http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL <http://www.comcast.net/news/index.jsp?cat=GENERAL&fn=/2006/06/30/424719.htm l&cvqh=itn_binladen> &fn=/2006/06/30/424719.html&cvqh=itn_binladen
Bin Laden Purportedly Defends al-Zarqawi By LEE KEATH, Associated Press Writer 1 hour ago UPDATED 23 MINUTES AGO CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden paid tribute to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in a new audio message Friday and said the slain al-Qaida in Iraq leader had been under orders to kill Iraqis who supported U.S. forces in the country. In the 19-minute message, bin Laden also demanded that President Bush hand over al-Zarqawi's body to his family and vowed more attacks against the United States. "We will continue to fight you and your allies everywhere, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan to run down your resources and kill your men until you return defeated to your nation," he said, addressing Bush. His voice sounded breathy and fatigued at times. It was the fourth audio message purportedly put out this year by bin Laden. The voice in the latest message _ released on an Islamic Web forum where militants often post messages _ resembled that on previous recordings attributed to bin Laden, but the authenticity of the tape could not be immediately confirmed. The audio message was accompanied by a video showing an old photo of bin Laden next to images of al-Zarqawi taken from a previous video. New video images of bin Laden have not appeared since October 2004. The message bore the logo of As-Sahab, the al-Qaida production branch that releases all its messages. Typically, the CIA does a technical analysis to determine whether the speaker is who the tape claims and the National Counterterrorism Center analyzes the message's contents. In the tape, bin Laden effusively praised the Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi, often in rhyming couplets. Al-Zarqawi was killed in a June 7 airstrike northeast of Baghdad by U.S. warplanes. "Al-Zarqawi's story will live forever with the stories of the nobles, so don't cry over one who is not missing," bin Laden said. "He can teach the world a lesson on how to seize freedom ... and how to resist tyrants." "Even if we lost one of our greatest knights and princes, we are happy that we have found a symbol for our great Islamic nations, one that the mujahedeen will remember and praise in poetry and in stories secretly and aloud," he said. The tape comes exactly a week after bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri issued his own tribute video to al-Zarqawi, extolling him as "the prince of martyrs." The tributes appear to be part of an attempt by al-Qaida's leadership to tout their connection to al-Zarqawi, who emerged as a hero among Islamic extremists with his dramatic attacks in Iraq and even stole the spotlight from bin Laden and al-Zawahri. Al-Zarqawi had sworn his allegiance to bin Laden, the terror network's overall leader, but often had tense relations with him and al-Zawahri. In July 2005, al-Zawahri reportedly wrote a letter to al-Zarqawi criticizing his attacks on Iraqi Shiite mosques and civilians, saying they hurt the mujahedeen's image. The al-Qaida deputy also asked al-Zarqawi for money, according to the U.S. military, which said it intercepted the message. Al-Zarqawi apparently brushed off the criticism as he continued to attack Shiites, a strategy intended to spark a Sunni-Shiite civil war. In the new tape, bin Laden addressed "those who accuse Abu Musab of killing certain sectors of the Iraqi people," referring to the campaign of suicide bombings against Shiites. "Abu Musab had clear instructions to focus his fight on the occupiers, particularly the Americans and to leave aside anyone who remains neutral," bin Laden said. "But for those who refused (neutrality) and stood to fight on the side of the crusaders against the Muslims, then he should kill them whoever they are, regardless of their sect or tribe. For supporting infidels against Muslims is a major sin," he said. Bin Laden's mention of "instructions" to al-Zarqawi could be aimed to show the al-Qaida in Iraq leader was under his command. Bin Laden also said Bush should return al-Zarqawi's body and that Jordan's King Abdullah II should allow the militant's family to bury him. The Jordanian government has said it will never allow al-Zarqawi to be buried in his homeland because of a November triple suicide bombing his followers carried out in Amman hotels that killed 60 people. "What scares you about Abu Musab after he's dead?" bin Laden said, addressing Abdullah. "You know that his funeral, if allowed to happen, would be a huge funeral showing the extent of sympathy with the mujahedeen." Bin Laden and al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding in the rugged border zone of Pakistan and Afghanistan. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Something is new at Yahoo! Groups. Check out the enhanced email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/SISQkA/gOaOAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
