Osama bin Laden [Archive] - Page 2 - It's Happening Forums

al-Canine

12-05-2006, 05:16 PM

"Bin Laden Will Be Back"

Former CIA agent Michael Scheuer on the prospects of finding bin Laden, the outlook for al Qaeda and the risk of new terror attacks in the United States.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Scheuer, five years have passed since the attacks of 9/11. Bin Laden is still free, al Qaeda alive and kicking. Venture a view of the future for us: How will things look five years down the road?

Scheuer: Far worse than today. America is clearly losing the two wars it is fighting, and our political leadership has neither the will nor the popular support it needs to send more forces. So I would anticipate us having withdrawn from both Iraq and Afghanistan in five years' time, with the two countries largely run by people we aren't happy with: Islamists.

SPIEGEL: And how will al Qaeda be faring?

Scheuer: Much as it is today. There's a lot of whistling past the graveyard about bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri not being in control, about the organization being broken. We have confused tactical victory with strategic process. We have done a very good job of killing and arresting some leading figures, but all we can really point to is a body count. We have no means of judging our progress, and al Qaeda is very strongly oriented toward preparing for succession in its leadership. So we haven't really made much headway against al Qaeda.

SPIEGEL: But still, it's hard to imagine the United States having no idea where bin Laden is.

Scheuer: I think it's hard for the administration to believe, too. But to the best of my knowledge, we don't know where he is, and that doesn't surprise me. We have a mindset problem: We think bin Laden and al Qaeda are gangsters, that nobody could possibly like them because they flew aircraft into our buildings. But the truth of the matter is that people hate us much more than bin Laden. So how do you locate somebody in a country where the population hates you, but likes the individual you're looking for and even sees him as defending its faith?

SPIEGEL: Will the CIA get bin Laden one day?

Scheuer: I hope so, but realistically the drain of manpower, resources and overhead imagery from Afghanistan to Iraq has left severely depleted resources available. And the American-led coalition is having to spend more and more defending Hamid Karzai's government, leaving less and less for finding bin Laden.

SPIEGEL: You used to be the director of Alec Station, which was charged with capturing bin Laden. The CIA closed the unit at the end of last year. A mistake?

Scheuer: A disaster. I'd assume that the president wasn't aware of the decision. You can't nominate public enemy number one and then scrap the resources that were chasing him.

SPIEGEL: Is Pakistan really a loyal ally in the quest for bin Laden?

Scheuer: Every country has its national interests. I would have bet everything I own that Pervez Musharraf would not have done what he's done to date. He's given us overflight rights; he helped us arrest very, very important al Qaeda fighters. But it's not in Pakistan's national interest to find, arrest, and turn bin Laden over to the Americans. It simply isn't going to happen, and we're fools if we expect it to, because the country would probably implode. And Musharraf is not suicidal.

SPIEGEL: Do you believe the rumors that bin Laden is hiding - cut off from all communications - inside some cave?

Scheuer: There are a lot of fairy tales about Osama bin Laden's life. Politicians like George W. Bush and Tony Blair like to suggest that he's scurrying from one mountain to the next, one step ahead of the cops. That's not true. In that case, we would have caught him: all insurgents know they are at their most vulnerable when they're on the move. We see al Qaeda producing sophisticated videos: Ayman al-Zawahiri and bin Laden seem to be comfortable.

SPIEGEL: So they are satisfied with what they've achieved?

Scheuer: We tend to forget that bin Laden's main aim has never been military victory, but to inspire other Muslims. They can see that the global trend is in their favor. We are losing in Iraq. We are losing in Afghanistan. So I suspect they are quite happy. If, over the course of a decade, someone keeps announcing things, and then follows that up with action 80 or 90 percent of the time, then we should be believing him. If you ask me, al Qaeda is planning another attack in the United States.

SPIEGEL: Any idea where?

Scheuer: Can I pinpoint a city? No. But they are obviously waiting until they can do something even more spectacular than 9/11. In America, it would be simple to launch intifada-style attacks or the kind of bus and subway bombings we saw in London. Since 1996, bin Laden has maintained that every attack will be incrementally greater in the pain it causes.

SPIEGEL: Aren't you being overly pessimistic? After all, there's no actual evidence of an impending attack.

Scheuer: We Americans misunderstand the nature of terrorism. In our eyes, if someone doesn't attack us when we are expecting it, we assume that he lacks the means to do so, that we have won. But the patience of this foe is extraordinary. And don't fall into the trap of judging this war by the number of bombs or explosions. Forces aligned with al Qaeda have killed 2,500 Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a gigantic budget deficit. In my view, the president is wrong to equate an absence of attacks with a successful war on terrorism.

SPIEGEL: Was London going to be another al Qaeda attack?

Scheuer: I doubt whether al Qaeda's leadership had planned and coordinated the operation. However, al Qaeda may have trained and funded one or two of those involved.

SPIEGEL: According to bin Laden, the war in Iraq represents a golden opportunity for al Qaeda. Has it aided the terrorists?

Scheuer: Yes. From a Muslim perspective, the invasion of Iraq is the ultimate justification for jihad. An infidel enemy attacking and occupying a Muslim country unprovoked. In my view, Iraq will remain a thorn in America's side for the foreseeable future.

SPIEGEL: Was killing Zarqawi important?

Scheuer: Zarqawi was clearly off of al Qaeda's reservation. But anyone can work under the umbrella of al Qaeda as long as they keep attacking Americans and their allies, and avoid fomenting a war with the Shia. Bin Laden hates the Shia, but he has different priorities: he wants to dislodge America from the Middle East first, then go after Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, and finally deal with the Shia. Zarqawi was pushing too hard for an outright civil war in Iraq. So from al Qaeda's perspective, Zarqawi is now probably in a perfect state. A noble martyr, but dead.

SPIEGEL: Polls suggest that bin Laden's standing has fallen in the Muslim world, that many no longer hero-worship him.

Scheuer: Yes, and every time his popularity declines, the Americans stand up and say: "Thanks be to God! It's all over! Bin Laden's finished!" But the same polls ask a more pertinent question: "What do you think of American foreign policy?" And for more than 12 years now, 80 to 90 percent of respondents have agreed completely with bin Laden's view. They may not always approve of his methods, but they share his animosity and raw hatred. In the United States, we need to acknowledge that we have bitten off more than we can chew. We will have to kill the generation of people that have grown up around bin Laden. But it's also vital that we reduce al Qaeda's popular appeal.

Interview was conducted by Hans Hoyng and Georg Mascolo

DER SPIEGEL (http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,k-6722,00.html)

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,452684,00.html

al-Canine

12-08-2006, 12:39 PM

Tape: Bin Laden defends attacks on civilians

09:41 AM CST on Friday, December 8, 2006
Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt — Osama bin Laden defended attacks by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi against civilians in Iraq, purportedly saying in a taped Web message Friday that the slain militant was acting under al-Qaeda orders to kill anyone who backs U.S. troops.

Bin Laden paid tribute to the former al-Qaeda in Iraq leader in a 19-minute audio message posted on an Islamic militant Web site. The message has narration by a voice resembling bin Laden's as a video shows an old picture of him in a split-screen next to images of al-Zarqawi taken from a previous video.

In the message, bin Laden demands President Bush hand over the body of al-Zarqawi to his family and effusively praises the Jordanian-born militant, often in rhyming couplets.

Bin Laden addressed "those who accuse Abu Musab of killing certain sectors of the Iraqi people," referring to the campaign of suicide bombings by al-Zarqawi's followers targeting 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.

It was the fourth message purportedly put out this year by bin Laden. All have featured his voice in audiotapes. New video images of him have not appeared since October 2004.

The authenticity of the video could not be immediately confirmed. It bore the logo of As-Sahab, the al-Qaeda production branch that releases all its messages, and was posted on an Islamic Web forum where militants often post 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.

http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/latestnews/stories/wfaa061208_wz_binladen.a6f784b.html

Casey

12-08-2006, 02:08 PM

Tape: Bin Laden defends attacks on civilians

09:41 AM CST on Friday, December 8, 2006
Associated Press

See:

06.29.06 bin Laden's condolences for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi ( 1 2)
06-30-2006 06:18 AM
http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?t=35207

From the June06 message:

“To those who accuse the knight of Islam of killing a certain sector of Iraq’s people, I say to them ... Abu Musab had clear instructions to focus his fight on the occupiers, particularly the Americans and to leave aside anyone who remains neutral. 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. ...

Then I tell (US President George W.) Bush: You must return the body of the hero to his family. And don’t be too happy. ... 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, just as we defeated yoou before in Somalia. And I tell your minion in Jordan: Enough tyranny. You prevented Abu Musab from entering his homeland while he was alive, don’t prevent that now. What scares you about Abu Musab after he’s dead? You know that his funeral, if allowed to happen, would be a huge funeral showing the extent of sympathy with the mujahedeen ...”

Mike

12-29-2006, 11:27 AM

deleted

Casey

01-05-2007, 11:39 PM

GSPC in a message
We are awaiting Ben Laden’s instructions

Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) has refused to give up armed fighting as it was called for by President of the Republic, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in his speech before Nation’s executives on December 26. The GSPC invited Home Minister to tell the “truth” about security situation in Algeria. The Salafist Group is awaiting Ben Laden’s “instructions” for the coming stage, it adds.

Abdelmalek Droukdal alias Abu Musaab Abdelouadoud, Chief of the GSPC, released via internet a long message dated December 3, in which he rejects the President’s call, saying the Salafist Group “is determined to carry on its path”. Headed “Word”, the message explained that GSPC which came out of the GIA (Islamic Armed Group) in the Fall 1998 got no foreign support. Yet, it is mentioned that the group had obtained lately quantities of arms and ammunition.

The Salafist Group has unprecedently admitted it was assisted by foreign persons to carry out terrorist attacks, “young men are getting up and are keen to bear arms from inside the country and from abroad as well”, said Droukdal who made a call foreigners as well as Algerians to join his rows. El Khabar had previously published stories on Tunisians, Libyans, Moroccans and some people from African Sahel who have been fighting –until now- under the banner of the GSPC. El Khabar also mentioned some Algerian young men joined the group lately.

Abdelouadoud invited Interior Minister, Yazid Zerhouni, to “disclose the real figure about the young men who have joined Jihad ground in the last months”. It is wrong to speak of “residual terrorists”, adds the message mentioning latest terrorist attacks.

The message also addressed to what it called “our dearest Abi Abdallah Usama Ben Laden”, renewing allegiance to him, and qualifying GSPC’s members of Ben Laden’s soldiers. The United States and NATO are supporting, logistically and financially, African Sahel countries “to fight us”, he explains adding “evil axis” has started to move after we announced allegiance to al-Qaeda in mid-September. “We are awaiting your instructions and recommendations for next stage”, Abu Musab Abdelouadoud affirmed addressing Ben Laden.

2007-01-06
By Hamid Yes

http://www.elkhabar.com/FrEn/lire.php?ida=55714&idc=52

Casey

01-14-2007, 01:30 PM

A warning to the two sheikhs Osama and Zawahiri? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings both struggling for the sake of God in the East and the land west, but I am afraid of the Mujahideen of Investigation Department is authorized in the ranks of the mujahideen convoys so be careful and strongly Jihad leaders

You must be careful not You must be careful not Investigation Department is authorized in your ranks Ahzrohm and I did not have some fear them only in these times, remember these words very well why the message of Shikhina virtuous Osama and Zawahiri cautious then caution then caution the collection you infidels has been finished?

