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Bin Laden Warns of Attacks, Offers Truce

By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer

CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Jazeera on Thursday aired an audiotape purportedly from Osama bin Laden, who says al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States but offering a truce “with fair conditions.”

The tape’s release came days after a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan that was targeting bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, and reportedly killed four leading al-Qaida figures, including possibly al-Zawahri’s son-in-law. There was no mention of the attack on the segments that were broadcast.

It was the first purported tape from the al-Qaida leader in more than a year ? the longest period without a message since the Sept. 11 2001 suicide hijackings in the United States.

Al-Jazeera said the tape was recorded in the Islamic month that corresponds with December.

The speaker refers to an alleged comment by President Bush about bombing the Qatar headquarters of Al-Jazeera, which was first reported in the British press on Nov. 22.

He also refers indirectly to the July 7 bombings in London that killed 56 people and to poll numbers that showed a fall in Bush’s popularity, as occurred in late 2005.

The voice on the tape said he was directing his message to the American people after polls showed that “an overwhelming majority of you want the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq but (Bush) opposed that desire.”

He said insurgents were winning the conflict in Iraq and warned that security measures in the West and the United States could not prevent attacks there.

“The proof of that is the explosions you have seen in the capitals of European nations,” he said “The delay in similar operations happening in America has not been because of failure to break through your security measures. The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your homes the minute they are through (with preparations), with God’s permission.”

The speaker did not give conditions for a truce in the excerpts aired by Al-Jazeera.

“We do not mind offering you a long-term truce with fair conditions that we adhere to,” he said. "We are a nation that God has forbidden to lie and cheat. So both sides can enjoy security and stability under this truce so we can build Iraq and Afghanistan, which have been destroyed in this war.

“There is no shame in this solution, which prevents the wasting of billions of dollars that have gone to those with influence and merchants of war in America,” he said.

There was no immediate confirmation of the tape’s authenticity, although the voice resembled that of bin Laden’s in previous messages.

The last audiotape purported to be from bin Laden was broadcast in December 2004 by Al-Jazeera. In that recording, he endorsed Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi as his deputy in Iraq and called for a boycott of Iraqi elections.

He issued numerous tapes in 2003 and 2004, calling for Muslims to attack U.S. interests and threatening attacks against the United States.

In an April 15, 2004, audiotape, he vowed revenge against the United States for Israel’s assassination of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin ? and at the same time offered a truce to European countries.

Bin Laden appeared in a video released October 2004, just ahead of U.S. presidential elections, saying the United States can avoid another Sept. 11 attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.

Since December 2004, bin Laden’s deputy in al-Qaida, al-Zawahri, has issued a number of video and audiotapes, including one claiming responsibility for the London attacks, which he said came after Europe rejected the terms of a truce al-Qaida had previously offered them.

Al-Jazeera’s editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Sheik would not comment on when or where the tape was received. He said the full tape was 10 minutes long. The station aired four excerpts with what it “considered newsworthy,” he said, but would not say what was on the remainder.

His group must be running out of steam if he is willing to mention a truce.

whats up tank guy. in my opinion i would beware any false sense of security that may at on epoint be derived from this message. it would be possible this is an attempt to lull the U.S. into a false state of security, opening the doors for a suprise attack. long story short fuck him, sooner or later he will be caught, they always are. maybe we are getting close and he’s trying to cover his ass.

Al-queda is on the ropes. I say we keep swinging full steam. OBL wants a truce? yea right.

The only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.

It makes me nervous, considering I live in DC…

But I think you have to look at any statement released for broad consumption like that as having multiple audiences – he’s speaking to jihadis and trying to rally them, and he’s also speaking to us and trying to scare us.

As such, I think it’s interesting to look at the topics he touches on – attacks on the U.S., strength of al Queda, etc. I think each topic he touched on was probably something jihadis were worried about, and also something that would grab attention here in the U.S. I’m sure jihadis are wondering why there haven’t been attacks on the U.S., and how al Queda is doing – especially after the Pakistani missle attacks and some other high profile captures/kills in the past year.

Side note: I always wonder about authenticity when it comes to audio-only statements like this one…

Fuck him and his truce. He is one man that truly needs to die…maybe that cocksucker should have thought about some things before he bombed the fucking trade centers.

