Israel and that any other resistance in southern Lebanon must give obeisance; it plays political games at the expense of the Muslim community; and it gives its allegiance to the Guardianship of the Jurist (i.e. the Iranian government).
5) Fighting and jihad are a “strategic choice” for the Muslim community to replace the strategic choice of the defeatist Arabs who submit to peace and recognize Israel.
6) A group of people must penetrate the borders of Palestine in order to resist the Israeli blockade.
This is, of course, a significant retooling of Bin Laden’s last grand strategy as communicated to Zarqawi:
The first stage: Expel the Americans from Iraq.
The second stage: Establish an Islamic authority or amirate, then develop it and support it until it achieves the level of a caliphate- over as much territory as you can to spread its power in Iraq, i.e., in Sunni areas, is in order to fill the void stemming from the departure of the Americans, immediately upon their exit and before un-Islamic forces attempt to fill this void, whether those whom the Americans will leave behind them, or those among the un-Islamic forces who will try to jump at taking power.
There is no doubt that this amirate will enter into a fierce struggle with the foreign infidel forces, and those supporting them among the local forces, to put it in a state of constant preoccupation with defending itself, to make it impossible for it to establish a stable state which could proclaim a caliphate, and to keep the Jihadist groups in a constant state of war, until these forces find a chance to annihilate them.
The third stage: Extend the jihad wave to the secular countries neighboring Iraq.
The fourth stage: It may coincide with what came before: the clash with Israel, because Israel was established only to challenge any new Islamic entity.
In short, it looks to me like al Qaeda has decided to skip that whole Iraq thing and as a result, may have just issued a tacit acknowledgment of defeat in Iraq.
Read it and weep, Nancy, Barry, Harry…Flat out in UBL’s own words, the “strategy” has changed, now that they’ve lost. Adding insult to injury, the reward for Al Masri went down from $5m to $100k. Ha ha ha.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:23 amBin Laden’s 1998 message
1)Israeli-Palestinian conflict
2)US sanctions on Iraq
3)US forces in Saudi Arabia
Targets 9/11
WTC epicenter of US/Israeli financial/banking plus a CIA headquaters
Pentagon- Epicenter of US military power.
It fits.
This guy should have been iced back in 2001-2002 with a Hydrogen bomb.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:25 amWas there ever any doubt?
May 27th, 2008 at 9:29 amDear Usama,
Got to save face, don’t we poppy pusher upper? Not like the good old days of USSR invasion, you say?
While you made your eternal pilgrimage to your master Satan, I am sure you realize by now that many of your minions were busy getting their asses kicked around the earth. Still think attacking the U.S. on our soil a swell idea?
I sincerely hope you have found “Mecca” as warm as I have imagined it being. How does the eternal smell of sulfur and wailing and knashing of teeth grab you and Mo?
Enjoy your stay! And remember UBL, now that you have figured out all those infidels were right and you were wrong, the eternal lake of fire awaits one day.
You think Tora Bora a thrill? See you at Armageddon. You ain’t seen nothing yet. Wait until Jesus starts Rockin’ the Casbah.
XOXX,
G.N.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:51 amWell, I wish they would make up their minds. On the one hand, the Taliban is saying BL is dead. On the other, BL is supposedly still sending messages. Whatever…
May 27th, 2008 at 10:53 am