And Siltftoa you repeat caution and pray you have betrayed your leaders as leaders Aljahadvi Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan and the role you peace of God fighters in the East of land west and fever leaders

تحذير للشيخين أُسامه والظواهري؟

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

تحيه طيبه لكل من يجاهد في سبيل الله في مشارق الارض ومغاربها

ولكنني اخشى على المجاهدين من المندسين في صفوف وقوافل المجاهدين لذا احذر وبقوه قادة الجهاد احذروا احذروا المندسين في صفوفكم احذروهم وانا لم يأتيني الخوف عليهم الا في هذه الأوقات وتذكروا هذه الكلمات جيداً
لذا اوجه رساله لشيخينا الفاضلين أُسامه والظواهري بالحذر ثم الحذر ثم الحذر

فقد جمع لكم الكفار وقد انتهوا من ؟

وسيلتفتوا لكم فأكرر الحذر وعليكم بالدعاء

فقد غدر من قبلكم قاده كقادة الجهادفي الشيشان والعراق وافغانستان والدور عليكم

سلم الله المجاهدين في مشارق الارض ومغاربها وحمى قادتهم

Atlas

01-14-2007, 03:02 PM

Case, does this translate as: There's a stool pigeon in the ranks?

A warning to the two sheikhs Osama and Zawahiri? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings both struggling for the sake of God in the East and the land west, but I am afraid of the Mujahideen of Investigation Department is authorized in the ranks of the mujahideen convoys so be careful and strongly Jihad leaders

You must be careful not You must be careful not Investigation Department is authorized in your ranks Ahzrohm and I did not have some fear them only in these times, remember these words very well why the message of Shikhina virtuous Osama and Zawahiri cautious then caution then caution the collection you infidels has been finished?

And Siltftoa you repeat caution and pray you have betrayed your leaders as leaders Aljahadvi Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan and the role you peace of God fighters in the East of land west and fever leaders

تحذير للشيخين أُسامه والظواهري؟

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

تحيه طيبه لكل من يجاهد في سبيل الله في مشارق الارض ومغاربها

ولكنني اخشى على المجاهدين من المندسين في صفوف وقوافل المجاهدين لذا احذر وبقوه قادة الجهاد احذروا احذروا المندسين في صفوفكم احذروهم وانا لم يأتيني الخوف عليهم الا في هذه الأوقات وتذكروا هذه الكلمات جيداً
لذا اوجه رساله لشيخينا الفاضلين أُسامه والظواهري بالحذر ثم الحذر ثم الحذر

فقد جمع لكم الكفار وقد انتهوا من ؟

وسيلتفتوا لكم فأكرر الحذر وعليكم بالدعاء

فقد غدر من قبلكم قاده كقادة الجهادفي الشيشان والعراق وافغانستان والدور عليكم

سلم الله المجاهدين في مشارق الارض ومغاربها وحمى قادتهم

Casey

01-14-2007, 03:12 PM

Case, does this translate as: There's a stool pigeon in the ranks?

That's what I'm thinking.

Pakistan is ferociously defending itself after John Negroponte's assessment that Pakistan is the hub of al Qaeda.

The pressure is on. As the message says, other al Qaeda leaders have been ratted out.

Vancouver

01-15-2007, 06:45 AM

GSPC in a message
We are awaiting Ben Laden’s instructions
http://www.elkhabar.com/FrEn/lire.php?ida=55714&idc=52
GSPC has blown up little or nothing since the elimination of their leader Nabil Sahraoui in 2004. Since then (when Abdul-Wadud took over), they have
-- profusely applauded Zarqawi and bin Ladin
-- reiterated that they are subordinate to al-Qaida, promising obedience
-- overstated their strength
-- tried to instigate attacks _by others_ in Algeria
-- made threats on the net, but taken no action.
GSPC are practically begging for money, weapons, and recruits, and the implication seems to be that they are in very poor shape.

Casey

01-16-2007, 06:24 PM

GSPC has blown up little or nothing since the elimination of their leader Nabil Sahraoui in 2004. Since then (when Abdul-Wadud took over), they have
-- profusely applauded Zarqawi and bin Ladin
-- reiterated that they are subordinate to al-Qaida, promising obedience
-- overstated their strength
-- tried to instigate attacks _by others_ in Algeria
-- made threats on the net, but taken no action.
GSPC are practically begging for money, weapons, and recruits, and the implication seems to be that they are in very poor shape.

GSPC may not be blowing things up but I'm sure the oil workers down there would not speak so lightly of them. Kidnapping, they blew up a bus not too long ago, etc.

Vancouver

01-16-2007, 11:18 PM

GSPC may not be blowing things up but I'm sure the oil workers down there would not speak so lightly of them. Kidnapping, they blew up a bus not too long ago, etc.Okay, street crime for money. But I'm sure they're not agents of al-Qaida -- simply because they are trying so hard to appear to be. And evidently they're not getting money and weapons from backers of Salafi terrorism, unlike e.g. the ICU.

OT slightly, Algeria was one of Usama's first targets of terrorist aggression. He hired himself a juvenile army off the street, in the early 90's. These "emirs", as they called themselves, blew the money on cars and women and so on, and the Algerian army and police had no real difficulty eliminating more than 200 of them. End of jihad. It was Usama's first big flop.

Casey

01-22-2007, 01:03 AM

Bush renews freeze on bin Laden assets

Washington, Jan 19: US President George W Bush has renewed for one year an asset freeze on terrorist chief Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network as well as groups like Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad.

In a letter to key US lawmakers explaining the move, Bush cited "grave acts of violence committed by foreign terrorists that disrupt the middle east peace process."

"Terrorist groups continue to engage in activities that have the purpose or effect of threatening the Middle East peace process and that are hostile to United States interests in the region," he said yesterday.

"Such actions constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," said the President.

"For these reasons, I have determined that it is necessary to continue the national emergency declared with respect to foreign terrorists who threaten to disrupt the Middle East peace process and to maintain in force the economic sanctions against them to respond to this threat," said Bush.

Bureau Report

http://www.zeenews.com/znnew/articles.asp?aid=348771&sid=WOR

Shipwrx

01-22-2007, 01:05 AM

Freeze? I thought they had ransacked his holdings already.

Casey

02-09-2007, 12:52 AM

From Voice of Jihad (Sawt-al-Jihad) Issue 30 translated document (http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=970344#post970344):

Article: Bin Laden and the Oil Weapon

This is just a portion of the article.

And despite that, do not overlook that The United States spent many on the technology of the alternative energy, and it will spend more and seriously, and this an indication and in the long run that America may relinquish the Middle East or it reduces the dependence on it and is content with Canada oil, Mexico, Venezuela and some new agents, and doubles the dependence on the native energy resources, and therefore must be hit the oil interests in all of the regions that The United States benefit from and it is not in the Middle East only, then the target is pieces of the imports about it or the reduction of it by all of the means .

Targeting the oil interests includes wells the production of oil, the export tubes and the charging platforms of oil and the carriers, and all what reduces the possession of The United States of the oil, and it forces them on a decision taking that was avoiding them a time ago, and it confuses and suffocates their economy and threatens their economic and political future

And to we contemplate what happened in Iraq so that it shows for us the operations effect extent on the oil, has caused 186 operations through a year exceeded six billions billion and so that we expect die it happened and happens in Nigeria also, where the giant Dutch British oil company ( Royal Dutch Shell ) stopped the loading operations in a harbour just after Kadous in the region of Niger delta in south of Nigeria, and the production capacity about 380 thousand barrels everyday, and that after the oil charging platform was bombarded, and the company closed also the oil fields that feed the harbour .

Sheikh Osama's directing are clear and frank in targeting the oil interests and on the militants so that they apply these directing well the collection of information and the beauty of the target choice, and the collection of the documentary media materials of the operation, to be complete to all operation stages from the planning, the preparation and the execution .

candypreet

02-19-2007, 11:57 PM

'Terror boss Osama is at large'

OSAMA Bin Laden has re-established control over his terror network and set up new training camps in Pakistan, US intelligence reports claim.

Officials say there is mounting evidence Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri are developing a new threat.

One source described the leadership command and control as “robust”.

There are also fears that a number of British terrorists of Pakistani descent are helping prepare for future attacks.

The news will come as a blow to George Bush, who recently described al Qaeda as “on the run”.
............

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007080305,00.html

Casey

02-20-2007, 12:04 AM

Klaus

02-20-2007, 09:35 PM

I believe Mr. Cheney said,.... "The last throes....."

Nobody is fooling me.
They are coming back, bigger and better.

I say it again, Osama bin Laden will go out with a bang.

The 801

03-01-2007, 08:28 AM

Osama bin Laden still alive, Taliban commander says

Mar 1, 2007, 11:03 GMT

Kabul - The leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the world's number one fugitive, Osama bin Laden, is still alive, a top Taliban commander claimed in a rare interview.

'We know he is still alive,' Mullah Dadullah, chief of the resurgent movement's military operations, told Britain's Channel 4 television in comments broadcast Wednesday.

'He is not yet martyred,' Dadullah said at a secret location in Afghanistan.

Speaking in Pashtu, he added that he had not personally seen bin Laden since the Taliban was ousted from power by US-led forces just over five years ago.

'Our comrades stand shoulder to shoulder with us,' he said of current relations between the Taliban and al-Qaeda. 'They keep us informed.'

The United States is offering a reward of 25 million dollars for information leading to the capture of bin Laden, who Washington holds responsible for the terrorist attacks against New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.

He is widely believed to have escaped from eastern Afghanistan into Pakistan's mountainous tribal region at the end of that year when a US-led invasion ousted the Taliban.

Contrary to US intelligence agency claims, Pakistan said there is no evidence to suggest that leaders of the Taliban or al-Qaeda are hiding on its territory.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/southasia/news/article_1271248.php/Osama_bin_Laden_still_alive_Taliban_commander_says __Extra_

Chaos

03-01-2007, 08:52 AM

I wish they would all stop using that term. Bush, Tony Blair, Hamid Karzai, Musharraf, every time they utter those words lo and behold, they are back, bigger and stronger.

This has been going on for several years already.

Of course they're "on the run."

They gotta stay in shape! :add09:

Casey

03-04-2007, 10:41 PM

I haven't tried all these links.

The latest collection of downloads, speeches and videos from Osama bin Laden.

====================================

In the Name of Allah, the Benificent, the Merciful

Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you ..
She transferred it to you from your brother : Osama bin Laden is from the complete forum ..