Iraq is Iraq. That’s one thing. But there will never, ever be a truce with Bin Laden, and I hope we get our hands on him. I want the motherfucker to look into the eyes of every family from New York and New Jersey who lost someone and apologize…and then we shoot the fucker anyway.

Just send him to New Jersey…he hit us once, and we’ve been waiting for him. We’ll take care of him.

when are we going to get our hands on him. i find it hard to believe that with the entire world(almost) looking for you, how do you stay hidden? something doesnt add up if you ask me.hhmmmmmm…it does not make sense.there is something more to the story, something is missing.

I think these are quite plausible:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/06_01_15_corner-archive.asp#087741

WHAT IT MAY MEAN [Walid Phares]

Bin Laden’s message indicates:

** That he wants us to believe that the war in Iraq is going al Qaeda’s way.

** Bin Laden watches the American political process and wants to ignite opposition to the war from the inside of the U.S.

** The fact that no operations have taken place within the U.S. doesn’t mean that they’re not going to happen. There will soon be operations within the U.S. and the West. Operations are being prepared, according to the message. Which means that there is significant questioning among jihadis about the lack of operations in America. A subject discussed in the chat rooms?

** Al Qaeda operations will not be confined to Iraq–meaning other countries will become operational areas for al Qaeda.

** The penetration of Western and U.S. security systems is a matter to be discussed in the public debate.

** The bin Laden proposition for a “long term armistice” is in itself a prelude to further attacks coming. This is a jihadist parameter.

** Al Qaeda is undertaking a strategic reassessment after developments in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and U.S. Homeland Security.

[quote]FightinIrish26 wrote:
Fuck him and his truce. He is one man that truly needs to die…maybe that cocksucker should have thought about some things before he bombed the fucking trade centers.

Iraq is Iraq. That’s one thing. But there will never, ever be a truce with Bin Laden, and I hope we get our hands on him. I want the motherfucker to look into the eyes of every family from New York and New Jersey who lost someone and apologize…and then we shoot the fucker anyway.

Just send him to New Jersey…he hit us once, and we’ve been waiting for him. We’ll take care of him.[/quote]

I agree with you Fightin! Fuck him! I may not agree on the US tatics with the Iraq war, but I have always wanted to fuck this guy up! The big reason I was not happy about the Iraq war is that I wanted to get this cocksucker first before we did anything else!

I tell you, my girlfriend’s father was in the towers that day…had he died, my life would be far, far different.

The only thing I’m thinking is that he must be trying to take the attention off something…he would never attempt to rebuild anything with us (nor would we with, hopefully)

"fightinIrish26 wrote:
Fuck him and his truce. He is one man that truly needs to die…maybe that cocksucker should have thought about some things before he bombed the fucking trade centers.

Iraq is Iraq. That’s one thing. But there will never, ever be a truce with Bin Laden, and I hope we get our hands on him. I want the motherfucker to look into the eyes of every family from New York and New Jersey who lost someone and apologize…and then we shoot the fucker anyway.

Just send him to New Jersey…he hit us once, and we’ve been waiting for him. We’ll take care of him."

Minus trying to deny the importance of Iraq in the War on Terror, I agree with your sentiments completely.

JeffR

aLDurr wrote:

“I agree with you Fightin! Fuck him! I may not agree on the US tatics with the Iraq war, but I have always wanted to fuck this guy up! The big reason I was not happy about the Iraq war is that I wanted to get this cocksucker first before we did anything else!”

al, I’m going to ask you to do something. You may end up not agreeing with my assertions at the end of the day.

However, I’m going to ask you to give this sentence some thought: Having never fought the Iraq War may not have increased our odds of killing bin laden.

Now, I know your immediate response is to dismiss this notion as cheerleading, Jeff can’t admit error, etc… However, I’m challenging you to drop the canned responses this one time.

Do you remember the attacks a few days ago on number 2/al qaeda bomb maker in Pakistan?

Did you see the protests in Pakistan immediately following?

There is the real problem. Unfortunately, there is a large number of Mushareef’s own people who believe/harbor/hide/support bin laden.

Mushareef’s head is in the noose.

I ask you this question: Don’t you think bin laden had his escape planned after 9/11?

If you were he, where would you hide?