To the brothers who face them the deprivation in the two Holy Mosques countries on them is by the deprivation exceeding programs
So that they carry some of the lectures and the films

1-The jihad condition
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=20AW464V

2-The jihad and challenged the obstacles
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5F6PRL6K

3-Afghanistan
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MM7Q2FZQ

4-The conditions of jihad and militants
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QZKMQNCB

5-Our duty towards Palestine
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZYUKLLOO

6-Lessons and insights from Afghanistan
Video section of sheikh imam Abu Abdullah Osama Bin Laden that Allah kept from the jihad the Russians days - we ask Allah for the stability

The section for a period of 9 minutes and its size about 10 mega
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T7DY7O98

A tape : O Amalaslam
From the research center and the Islamic study - Allah returned it to us
As in Al Shritalsouta then he is in 2004-1425

To you the audio tape tie
http://uppit.com/dl.php?id=688
http://d.turboupload.com/d/169710/yaammat2.ram.html

This Friday Sermon from Maskralfarouq that granted us the numbers Allah in it
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IZ6PXV4Y

These are new ties of the sheikh lecturer / Osama bin Laden - Allah kept him - by an address
" Kaab Bin Malek's talk "

The lecture is on two parts ..
The first part is 98.8 Mb
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=19QPBZ43

The second part is 50.0 Mb
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=37EM08BG
This is a video from a foreign channel about a press conference
In the Islamic sign its response of Al -Lhfi Ezz and enabling included the leaders of the jihad

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B9GYFXRE

This is Fidiwaezhr in it the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept and he leads a bulldozer :

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8QF2I5OQ
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D3DNKNYS

A rare section of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept speaks about the bombardment of prayers and with them Galaluddin Hqana and about the way of the war against the Americans in Afghanistan

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4L48XZ3D
A message to Al Shabalamriki on the occasion of the American elections
( the last visible message of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept )

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E4S271QV

And this a speech of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept by the address ( methodic directing ) of 123 .
The Tougihatmnhgia of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept of 1, 2, 3,

Methodic directing are 1
l
http://z23.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=12955

Methodic directing are 2

http://z28.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=12880

Methodic directing are 3

http://d.turboupload.com/d/172405/15...51 5.wma.html
http://z23.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=129 60

.
.
The first message of Iraq people who came after Inqtatwel
To the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GCPGE9O9

The second message that the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept directed
To the militants in Iraq after one year Alalghzou
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CWPISA3L

Message another one that Al Shikhasama Bin Laden that Allah kept to Iraq people directed
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UTBKNXFS
A speech to the nation young men
To charge the film press the tie it waited for 45 seconds
For you Download word appears press it to charge the film
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=20XPSVQ2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=26ZQAMJ7

The previous film is wonderful it presents sheikh Osama bin Laden's speech that Allah kept,
With the video sections that appeared in them on Shashataltlfza
The Islamic Nation condition film

The first part is 552 mega
http://ia300106.us.archive.org/1/ite...ftheummah1.mpg
The Al Gzalthani of 504 mega
http://ia300119.us.archive.org/0/ite...ftheummah2.mpg
There are in the film many shots of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept
The engagement of horn of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept
http://d.turboupload.com/d/172486/nafeer.ram.html
http://z23.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=130 85

The conflict truth speech
http://d.turboupload.com/d/172595/os-un.mp3.html
http://z11.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=254 96

A sound section of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept aljazeera did not deploy him
http://www.gulflobby.com/lobby/upload/osambnldan.zip

Rouabtgdida :Kaab Bin Malek's Hadith interpretation .

. A visible lecturer of the sheikh / Osama Bin Laden Hfzhallh
The first part is 98.8 Mb
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=19QPBZ43
http://www.uploading.com/?get=KFXMGFSX

The second part is 50.0 Mb
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=37EM08BG
http://www.uploading.com/?get=LS1HJJ0I

Taysir Alouni Alouni's meeting with the sheikh Osama Bin Laden Hfzhallh
http://www.archive.org/download/qawa...s-shuhadaa.mpg
The right Idghtala connection with the escaping button then press Save As

A section a video to the sheikh Isamabn Laden
And the sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri that Allah kept in Al Farouk's camp :
http://www.sendspace.com/file/863to0
The section is Ytdmnmousiqa then I extinguish the sound when what comes that Allah rewarded with a good
A video of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept and he then O to Sudan,
And in it shots of the sheikh Osama bin Laden the days of the war against The Soviet Union

http://www.uploading.com/?get=9SI0X49Z
http://www.fileforwarding.com/file.php?id=5036
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MD8PX2O8
http://1.blurg.com/dl/0007929009sj092.zip
http://www.sendmefile.com/00212046
http://www.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=7...e35a688494ddbc
http://www.zshare.net/download/99sj-092-zip.html
Http : / Www Ihud Com / File Php ? File = 04 . / - the deletion of post took place from the administration it is hoped the review of the forum laws

A rare video - to the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0b55j7
http://www.zshare.net/download/bin_laden_vid-rm.html
http://www.zshare.net/download/obinl-rm.html

Al Shikhasama's meeting with Aljazeera is 1998 the first meeting
And he with high quality the size of 537 mega by Divx wording
The loading tie
http://qadimoun.notlong.com/
On bin Laden's steps

Brnamgouthaeqi presented to the Hebrew channel that speaks about walking the fighting sheikh Osama bin Laden - its keeping Al -Lhourah - after a battle eleventh of September on Tuesday the blessed and believe that the first time it deploys on the forums and pleases me to is exclusively on our network Al Ikhlasalislamia network ...
The film is divided on two parts ...
The first part is 62 Mb
http://file.uploadr.com/4b7c

The Al Gzalthani of 57 Mb
http://file.uploadr.com/4b82

The generous Shrhalaya ( and who takes as supporter them from you, it is from them )
By sheikh Osama bin Laden's vote that Allah kept
http://freefilehosting.net/file/?id=qtH8laXa
The observation of this tie not the first is an expression about a flash

A sound flash to homage of sheikh Osama Bnladn that Allah kept
To the sheikh Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi that Allah kept
http://flashsound.jeeran.com/osama.swf
A visible flash to homage of sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept
To the sheikh Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi that Allah kept
http://flashsound.jeeran.com/bn-index.html.swf

A section a video of the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept and he talks to the militants
http://www.filegone.com/k0lp

The sheikh Osama Bin Ladnhfzh is Allah - All-In-One in
A single tie - the size is 21 mega
http://www.sendover.com/AUTE-AN-X8V9

The file is Lthlathaqsam division
http://www.uploading.com/?get=SZSHF20X
http://www.uploading.com/?get=0TYHS5VA
http://www.uploading.com/?get=A569RCQK

A division of three departments - 7 mega of each file
http://www.upload2.net/download2/xK1...part1.rar.html
http://www.upload2.net/download2/Qm4...part2.rar.html
http://www.upload2.net/download2/x8F...part3.rar.html

The new voice message to the sheikh Osama bin Laden that Allah kept
The one that was with chronicling 9 / 12 / 1426 H

http://usamaa1.notlong.com/
http://www.sendspace.com/file/4x0k3o
http://83.149.98.110/file/4x0k3o
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZFS3R130
http://www.sendspace.com/file/duwnss
http://www.sendspace.com/file/yl6hqs

To the tape Al Soutalgdid of the sheikh Osama was stationed a tie
To the new audio tape to the sheikh Osama as Gabalgzira

And on it the suspension of island
https://111-111.notlong.com/

==================================

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته ..
نقلتها لكم من أخيكم : أسامة بن لادن من منتدى الشاملة ..

للإخوة الذين يواجههم الحجب في بلاد الحرمين عليهم ببرامج تخطي الحجب
لكي يحملوا بعض المحاضرات والأفلام

1- حال الجهاد
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=20AW464V

2- الجهاد وتحدى العقبات
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5F6PRL6K

3- أفغانستان
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MM7Q2FZQ

4- أحوال الجهاد والمجاهدين
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QZKMQNCB

5- واجبنا نحو فلسطين
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZYUKLLOO

6- عبر وبصائر من أفغانستان
مقطع فيديو للشيخ الامام أبو عبد الله أسامة بن لادن حفظه الله من الجهاد أيام الروس - نسأل الله الثبات

المقطع مدته 9 دقائق وحجمه حوالى 10 ميجا
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T7DY7O98

شريط : يا أمةالاسلام
من مركز البحوث والدراسات الاسلامية - رده الله إلينا
وكما فى الشريطالصوتى فهو فى 2004-1425

اليكم رابط الشريط الصوتى
http://uppit.com/dl.php?id=688
http://d.turboupload.com/d/169710/yaammat2.ram.html

هذه خطبةالجمعة من معسكرالفاروق رزقنا الله الاعداد فيه
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=IZ6PXV4Y

هذه روابط جديدة لمحاضرة الشيخ / أسامة بن لادن - حفظه الله - بعنوان
" حديث كعب بن مالك "

المحاضرة على جزئين ..
الجزء الأول 98.8 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=19QPBZ43

الجزء الثاني 50.0 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=37EM08BG
هذا فيديو من قناة أجنبيه عن مؤتمر صحفي
ضم قادةالجهاد في الاماره الإسلاميةردها اللهفي عز وتمكين

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=B9GYFXRE

هذا فيديوايظهر فيه الشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله وهويقود جرافة:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=8QF2I5OQ
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=D3DNKNYS

مقطع نادر للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله يتحدث عن قصف المصلين ومعهم جلال الدين حقاني وعن طريقة الحرب ضد الأمريكان في أفغانستان

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4L48XZ3D
رساله الى الشعبالأمريكي بمناسبة الانتخابات الأمريكيه
(اخر رساله مرئيه للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله)

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E4S271QV

وهذهخطبة للشيخ أسامةبن لادن حفظه الله بعنوان ( توجيهات منهجية ) 1،2،3 .
توجيهاتمنهجية للشيخ أسامة بن لادن حفظه الله 1 ، 2، 3،

توجيهات منهجية 1
l
http://z23.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=12955

توجيهات منهجية 2

http://z28.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=12880

توجيهات منهجية 3

http://d.turboupload.com/d/172405/15...51 5.wma.html
http://z23.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=129 60

.
.
الرساله الأولى لأهل العراق التي جائت بعد انقطاعطويل
للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GCPGE9O9

الرساله الثانيه التيوجهها الشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
للمجاهدين في العراق بعد مرور عام علىالغزو
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CWPISA3L

اخر رساله وجهها الشيخاسامة بن لادن حفظه الله الى أهل العراق
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=UTBKNXFS
كلمة إلى شباب الأمة
لتحميل الفيلم اضغط على الرابط انتظر 45ثانية
تظهر لك كلمة download اضغط عليها لتحميل الفيلم
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=20XPSVQ2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=26ZQAMJ7

الفيلم السابق رائع يعرض كلمةالشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله,
مع مقاطع الفيديوا التي ظهر فيها على شاشاتالتلفزة
فيلم حال الأمة الإسلامية

الجزء الأول 552 ميغا
http://ia300106.us.archive.org/1/ite...ftheummah1.mpg
الجزءالثاني 504 ميغا
http://ia300119.us.archive.org/0/ite...ftheummah2.mpg
يوجدفي الفيلم لقطات كثيرة للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
خطبة النفير للشيخ أسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
http://d.turboupload.com/d/172486/nafeer.ram.html
http://z23.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=130 85

خطبةحقيقة الصراع
http://d.turboupload.com/d/172595/os-un.mp3.html
http://z11.zupload.com//download.php?filepath=254 96

مقطع صوتي للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله لم تقم الجزيرة بنشره
http://www.gulflobby.com/lobby/upload/osambnldan.zip

روابطجديدة :شرح حديث كعب بن مالك .

. محاضرة مرئية للشيخ / أسامة بن لادن حفظهالله
الجزء الأول 98.8 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=19QPBZ43
http://www.uploading.com/?get=KFXMGFSX

الجزء الثاني 50.0 MB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=37EM08BG
http://www.uploading.com/?get=LS1HJJ0I

لقاء تيسير علوني علوني مع الشيخ أسامة بن لادن حفظهالله
http://www.archive.org/download/qawa...s-shuhadaa.mpg
اضغطعلى الرابط بزر الفارة الايمن ثم اضغط علىsave as

مقطع فيديوا للشيخ اسامةبن لادن
والشيخ ايمن الظواهري حفظهما الله في معسكر الفاروق:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/863to0
المقطع يتضمنموسيقى فأطفئ الصوت حين ما تأتي جزاك الله خيرا
فيديو للشيخ أسامة بن لادن حفظه الله وهو فيالسودان,
وفيه لقطات للشيخ اسامة بن لادن ايام الحرب ضد الاتحاد السوفييتي

http://www.uploading.com/?get=9SI0X49Z
http://www.fileforwarding.com/file.php?id=5036
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MD8PX2O8
http://1.blurg.com/dl/0007929009sj092.zip
http://www.sendmefile.com/00212046
http://www.spread-it.com/dl.php?id=7...e35a688494ddbc
http://www.zshare.net/download/99sj-092-zip.html
http://www.ihud.com/file.php?file=04.../ - تم حذف البريد من قبل الادارة يرجى مراجعة قوانين المنتدى -

فيديو نادر -للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0b55j7
http://www.zshare.net/download/bin_laden_vid-rm.html
http://www.zshare.net/download/obinl-rm.html

لقاء الشيخأسامة مع قناة الجزيرة 1998 أول لقاء
وهو بجودة عالية حجم 537 ميجا بصيغة DIVX
رابط التحميل
http://qadimoun.notlong.com/
على خطى بن لادن

برنامجوثائقي عرض على قناة العبرية يتكلم عن سير الشيخ المجاهد أسامة بن لادن - حفظه اللهورعاه - بعد غزوة الحادي عشر من سبتمبر يوم الثلاثاء المبارك وأعتقد أنه المرةالأولى ينشر على المنتديات ويسرني أن يكون حصرياً على شبكتنا شبكة الإخلاصالإسلامية ...
الفلم مقسم على جزئين ...
الجزء الأول 62 MB
http://file.uploadr.com/4b7c

الجزءالثاني 57 MB
http://file.uploadr.com/4b82

شرحالاية الكريمة(ومن يتولهم منكم فانه منهم)
بصوت الشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
http://freefilehosting.net/file/?id=qtH8laXa
ملاحظه هذاالرابط غير الاول هو عبارة عن فلاش

فلاش صوتي لمبايعة الشيخ اسامة بنلادن حفظه الله
للشيخ ابو مصعب الزرقاوي حفظه الله
http://flashsound.jeeran.com/osama.swf
فلاش مرئي لمبايعةالشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
للشيخ ابو مصعب الزرقاوي حفظه الله
http://flashsound.jeeran.com/bn-index.html.swf

مقطع فيديوا للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله وهو يحدث المجاهدين
http://www.filegone.com/k0lp

الشيخ أسامة بن لادنحفظه الله - All-In-One في
رابط واحد - الحجم 21 ميجا
http://www.sendover.com/AUTE-AN-X8V9

الملف مقسم لثلاثأقسام
http://www.uploading.com/?get=SZSHF20X
http://www.uploading.com/?get=0TYHS5VA
http://www.uploading.com/?get=A569RCQK

مقسم لثلاث أقسام - 7 ميجا كل ملف
http://www.upload2.net/download2/xK1...part1.rar.html
http://www.upload2.net/download2/Qm4...part2.rar.html
http://www.upload2.net/download2/x8F...part3.rar.html

الرسالة الصوتية الجديدة للشيخ اسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
التي كانت بتأريخ 9 / 12 / 1426 هـ

http://usamaa1.notlong.com/
http://www.sendspace.com/file/4x0k3o
http://83.149.98.110/file/4x0k3o
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ZFS3R130
http://www.sendspace.com/file/duwnss
http://www.sendspace.com/file/yl6hqs

رابط للشريط الصوتىالجديد للشيخ أسامة رابط
للشريط الصوتى الجديد للشيخ أسامة كما جاءبالجزيرة

وعليه تعليق الجزيرة
https://111-111.notlong.com/

أبيات شعرية بصوت الشيخ أسامة بن لادن حفظه الله عنبغداد الجريحه
مع انشودة (نعم اسامة في جبين العز شامة)بلحن جديد
http://www.uparab.com/601/1137978736.mp3
http://www.mytempdir.com/402642
http://www.mytempdir.com/402642

Poetic verses by sheikh Osama bin Laden's vote that Anbghdad's Allah, the injured kept
With a song ( Osama enjoyed in the glory forehead a mole ) by a new melody
http://www.uparab.com/601/1137978736.mp3
http://www.mytempdir.com/402642
http://www.mytempdir.com/402642

Casey

03-04-2007, 10:49 PM

More downloads,

The name of God the Merciful

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

May peace and God's mercy and blessings

فيديو عن الشيخ أسامه بن لادن حفظه الله تعالى تقريبا كل الصور والافلام التى ظهر فيه وبه لقطات نادره للشيخ

Video on Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God Almighty almost all the pictures and films, which showed him pictures of the rare Grand

http://www.archive.org/download/Sheikh_Osama_bin_Laden/Sheikh_Osama_bin_Laden.wmv

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/caseybritton/1-4.jpg

Nader stanza of Sheikh Ayman Al-Zawahiri

http://www.archive.org/download/Sheikh_Osama_bin_Laden/Sheikh_Osama_bin_Laden.wmv

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/caseybritton/2-4.jpg

al-Canine

03-10-2007, 10:25 PM

Al-Qaeda: the second coming

This weekend Osama bin Laden turned 50, probably on the wild Pakistan border, while Madrid falls silent today to honour its 2004 bomb victims . But what of al-Qaeda? In a major investigation, an expert on terror reveals it is evolving into a potent new threat

Jason Burke
Sunday March 11, 2007
The Observer

For his 40th birthday, Osama bin Laden's followers gave their leader a white stallion. Bin Laden, a keen horseman despite back problems, rode for hours through the dusty farmland and hills around his base north of Jalalabad, the eastern Afghan city.

Yesterday the leader of al-Qaeda turned 50. It is unlikely that the gesture was repeated. Almost all the men who gave their chief the stallion are now dead, the base has been dismantled and a similar ride would be to risk detection, identification and a pinpoint missile strike. Yet, though he may lack horses and veteran associates, bin Laden is far from finished. Indeed, nine years after his declaration of war on the West and five and a half years after the attacks of 11 September, 2001, their leader is as present as ever on the world stage, linked, rightly or wrongly, to violence across half the globe.

This weekend there is talk of an al-Qaeda connection to the recent spate of particularly bloody bombings in Iraq. The trial of Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, the terror group's associate who originally planned the 9/11 strikes, is due to start in Guantanamo Bay and will spark massive media interest. In the UK a series of trials of alleged Islamic militants, some accused of having links to bin Laden's closest collaborators, continue. In Afghanistan, where British casualties mount every week, Taliban militants boast of the forces they have gathered for a 'spring offensive'. The continuing evolution of the phenomenon of 'al-Qaeda' continues to surprise - and deeply worry - those charged with keeping us safe. An investigation by The Observer, involving hours of face-to-face interviews with current and former government and military officials, experts and intelligence analysts in Afghanistan, Britain, France, Germany and Morocco, as well as sources contacted in a dozen other countries including the US and Pakistan, reveals why - and discloses the frightening reality of the changing threat.

The camp is high in the mountains, near the Afghan city of Khost, at the end of a dirt track on the border with Pakistan. It is not much to look at - a few mud buildings and some tents that are barely visible on the satellite photographs that Western intelligence experts spend hours poring over. It does not even have a name. But it is the symbol of a newly resurgent al-Qaeda 'hard core' or 'headquarters' that is, according to analysts, 'more dangerous than ever'.

For the camp is a training centre, run by a mixed team of Afghan, Arab and Pakistani instructors, fundraisers and ideologues. It is only one of half a dozen such installations set up in the past 18 months. It is in these camps, The Observer has learnt, that dozens of British citizens are thought to have been trained and then sent into Afghanistan to fight in recent months. The men, all of whom come from families with strong links to Pakistan, are said to number between 20 and 30, although details are scant. Security services have traced the individuals to the camps - most of which are on the Pakistani side of the border - but then lost the trail.

The men have either died in combat, are still fighting American, British or other Nato nations' forces in the country or are 'on their way home', say sources in the US, the UK and southwest Asia. 'We just hope they are dead,' one source admitted. 'It's best that they blow themselves up over there than over here.'

The men, like the camp, are part of a new wave of al-Qaeda activism that has astonished security services. As well as the British recruits suspected of having died in Afghanistan, The Observer investigation has revealed that:

· Britain is universally considered to be the nation 'most threatened by a major terrorist strike' outside the Middle East or southwest Asia because of its strong support for American foreign policies, relative accessibility compared to the US and strong historic connections to Pakistan which allows in hundreds of thousands of British subjects to travel virtually unmonitored every year. Though only a tiny minority are involved in militancy, the ease of access to the country for Urdu-speaking Britons is a huge advantage to those bent on violence.

· Al-Qaeda has re-established its 'nerve centre' in the lawless tribal areas of western Pakistan. The country is now considered the 'centre of gravity' of al-Qaeda by security services and the 'critical battlefield' in the years to come.

· Contrary to the British government's public claim, every source spoken to by The Observer, official or otherwise, in Britain and elsewhere believes the Iraq war has exacerbated the threat to the UK specifically and to the West generally. 'It is a huge part of the problem,' one senior British government counter-terrorism specialist said. However, contrary to exaggerated reports, the number of Westerners who have gone to Iraq to fight is said to be 'a handful'.

· Major co-ordinated attacks on the critical infrastructure of Western nations, such as the Channel Tunnel or passenger jets, are 'within the capability and ambition' of militants close to the al-Qaeda leadership and acting independently and are being actively planned.

· All sources consulted believe Osama bin Laden to be alive. However, his death would 'make little operational difference', analysts say, possibly damaging 'the organisation' but not 'the movement'.

· All thought the struggle against Islamic terrorism was growing and would last 'many decades'.

Western government analysts now usually split al-Qaeda into three elements. The first is a 'hard core' of well-known leaders such as bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, his Egyptian-born associate, in Afghanistan. Security officials believe key decisions and operations take place on a new 'middle management' level dedicated to training volunteers who make their way to Pakistan and to co-ordinating both propaganda and bomb attacks around the world.

'Al-Qaeda as an operational, technically capable network, with chains of command leading back to Pakistan from many places, is very much alive and well and continuing to plot,' said one security source. 'This is very, very surprising given the damage they have suffered but they are a very resilient organisation.'