Would having 160,000 or 3 million more people on the ground in Afghanistan really have made any difference? Would the presence of more troops on the border have made the situation more volatile or less volatile regarding Pakistan? Would Mushareef be more likely to give in to pressure to resist the “imperial Americans” or would the American presence force him to cooperate?

For the latter situation to work, he would have had to trully suspected that we would invade if he didn’t tow the line.

Would you support a Pakistinian invasion to get bin laden?

In order to get bin laden, Mushareef is going to have to let us go in and get him. Period.

I’ve heard people say “send in the special forces.”

Ok, and when the special forces kill/capture him, do you support us lying about where we got him?

Or, would the militant islamists in Pakistan believe any explanation?

Unless, we want to start a War in Pakistan, that is the current situation.

Again, I sincerely hope you give this point of view some thought.

JeffR

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
His group must be running out of steam if he is willing to mention a truce.

[/quote]

Definitely agree with this. This is a victory for america IMO… we wont be out of iraq for a couple of years,k and this may or may not be followed by a attack on america but it doesnt really matter, because al queda has essentially learned their lesson that they cant mess with us.

Y’all know that I havent been a proponent of the war in iraq but after 9/11 we have messed some stuff up in the middle east! We have imprisoned the taliban, jailed and killed many al queda, took over afghanistan and iraq. We have shown the terrorists that it isnt worth it to blow stuff up in order to get political goals accomplished.

Jeff R,
I agree with you on the Paskistan thing. . The majority of their population are Pashtun Muslims, sympathetic to the Taliban and Bin Laden. Musharref (sp?) is already on rocky ground within his country, and he is careful to not overly incite his population.

Remember Musharref’s statement several years ago speculating that Bin Laden had died of liver failure? I think that he would like Bin Laden to disappear so that he does not have to be caught between US wishes and those of many Pakistanis. While I have no reason to think that Musharref knowingly harbors Bin Laden within Pakistan, I doubt that he wants to arrest him and turn him over to the US.

At the same time, if US forces go into Pakistan and get Bin Laden, it could destabilize the country, and we risk Pakistan coming under control of muslim extremists. This might be a good time to mention that Pakistan is nuclear. Their program was developed by A.Q. Kahn, who then sold the nuclear secrets to Iran. He is currently residing under house arrest in Paskistan…we let him off easy for the sake of good relations with Pakistan.

March 13, 2002 Press Conference:

Question: But don’t you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won’t truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

George W Bush:“…And, again, I don’t know where he is. I – I’ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.”

Wow. I am going to break with the president on this one…I cannot believe after 9/11 that the president is not “concerned” about finding Bin Laden…shouldn’t holding Bin Ladne accountable be something of a priority?

"dermo wrote:
March 13, 2002 Press Conference:

Question: But don’t you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won’t truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

George W Bush:“…And, again, I don’t know where he is. I – I’ll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.”

Wow. I am going to break with the president on this one…I cannot believe after 9/11 that the president is not “concerned” about finding Bin Laden…shouldn’t holding Bin Ladne accountable be something of a priority?"

Dermo, I appreciate your previous two posts.

I think this was an IDIOTIC comment to make.

I understand what he was trying to say, but it was still incorrect.

I’ve read the quotes in their original context. He was trying to say that bin laden has been rendered toothless and their are more important targets.

Again, I would not have said it this way.

JeffR

JeffR,
You are probably right, and this is why he does not do more press conferences. But is also illustrates how a single soundbite can be manipulated.

[quote]mazilla wrote:
when are we going to get our hands on him. i find it hard to believe that with the entire world(almost) looking for you, how do you stay hidden? something doesnt add up if you ask me.hhmmmmmm…it does not make sense.there is something more to the story, something is missing.[/quote]

Maybe he’s all made up by the Bush admin.??? Hmmmmmmm.

As long as Bin Laden is alive the War on Terror has more teeth.

I have a great idea:

Use the NSA to tap all of Al Jazeera’s phones (which is legal and what the NSA is suppose to do) to track the drop off and pickup of the Bin Laden tapes ahead of time so that we can kill the MF once and for all.

I guess that would be much too easy.

Al Queda on the ropes? Not

Iraq has breathed new life into terrorism that the world has not seen since the Russian were fighting in Afganistan.

I can not wait until the right wing nuttery flames me to oblivian over these facts.

It’ll lead them to AL-CIA-DA