Although the mid-level management frequently suffers losses as key figures are arrested or killed - 'the job with the shortest life expectancy in the world must be al-Qaeda's director of external communications,' said one UK official - there is no shortage of new faces to fill the ranks. 'We are seeing an entirely new generation of militant,' said one US source.

The second element is the 'network of networks', defined as the series of groups affiliated to the al-Qaeda hard core in Iraq, elsewhere in the Middle East and, increasingly, in some North African countries. These 'franchises' have links to individuals inside Western European countries, particularly the Algerian-based Groupe Salafiste de Predication et le Combat, and are seen as a potentially major threat. Analysts see a 'clear convergence, practically and ideologically, among militant groups globally' with greater co-ordination between them.

'There is subcontracting of functions,' said one Casablanca-based expert. 'Groups in Morocco were tasked with logistics for groups elsewhere, in Spain for example. So, like multinational companies, al-Qaeda "delocalises" key functions - and constructs cosmopolitan leadership teams.'

So the arrest of two French militants returning from Iraq, who were allegedly planning to strike in Italy, has not surprised officials in Paris. 'Plot an attack here, execute it in another country and hide somewhere else is very logical,' said Christophe Chaboud, head of France's Anti-terrorism Co-ordination Unit.

'The national barriers are falling by the wayside,' said one Pakistani official. 'Once a group was just dedicated to jihad in Kashmir or Afghanistan. Now it has a far broader agenda and engagement.' With Kashmiri groups historically having a significant presence in the UK, this growing unity is of great significance for British domestic security.

Significantly, the Taliban in Afghanistan is not considered to be closely linked to the al-Qaeda hard core, though there is reported to be ad hoc co-ordination between the various groups comprising the insurgency, including some transfer of technical and tactical know-how and cash. One civilian source in Kabul described links between Afghan and Iraqi militants as 'sketchy'.

'The Afghans are said to have learnt their bomb-making skills from the Iraqis but in some areas, such as detonators, they are far ahead and need no tuition,' he said. Only two of the 140 suicide bombers who have died in Afghanistan since mid-2005 have come from outside Afghanistan, Pakistan or Afghan and Pakistani communities living overseas.

'They may well include British Pakistanis,' the source said, 'After the explosion, it is difficult to tell.' Some suicide bombers have been identified as relatives of people killed in coalition bombing strikes who are seeking revenge.

Bin Laden himself, however, is thought by Afghan military sources to be exploiting his links through marriage to senior Taliban figures such as Mullah Mohammed Omar to boost his security. 'Being part of a tribal network makes him much safer,' said one Afghan official. Though some believe that bin Laden and al-Zawahiri are in the northern Afghan province of Kunar, the consensus is that they remain further south, probably in the mountains south of Khost. They are unlikely to be together, to prevent the organisation being decapitated by a single strike. Many analysts believe that, instead of moving around, bin Laden has 'found a bolthole and has bolted it'. No one can be sure. 'Hard info on bin Laden's recent whereabouts or his state of health is one of the rarest commodities in the world,' said an ex-CIA officer.

The third element of 'al-Qaeda Mk2', say security officials, is ideology. This has mobilised thousands of young Muslims from a wide variety of backgrounds around the world in the last five years. Analysts now say their radicalisation is occurring far faster, aided by the internet. 'We are talking about a group of guys deciding to do something in West Yorkshire, Paris, Casablanca or Montreal', said one Western intelligence official. 'It's still amateur.'

But it can be horribly effective. According to France's Chaboud, the largest source of danger 'is the home-grown extremist'. Belgian officials point to a recently arrested teenager who had 'gone from no engagement at all to full commitment to a suicide attack' in the space of a few weeks 'alone with a computer in his bedroom'. British officials talk of suspects so young that '11 September is virtually a childhood memory' being radicalised by 'slick, effective' propaganda and contacts with older people. 'Teenagers' bedrooms are difficult to penetrate,' said one UK official.

Group thinking plays a major role. 'In reinforcing each other's view of the world, there is a shift in the perception of what is acceptable and normal,' said one senior counter-terrorism official. One Whitehall official described the sentiments of embryonic militants, often second or third generation immigrants, as: 'I am unhappy, I have an identity problem, I have too much testosterone, I have some mates who feel the same way.'

It is not the poorest people who are drawn to militancy either. The standard profile is male, mid-twenties, often with a degree and with parents who have migrated, often from southwest Asia or north Africa to the West. There are also an increasing number of converts.

But though, according to one Whitehall official, 'there is not a single person who has posed a major threat here in recent years who was not radicalised primarily in the UK,' the crucial 'X factor' which changes angry young men into terrorist killers does comes from overseas, British and French government analysts have concluded.

'For a few years it looked like the core of al-Qaeda had been destroyed as a genuine physical presence by the war of 2001 and all that remained were its ideas, powerful though they were,' said one senior Western European security source. 'Yet we have seen the core element returning as a major force. They can provide the critical legitimacy and direction that volunteers need.'

Analysts point to journeys made by the leader of the 7 July London bomb plotters, Mohammed Siddique Khan, to Pakistan, where he is believed to have met senior al-Qaeda figures. In a speech last November the director-general of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, said terrorist plots in Britain 'often have links back to al-Qaeda in Pakistan', adding that 'through those links al-Qaeda gives guidance and training to its largely British foot soldiers here on an extensive and growing scale'.

The fact that videos featuring the logo of al-Sabah, the al-Qaeda production house, now emerge within days of an event rather than taking weeks as they once did, has reinforced the idea that the 'al-Qaeda hard core' has been able to rebuild in the havens it has established in the rugged hills of northwest Pakistan.

It is the continually evolving interaction between the three main elements - the hard core, the network of networks and the ideology - that make it so resilient. Last year Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch of the Metropolitan Police, described the threat to the UK from al-Qaeda-related terrorism as 'real, deadly and enduring'.

The problem, say all the sources, is not going to go away soon. 'Some talk about a generational struggle, something taking around 30 years but I think that is too optimistic,' said a senior UK source.

Ten years ago, when bin Laden rode his horse across the Afghan hills, few outside specialised circles had even heard of him. Now he is one of the best-known individuals on the planet. And therein may lie, for him at least, the best birthday present of all.

Key Figures

At large:

Osama bin Laden

Accused of masterminding the 11 September atrocities, he has been indicted for the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa and the attacks in 2000 on the guided missile destroyer USS Cole. Last confirmed sighting in Afghanistan, 2001.

Ayman Al-Zawahiri

Egyptian al-Zawahiri is seen as the strategic thinker of al-Qaeda. He was a key figure in the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, which merged with al-Qaeda.

Saif Al-Adel

A former Egyptian army officer, was Bin Laden's security chief and ran al-Qaeda's training programmes.

Abu Mohammed Al-Masri

The 45-year-old Egyptian ran the training camps in Afghanistan.

Believed dead:

Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi

A Jordanian, he rose to notoriety as head of militant Islamic groups in Iraq. Killed in a US airstrike on an Iraqi safe house in June 2006.

Mohammed Atef

Al-Qaeda's military commander, died in an airstrike near Kabul in 2001.

In prison:

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

Captured in Pakistan in 2003, he is to be tried at Guantanamo, accused of being an architect of the 11 September attacks. Born in Pakistan, Mohammed joined al-Qaeda in the mid-1990s.

Ramzi Binalshibh

Also to be tried as a key plotter of 11 September . The former bank clerk from Yemen was arrested in Karachi, Pakistan, in 2002.

Abu Zubaydah

A Saudi of Palestinian origin, he ran the logistics for bin Laden's camps in Afghanistan. Implicated in the USS Cole attack. Captured in Pakistan, he is to stand trial.

Ali Abdul Rahman Al-Ghamdi

Said to be al-Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia. Suspected of masterminding the 2003 Riyadh bombings. Surrendered to Saudi authorities shortly afterwards.

A trail of terror

1998: Osama bin Laden declares war on the West and bombs two United States embassies in Africa

2000: Al-Qaeda attacks an American warship in Yemen

2001: 11 September strikes kill 3,000 people

2002: Bombings in Bali, Indonesia

2003: Bombs in Casablanca

2004: Bombs in Madrid kill 200

2005: More than 50 people killed by four bombs in London on 7 July

The Observer's Jason Burke is one of the world's leading experts on terrorism. His latest book, On the Road to Kandahar, is published by Allen Lane

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/focus/story/0,,2031290,00.html

Petronas

03-11-2007, 11:24 AM

From the 2007 Intelligence Summit:
OBL is in Waziristan, we have him on film there.

We could have taken OBL out before 9/11 when he was observed out in the open falcon hunting, but the Clinton White House decided against it because he was with the United Arab Emirate defense minister, who would also have been killed.

The 801

03-13-2007, 08:35 PM

Bin Laden Smuggler Arrested; Taliban Fires Missiles in Pakistan

Written by The Media Line Staff & Mideastwire Staff

Published Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Taliban fighters in northern Pakistan fired two missiles into the town of Miranshah, according to Pakistan's Pashto Radio. One of the missiles landed close to a military base. No casualties were reported.

Following the ousting of the Taliban in 2002, many of the Afghani movement's members have fled to neighboring Pakistan. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said recently that the Taliban and Al-Qa'ida have established a sizeable presence in the northern districts of his country.

A Pakistani citizen was arrested by the Afghani authorities charged with facilitating the entry of Al-Qa'ida leader Osama Bin Laden into Afghanistan, the London-based daily Al-Hayyat reported.

The paper quoted sources in the Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry, who said they were recently informed of the matter by their Afghani counterparts. The Pakistani, Sayyid Akbar, reportedly smuggled Bin Laden into the Nouristan province in eastern Afghanistan and provided him with shelter for an unknown period of time.

The Afghani intelligence services are accusing Akbar of being the liaison officer between Pakistan's intelligence services and Bin Laden. The Pakistani Foreign Affairs Ministry called upon Afghanistan to allow its diplomats in Kabul to meet with the detainee to identify him. Akbar is now being interrogated and is believed to have been a close aide to Bin Laden in the past two years, according to the spokesman for Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Karim Rahimi.

Kabul has not specified when Bin Laden was smuggled into the country, but underlined this had taken place in the past few months.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have been trading accusations in the past few months, each claiming Bin Laden was hiding in the neighboring country. The two countries also blame each other for the constant infiltration of terrorists from one side of the border to the other.

The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan stretches along 1,510 miles. There is no fence or any other kind of barrier along the border.

Copyright © 2006 The Media Line. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.themedialine.org/news/news_detail.asp?NewsID=17023

I'll follow up on this story as I can find information - 801

The 801

03-20-2007, 07:34 AM

Osama Bin Laden: Alive and Well and Living in the Valley of Dir
Where He Is Planning the American Hiroshima

Where in the world is Osama bin Laden?

Let’s face it. He shouldn’t be hard to find, especially from a Predator, an aerial reconnaissance vehicle that can read the minute hands of a wristwatch from an altitude of twenty-six thousand feet.

Bin Laden is very tall (slightly over 6’6”) and incredibly thin (less than 150 pounds). He wears shalwart kameez (the loose-fitting tunics and baggy pants of al Qaeda and Taliban soldiers) and, when the weather is cold, he dons a camouflage jacket. Although he was born in 1957 and far from retirement age, the Al Qaeda chieftain appears to be very old. His long scraggly beard is pure white; his face is lined with countless wrinkles; and his shoulders are hunched and rounded. He is bent forward to such a degree that he seems to suffer from a form of osteoporosis. He is left-handed and walks with a cane. Last week, on March 10, he celebrated his fiftieth birthday

Osama is almost always surrounded by fawning attendants who hail him not as Sultan bin Laden or Emir bin Laden but rather as “awaited enlightened one,” the title reserved for the Mahdi”. The Mahdi is the rightly guided caliph who will appear during the last days of human history. His coming is foretold by the Haddith, the sacred teachings that supplement the Koran. In such writings, the Mahdi is depicted as the figure who will bring forth the “Day of Islam,” when all people throughout the world - - believers and unbelievers alike - - will fall in submission before the throne of Allah.

Bin Laden possesses the distinguishing marks of the Mahdi - - the high forehead, the prominent nose, the gap between his teeth, and the black mole on his face. He is pleased to point out these features to photographers and reporters from al Jazeera and other Arabic news outlets.
Despite his pre-eminence among Muslims, the $25 million price-tag on his head, and the fact that his image is omnipresent in marketplaces, stores, shops, murals on the sides of buildings throughout the Middle East, no one has been able to find him.

The hunt has so stymied combined US and UK intelligence forces that Tony Blair called upon the Ministry of Defense to hire a team of psychics to aid in the search. The experiment was unsuccessful and succeeded only in leaving the British taxpayers with a tab of 18,000 pounds.

The failure to find bin Laden gave rise to speculation that he had been killed by the bombings of Al Qaeda cells and safe homes at the launching of Operation Enduring Freedom on October 7, 2001. Such speculation was put to rest by the appearance of Osama with his sidekick Ayman al-Zawahiri on Kabul television in late October 2001. In the broadcast, the twosome sat before a campfire with sticks and appeared like Muslim boy scouts about to roast some marshmallows.

In November 2001, after coalition forces seized control of Kandahar, U. S. officials received word that bin Laden and company were safely sequestered within an impregnable mountain fortress that had been created 350 yards beneath solid rock at the highest peak of the Spin Ghar or “White Mountains,” a peak known as Tora Bora. Elaborate drawings of this fortress were published in major newspapers throughout the world, including The New York Times. The drawings depicted a vast underground complex that contained a bakery, a hospital with ultrasound equipment, a hotel for two-thousand occupants, a mosque, a library, an arsenal for weapons of mass destruction, and a hydro-electric plant.

And so the massive bombing of Tora Bora began. For nearly two weeks, the mountain peak was pounded with “bunker busters” in an attempt to collapse the troglodyte lair of the terrorists. At one point, a “daisy cutter” - - a 6,800 kiloton bomb, the largest bomb in the US arsenal - - was dropped on the target. At the end of the siege, coalition forces combed the mountainside in search of hundreds of bodies. But few bodies were found and only 19 emaciated and toothless captives could be rounded up for the victory parade before the international press in Kandahar.

The vast underground complex did not exist. It had been a figment of overactive imaginations of members of the Northern Alliance that had been accepted without question by US intelligence officials.

Next came word that the elusive bin Laden had regrouped his forces and was hiding in the mountainous region of Shah-i-Kot. Two tall, thin and bearded men in shalwart kameez were spotted by an aerial reconnaissance vehicle standing before a tarpaulin at the entrance to a cave. US military heads assumed that the tarpaulin was covering a machine-gun post and that the men, because of their height, dress, and posture, were Arabs and, therefore, al Qaeda operatives.

Operation Anaconda, the plan to encircle Shah-i-Kot and squeeze the Al Qaeda and Taliban operatives out of their hiding places, got underway on March 2, 2003. Fierce resistance was reported by the coalition forces. Megaton bombs were dropped at the rate of 260 a day to ferret out the terrorists. The reported enemy death toll rose and fell like the fluctuations of a troubled currency: 100, 500, 200, 800, 300. When the fighting came to an end on March 12, only ten enemy soldiers were taken prisoner and less than twenty bodies were found within the battle zone. The full military offensive, replete with the dropping of 3,250 bombs, had been conducted on largely uninhabited territory.

In the wake of the first phase of Operation Enduring Freedom, US intelligence sources were able to confirm over five hundred al Qaeda and Taliban soldiers had fled Afghanistan by scaling the mountains in the south along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and cutting through Afghanistan’s southernmost provinces toward the border with Iran, where they found safe haven. The enemy operatives within Iran included Saad bin Laden, Osama’s eldest son; Yaaz bin Sifat, a top-ranking al-Qaeda planner; Mohammed Islam Haani, the major of Kabul under the Taliban; and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who had been in charge of al-Qaeda’s attacks on Europe. By spring of 2002, al Zawahiri, bin Laden’s top lieutenant, was spotted in Iran, where he reportedly donned the disguise of an Iranian cleric with a black turban and a dyed beard.

Within Iran, the al Qaeda guests were placed in safe houses by SAVAMA, the Iranian intelligence service. These villas, located in southern Iran, with saunas and swimming pools, are lavish even by American standards. The operatives remain in this villa at this writing.

But where is Osama?

In 2003, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) informed CIA officials that the al-Qaeda head was sequestered in the wilds of Waziristan, a region between Balochistan and the North West Frontier in Pakistan. In July 2003, Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf shelled out millions in cold cash (thanks to the largesse of the CIA) to tribal chieftains within Northern Waziristan in order to obtain permission for Pakistani troops to enter their semi-autonomous tribal territories. It was the first time that such troops were allowed to set foot within the province since the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

It was small surprise to many observers that the payments were for nothing. The Pakistani troops combed the Tirah and Shawai valleys and discovered not a trace of Osama or any al Qaeda officials.

Attention now turned to South Waziristan. In March 2004, President Musharraf, upon receiving the consent of the chieftains, sent an army of 70,000 into the province. A welter of excitement followed the invasion when Musharraf announced that a high value target had been pinned down. The speculation, fueled by U. S. military sources, was that it was bin Laden or al-Zawahiri. But neither one showed up. There were foreign militants in the area, but less than 600, far fewer than the Pakistani authorities claimed, and most were Uzbeks.

The hunt for Osama bin Laden had grown cold. There were no confirmed sightings; no intercepts of satellite phone calls; no evidence of e-mails. The only assurance of his existence came from his periodic appearances on al-Jazeera. He had performed the most remarkable disappearing act in human history. Still and all, stories surfaced that he had made his way to Chechnya and that he was safely sequestered among the Ulghurs in China.

Where is Osama bin Laden?

His whereabouts cannot be pinpointed by official military and intelligence sources, despite the drones that fly day and night over the Afghan-Pakistani border. Nor can his hiding place be determined by members of the media, who continue to provide c notes to Pashtuns and Tajiks for useless information.

To discover the whereabouts of the world’s most wanted man, it is best to turn to unofficial yet reliable sources, such as the professional soldiers for paramilitary corporations that attend the annual Soldier of Fortune convention in Las Vegas. The mercenaries (“mercs,” for short) know where he is since they are anxious albeit not willing to collect the $25 million bounty.

Osama bin Laden is alive and well and living in the valley of Dir within the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. He has been there since he escaped from Tora Bora in December 2001.
To substantiate this claim, the mercs produce shabnamas or “night letters” that are circulated among the various tribes within the frontier. The night letters contain updates of Osama at work and play and photos of the al-Qaeda leader with Maulvi Sufi Mohamed, an old and revered Muslim scholar, who maintains a Taliban-style rule over the valley of Dir with public executions of adulterers, homosexuals, apostates, and Christian infidels.

Mercs point out that news of Osama’s whereabouts was even published on the front page of the Daily Ummat, the leading Urdu language paper of Karachi, on August 10, 2003. Unfortunately, no one in the U. S. defense department (let alone the U. S. intelligence community) took heed of the article with the smiling face of the great emir before the invasions of Waziristan.

Dir remains within the Malakand Pass, the site of some of the fiercest skirmishes under the British Raj. A Pakistani army fort still stands where the young Winston Churchill shot down rebels and received a citation for heroism. Ironically, it now serves as the headquarters of the leader of the Mujahadeen who has unleashed a wave of terrorist attacks against Great Britain.

Despite the bounty, bin Laden remains not only safe and secure in Dir but also free to travel to other parts of the country, including regular trips to Peshawar and the smuggler-infested bazaar town of Rebat at the center of “the Devil’s Triangle,” the conjunction of the borders of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. No Muslim will dare to capture or kill him - - not even a squadron of elite military personnel from the Musharraf government, let alone a group of professional bounty hunters. It is the duty of all Muslims to honor the revered leader of the Mujahadeen, who has been ordained to bring forth the Day of Islam.

What’s more, bin Laden is protected by milmastia - - the Islamic code of hospitality that demands protection for fellow Muslims who seek shelter in their country - - even if such protection means risking their lives. Believing Muslims know that the $25 million reward comes with the price tag of apostasy and eternal damnation. Mercs point out that Pakistani soldiers and ISI officials are even unwilling to collar Osama and his cohorts when they appear in Peshawar. They don’t want to go to hell for money or Musharref.

Bin Laden remains protected by yet another factor. Any concerted attempt by the United States to invade any part of the North West Frontier Province by crossing the 680-mile border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in an effort to capture the world’s most wanted man will be met by the resistance of the vast majority of twenty million Muslims who inhabit the formidable area. Such resistance could result in the toppling of the Musharref regime so that Pakistan, with its arsenal of strategic nuclear weapons, would fall under the control of the radical mullahs who wait in the wings.

At present, the way to Dir, according to the mercs, remains strewn with the bodies of would-be bounty hunters. They have been cast in the pines beside the dirt road. All have been tortured, stripped naked, and castrated. Their eyeballs have been plucked from their sockets; their ears have been hacked off; and their tongues have been ripped from their mouths. Notes have been strapped to the groin of every victim. “Do not be angry or shocked,” the notes say in Pashtu. “These are the bodies of agents of the USA.”

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/global.php?id=812302

The 801

03-20-2007, 07:53 AM

Note:
Dir is apparently very close to Chirtel, a place that has been discussed here before.

http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91&page=17

Mike

04-04-2007, 08:33 AM

نعيم الجزائريNaim Algerian كــاتــبWriter مشاركاته: a 24Its engagement : a 24 إنضمامه: Sep 2006Joined : Sep 2006

أخبار عن ظهور شيخ المجاهدين مجدداNews of the emergence of Grand Mujahideen again

السلام عليكمBye
بعد الغياب الطويل من شيخ المجاهدين, و الذي إشتقنا له كثيرا و لخطباته هاهي تتسرب بعضAfter long absence from the Grand Sheikh of the Mujahideen, which is Ashtekana him often and for Khtabath Now some leaks
الأخبار عن ظهور الشيخ أسامة حفظه الله ورعاه وجعله شوكة في حلق أعدائه, أن شبكة سحاب الأعلامية والمختصة بنشر خطابات زعماء تنظيم القاعدة قد أنتهت مؤخراً عن الأصدار المرئي المتضمن خطاب بن لادن للأمة الاسلامية كافة.The news about the emergence of Sheikh Osama, may God preserve him, and the pastors make it a thorn in the side of his enemies hours, the network Sahab media and competent publish letters Al-Qaida leaders had recently Release video containing bin Laden speech to the Islamic nation all.
و الأخبار تقول أن مما في كلام الشيخ أبو عبد الله أسامة بن لادن والمختصر في رسائل عدة منها الى مجاهدين أرض الرافدين والى الشعب الفلسطيني وتفاصيل خيار الاستسلام التى أذعنت له حركة حماس ....News, which says that in the words of Sheikh Abu Abdullah Osama bin Laden, the acronym in several messages to the mujahideen land Rafidain and to the Palestinian people and the details of the option to surrender him isolated Hamas ....
كم تطرق القمة العربية التى عُقدة في الرياض ومستقبل قراراتها على الامة الاسلامية وما تمليه القوى الاجنبية أتجاهـ المنطقة ومخاوف أمريكا وحلفائها من قيام دولة الخلافة في أرض الرافدين وبشائر النصر في كلاً من العراق وأفغانستان.How touched the Arab summit held in Riyadh and its decisions on the future of the Islamic nation and the dictates of foreign forces direction of the region and fears of the United States and its allies of the Caliphate State in the land of the Rafidain and heralds of victory in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

اللهم عجل بظهوره و زلزل بخطابه أعدائهO hastily assuming the earthquake and rhetoric enemies

Casey

04-04-2007, 09:16 AM

نعيم الجزائريNaim Algerian كــاتــبWriter مشاركاته: a 24Its engagement : a 24 إنضمامه: Sep 2006Joined : Sep 2006

أخبار عن ظهور شيخ المجاهدين مجدداNews of the emergence of Grand Mujahideen again

This message is on several of the forums today.

In a different message yesterday, the writer was implying that bin Laden was communicating again.

Casey

04-04-2007, 09:17 AM

نعيم الجزائريNaim Algerian كــاتــبWriter مشاركاته: a 24Its engagement : a 24 إنضمامه: Sep 2006Joined : Sep 2006

أخبار عن ظهور شيخ المجاهدين مجدداNews of the emergence of Grand Mujahideen again

السلام عليك

Here is an additional translation.

News about the appearance of the militants sheikh again

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

News about the appearance of the militants sheikh again

AlSalam Alaykoum

After a long absence from the militants sheikh, who we longed to a lot and Lkhtbath there she leaks some

The news about the appearance of sheikh Osama that Allah kept and it fostered him and made him a thorn in his enemies throat, that the media woman clouds network and responsible for the publication of the speeches of the Al-Qaeda network leaders has reached recently about the included visible issuing Khattab Bin Laden the Islamic Nation all .

And the news say of what in the speech of sheikh Abu Abdullah Osama Bin Laden and the brief in messages several of them to militants Mesopotamia and to the Palestinian people and the surrender option details who the Hamas movement complied to ....

How much mentioning the Arab summit that a complex in Riyadh and its decisions future on the Islamic Nation and what the foreign strengths dictate is the direction of region, the fears of America and its allies from the emergence of the caliphate country in Mesopotamia and the victory signs in both Iraq and Afghanistan .

Oh Allah hasten its appearance and shook by its letter its enemies

Reported from the brother : Naim Al Jazairi from the renewal and a more knowledgeable Allah

أخبار عن ظهور شيخ المجاهدين مجددا

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

أخبار عن ظهور شيخ المجاهدين مجددا

السلام عليكم
بعد الغياب الطويل من شيخ المجاهدين, و الذي إشتقنا له كثيرا و لخطباته هاهي تتسرب بعض
الأخبار عن ظهور الشيخ أسامة حفظه الله ورعاه وجعله شوكة في حلق أعدائه, أن شبكة سحاب الأعلامية والمختصة بنشر خطابات زعماء تنظيم القاعدة قد أنتهت مؤخراً عن الأصدار المرئي المتضمن خطاب بن لادن للأمة الاسلامية كافة.
و الأخبار تقول أن مما في كلام الشيخ أبو عبد الله أسامة بن لادن والمختصر في رسائل عدة منها الى مجاهدين أرض الرافدين والى الشعب الفلسطيني وتفاصيل خيار الاستسلام التى أذعنت له حركة حماس ....
كم تطرق القمة العربية التى عُقدة في الرياض ومستقبل قراراتها على الامة الاسلامية وما تمليه القوى الاجنبية أتجاهـ المنطقة ومخاوف أمريكا وحلفائها من قيام دولة الخلافة في أرض الرافدين وبشائر النصر في كلاً من العراق وأفغانستان.

اللهم عجل بظهوره و زلزل بخطابه أعدائه

منقول عن الاخ : نعيم الجزائري من التجديد والله أعلم

Casey

04-04-2007, 10:47 AM

نعيم الجزائريNaim Algerian كــاتــبWriter مشاركاته: a 24Its engagement : a 24 إنضمامه: Sep 2006Joined : Sep 2006

أخبار عن ظهور شيخ المجاهدين مجدداNews of the emergence of Grand Mujahideen again

This message appears to have been removed from tajdeed.

Last night I was looking at another forum, a message had just been posted, it had 1 view and 0 replies.

When I tried to view it the message was no longer available.

Casey

04-05-2007, 10:09 AM

CentCom's translation of the message in the previous posts:

On 4 April, a jihadist website carried the following posting:

"After a long absence by the shaykh of mujahidin, whom we have missed as well as his speeches, some news is being leaked indicating that Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin, God protect and preserve him and make him a thorn in the throat of the enemies, will make an appearance. The news indicates that Al-Sahab Media Establishment, which specializes in publishing Al-Qa'ida leaders' speeches, has recently finished producing a video featuring Bin Ladin's speech to the entire Islamic nation. "

Furthermore, the poster of this note maintains that the speech includes several messages to the "mujahidin" in Iraq, the Palestinian People on " the capitulation choice which HAMAS gave in to," the Riyadh Arab summit, the "fears" of America and its allies of the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate state in Iraq, and the "good tidings of victory in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Link (http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom2/Exposing%20the%20Enemy/Al-Sahab%20Expected%20To%20Release%20New%20Bin%20Ladi n%20Video.aspx)

Vancouver

04-06-2007, 05:20 AM

This new prediction is that bin Ladin will give a "message", not necessarily a video of the great man in person, or even an audio necessarily. But I figure a video is the most likely chance.

One detail in the prediction looks realistic to me: Na'im the Algerian says Usama will spiel about the jihadi victories all over the place, in a general way, but he will address specifically the Hamas/Fatah powwow that was hosted in Riyadh by bin Ladin's arch enemy the King of Saudi Arabia. That meeting does sound like something that would get bin Ladin's goat and provoke him to appear; for if Hamas hobnobs with the Sauds, then Hamas must be no good in bin Ladin's view. He never did care much for Fatah. (One of the declassified Harmony documents, written by some al-Qaida bigshot, says about certain Somalis, that "they have even less manhood than Saddam Hussein and Yasser Arafat".)

Another vague reason to expect Usama to reappear is that Zawahiri's frequent snarling gets little real traction with Iraqis or Arabians or indeed anybody except Egyptians. (Yes it gets a lot of attention from forum wannabes, but what al-Qaida person ever quotes Zawahiri? On the contrary, they tell Zawahiri who the new boss of AQAI is, and they tell Zawahiri to do introductions to their videos, e.g. the one about al-Hukaymah.) Also AAZ and UBL haven't been together for 5 years and they have little in common. Moreover Zawahiri has a long history of falling out with his allies. IMO al-Qaida is now largely cut in two: the Egyptians and other North Africans with EIJ roots and refuge in Europe, and the Iraqis with their Arabian backers and recruits.

Now the bad news: If Na'im the Algerian really had reason to expect a new UBL appearance, wouldn't he be more florid and longwinded in this posting of his? Na'im the Algerian has written 20-odd pieces at tajdeed. I doubt he's just another alias of any of the Londonistan guys. But I haven't known him to be in senior AQ company before.

Well, we'll see.

Vancouver

04-06-2007, 07:55 AM

Another thought struck me. When Zawahiri crabbed about Hamas compromising with Fatah, Haniyah (of Hamas) publicly said that Zawahiri could go to hell, in effect. (But of course he said so with the profuse politeness that all Arab assassins use.) Theory: Na'im the Algerian is pissed off, or humiliated, at hearing somebody telling off Zawahiri. Na'im wants somebody to kick Haniyah's ass. So, he claims or hopes that Daddy bin Ladin is about to do exactly that. Reasonable theory? There are few facts to go on, but I try to "visualize" what goes through these guys' heads.

Klaus

04-06-2007, 04:24 PM

IMHO...,
OBL will not release video of what he currently looks like.
That is self defeating for a guy who is hiding.
Perhaps audio with a still picture?
Or his audio "tracked" over video of events that make the insurgents look good.

"a video featuring Bin Ladin's speech to the entire Islamic nation"

Modern Propoganda.

Casey

04-06-2007, 11:04 PM

This is bin Laden's golden opportunity to show himself as the politician he would like to be thought of.

If you are following the events in Iraq, the Islamic Army in Iraq has called on bin Laden to reel his AQ branch in.

Islamic State of Iraq
http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1030563#post1030563

bin Laden would be a fool not to carefully cover what is going on there.

It has already been mentioned that he will address Palestine and I fully expect he will.

bin Laden has bigger problems then us Western infidels at the moment.

edit:

The Saudi AQ branch is taking a beating also, and it's supporters. I believe the Saudi's have foiled several attacks in the past months and are making many arrests of not only militants but opposition party members and supporters. I'm sure AQ has lost some ground there.

Shipwrx

04-06-2007, 11:56 PM

<insert eyeball looking around smiley here>

:food_01:

Vancouver

04-07-2007, 02:53 AM

I have doubts about Na'im the Algerian's claim. (It appears at CentCom but it was probably put there by SITE or some other private contractor.) But Na'im or no Na'im, I expect UBL will show before long, assuming he's not put out business first. His prestige is fading by the day and he can't expect jihadis to keep getting themselves martyred indefinitely on behalf somebody they can't see or hear, without knowing whether he is still in charge and still in his right mind, and without knowing what he wants them to do.

Casey

04-25-2007, 01:13 PM

Bin Laden overseeing Iraq, Afghanistan ops: Taliban
Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:21AM EDT

DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is orchestrating militants' operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior commander of Afghan Islamist group Taliban said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday.

Bin Laden has not made any video statements for many months raising speculation that he might have died.

"He is drawing plans in Iraq and Afghanistan ... Praise God he is alive," Mullah Dadullah told Al Jazeera television.

In September, a French newspaper quoted French foreign intelligence service as saying the Saudi intelligence were convinced bin Laden had died of typhoid in Pakistan in August.

Dadullah said bin Laden ordered the attack on February 27 at the U.S. Bagram base during a visit by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney to Afghanistan.

"Do you remember the martyrdom operation inside the Bagram base which targeted a senior American official ... this operation was the result of blessed plans put by him," Dadullah said. Jazeera said the U.S. official Dadullah was referring to was Cheney.

"He (bin Laden) guided us through it," he said, adding that no Afghan would have been able to penetrate the base if it was not for the world's most wanted militant.

About 14 people were killed, including one American and one South Korean soldier in the suicide bombing which militants said targeted Cheney. A U.S. official then said Cheney was about half a mile away on the base and was not in danger.

The Taliban were toppled in 2001 by a U.S.-led coalition for refusing to hand over leaders of al Qaeda after the group's September 11 attacks on U.S. cities.

Dadullah did not give further details about the role bin Laden was playing in operations in the two countries where the United States deploys troops.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2523582220070425

Casey

04-29-2007, 06:50 PM

Once again....

A news about the militants imam if it was correct then he and Allah ...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I read in the faithfulness forum just now a news this its text :

" Al Molla Dad Allah confirms that there is a tape
A visible soon will go out
To the sheikh Osama bin Laden
God willing ."

A H
And the source did not mention the brother
abu osama1
A narrator the news
But all the brothers there grew old and they rejoiced
Do from a certain therefore
؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
, the news bibliography ..
To they see Allah what make
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

خبر عن إمام المجاهدين إن صح فهو والله...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

قرأت في منتدى الإخلاص للتو خبر هذا نصه:

"الملا داد الله يؤكد أن هناك شريط
مرئي قريباً سيخرج
للشيخ أسامة بن لادن
بأذن الله."

أ.هـ
ولم يذكر المصدر الأخ
abu osama1
ناقل الخبر
لكن الإخوة جميعا هناك كبروا وفرحوا
فهل من مؤكد لذا
؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
فإن ثبت الخبر..
فليرين الله ما أصنع
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Casey

04-29-2007, 06:52 PM

Additional translation:

news on the Mujahideen and it is true that God ... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I read in the Forum sincerity just read this news : "Dad Mullah Allah confirms that there is a visible soon will get Osama bin Laden, God willing."

A. E did not mention the source Brother abu osama1 carrier news but the brothers are all grown up and they therefore uncertain Is ??
???????????

The news proved .. Flerin God, what do !!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Once again....

خبر عن إمام المجاهدين إن صح فهو والله...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

قرأت في منتدى الإخلاص للتو خبر هذا نصه:

"الملا داد الله يؤكد أن هناك شريط
مرئي قريباً سيخرج
للشيخ أسامة بن لادن
بأذن الله."

أ.هـ
ولم يذكر المصدر الأخ
abu osama1
ناقل الخبر
لكن الإخوة جميعا هناك كبروا وفرحوا
فهل من مؤكد لذا
؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟؟
فإن ثبت الخبر..
فليرين الله ما أصنع
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Casey

04-29-2007, 06:56 PM

I believe this information comes from Mullah Dadullah who also stated recently through al Jazeera that bin Laden is overseeing Iraq, Afghanistan ops.

See message 293. (http://wincoast.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1047994&postcount=293)

Additional translation:

news on the Mujahideen and it is true that God ... !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I read in the Forum sincerity just read this news : "Dad Mullah Allah confirms that there is a visible soon will get Osama bin Laden, God willing."

A. E did not mention the source Brother abu osama1 carrier news but the brothers are all grown up and they therefore uncertain Is ??
???????????

The news proved .. Flerin God, what do !!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Casey

04-29-2007, 07:21 PM

Sheikh Osama bin Laden warns of official religious bodies and be dependable for advisory opinions

This thread was deleted before I could read the message.

Casey

04-29-2007, 07:23 PM

This message is from a different forum:

Allah Akbar (God Almladdad says that there is a visible leader Osama soon)

السلام عليكم

Bye

الله أكبر ولله العزة
Allahu Akbar Glory be to God

الملا دادا الله يقول أن هناك كلمة صوتيه وأيضآ مرئيه قريبآ لشيخنا أسامه بن لادن

Mullah Dada God says that there is a speech and also audio visual soon leader Osama Bin Laden

حفظه الله

Aiz
تكبيرررررررررررررررر رررررررررررر يا أخوان تكبيرررررررررررررررر رررررررررررر

my brothers

فسوف نسمع صوت شيخنا قريبآ

Will we hear the voice of leader soon

Vancouver

04-30-2007, 12:50 AM

Mullah Dadullah has told al-Jazeera that a new UBL video is coming, according to the usual Francophones. Whether the video will go to AJ or to the net, they don't say.

Vancouver

05-01-2007, 09:54 AM

Al-Jazeera TV said today that Mullah Dadullah has told them that the Taliban will always refuse to hand bin Ladin over to the Americans. How much this AJ story means, I don't know. Certainly Dadullah is telling al-Jazeera what al-Jazeera's viewers want to hear, and personally I wouldn't be surprised if Dadullah was scripted by al-Jazeera, and he played along in return for some form of compensation from al-Jazeera.

Windy

05-01-2007, 08:25 PM

Casey

05-01-2007, 08:45 PM

According to Jill St. Claire's site, another post regarding Bin Laden was seen on the forums on April 30th.

http://www.homelandsecurityus.net/

Posted by someone who goes by the pseudonym Jackel.

Is a posting by this person any more significant?
It is actually a graphic by Jakel that someone posted as a reply to the thread.

http://www.m5zn.com/uploads/8e27ce56a3.jpg

This is a very old graphic. Jakel has several pictures with atomic explosions and such. His graphics have been resurfacing after a long break from seeing any, although none of them are new.

And, it is the same message that was posted on several forums in the previous days. Probably just copy & pasted from one of the other forums.

rectar

05-01-2007, 09:10 PM

It is actually a graphic by Jakel that someone posted as a reply to the thread.

http://www.m5zn.com/uploads/8e27ce56a3.jpg

This is a very old graphic. Jakel has several pictures with atomic explosions and such. His graphics have been resurfacing after a long break from seeing any, although none of them are new.

And, it is the same message that was posted on several forums in the previous days. Probably just copy & pasted from one of the other forums.Looks to me that the "New Center" is the epicentre !

al-Canine

05-01-2007, 09:18 PM

Jakel has several pictures with atomic explosions and such. His graphics have been resurfacing after a long break from seeing any, although none of them are new.

It's from the official Jihadi Clip Art© collection, of course. :add25:

Windy

05-01-2007, 09:31 PM

Looks to me that the "New Center" is the epicentre !

What do you mean by New Center? Are you insinuating that this picture depicts the Detroit area? The New Center area is just north of Downtown Detroit...

Frankly, I don't see the resemblance.

Casey

05-03-2007, 03:26 PM

Pakistani intelligence arrested bin Laden

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيمName of God the Merciful

المخابرات الباكستانية تعتقل بن لادن لمرتين فتكتشف انه شبيه

هPakistani intelligence arrested bin Laden, to twice that similar Victhv

http://www.alwatanvoice.com/images/topics/2821507844.jpg

قال مسؤول تابع للاستخبارات الباكستانية لمحطة الـ"إيه بي سي" إنه تم اعتقال شخص شبيه بأسامة بن لادن مرتين حتى الآن بعد تقارير عن مشاهدته ومطاردات مكثفة في كلتا المرتين.

An official group of Pakistani intelligence station of the "ABC" have been arrested person like Osama bin Laden twice so far after seeing reports on the intensive manhunts in both occasions.

وفي كلتا المرتين يتضح أن المعتقل ليس أسامة بن لادن بل شخص شبيه به يدعى شير أكبر المنحدر من قرية باغ إمتال الأفغانية وهي المنطقة التي يعتقد المسؤولون الأمريكيون أن بن لادن يختبئ بها.

On both occasions clear that the detainee was not Osama bin Laden but by the person named Sher similar largest slope from the village of Bagh Afghan Amital the region which American officials believe that bin Laden is hiding out.

ويلتقي بن لادن وأكبر في الشبه إلى حد كبير وخصوصا من ناحية الأنف والطول، حيث يعتقد أن طول بن لادن يصل إلى 6 أقدام وأربعة إلى ستة إنشات وهو قريب جدا من طول أكبر الذي يبلغ 6 أقدام.

The meet bin Laden and greater similarity to a large extent, especially in terms of height and nose, where it is believed that the length of bin Laden up to 6 feet and four to six established a very close to the greater length of 6 feet.

أحدث اعتقال لأكبر كما يقول تقرير المحطة جاء بعدما أفاد مسؤولون أفغان أن أحد المخبرين رأى بن لادن يعبر الحدود إلى باكستان قرب ضاحية شارترل، ويقول المسؤول الباكستاني الكبير "قمنا باعتقاله لكن لم يكن هو الرجل الذي نريده".

The latest arrest of the biggest report also says the station came after Afghan officials reported that an informant view bin Laden crossed into Pakistan near the suburb Shartrel, official says Pakistani great, "we did not detain him but he is the man we want."

وبعد التحقيق مع شبيه بن لادن تبين من قبل الاستخبارات الباكستانية والأمريكية عدم وجود أي علاقة تربطه بابن لادن لكن المواطنين المحليين حاولوا الاستفادة من الجائزة نظرا لتقارب الشبه بين الرجلين.

After investigation with similar bin Laden found by Pakistani intelligence and American absence of any relationship with the Bin Laden but local citizens tried to take advantage of the prize due to the convergence of the similarities between the two men.

rectar

05-04-2007, 12:40 AM

What do you mean by New Center? Are you insinuating that this picture depicts the Detroit area? The New Center area is just north of Downtown Detroit...

Frankly, I don't see the resemblance.The beauty is in the eye of the beholder.....'tis artful !....by the way, how old is the print or image lololol ?

Casey

05-14-2007, 09:25 AM

Hekmatyar : Osama bin Laden is still alive

------------------------------------------------------------------------

الإسلام اليوم / وكالاتIslamtoday / agencies
27/4/1428 12:45
14/05/200714 / 05 / 2007

حكمتيار : ‏أسامة بن لادن ما زال على قيد الحياة

Hekmatyar : Osama bin Laden is still alive

أكد زعيم الحزب الإسلامي الأفغاني، ‏قلبُ الدين حكمتيار أن ‏أسامة بن لادن زعيم تنظيم القاعدة ما زال على قيد الحياة, ‏ولكنه لا يُكثِر من الظهور إعلاميًا هذا في الوقت الذي شن فيه حكمتيار هجوماً عنيفاً على ‏إيران، متهماً إياها بالعمل ضد مصلحة ‏أفغانستان، قائلاً: إنه لولا التعاون ‏الإيراني الأمريكي لما تمكنت الولايات ‏المتحدة من غزو العراق وأفغانستان.‏

The leader of the Islamic Party of Afghanistan, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda leader is still alive, Olkenh not frequently emerge from the media at a time when Hekmatyar launched a sharp attack on Iran, accusing it of working against the interests of Afghanistan, saying : were it not for the American-Iranian cooperation with the United States was able to invade Iraq and Afghanistan.

‏وجاء كلام حكمتيار في شريط خاص ‏غير مؤرخ بثته قناة "العربية"، أكّد فيه ‏على توفر "معلومات" بحوزته، تجعله ‏يعتقد أن بن لادن لا يزال حياً يرزق.

Uga talk Hekmatyar in particular undated video broadcast channel "Arab", in which he stressed the availability of "information" in his possession, it is believed that bin Laden is still alive.

‏وأضاف: "اعتقد أنه من الجيد أن لا ‏يُكثِر من الظهور إعلامياً، ومن الحكمة ‏أن لا يُصدرَ بياناتٍ أو شرائطَ ، رغم ‏طول المدة" التي لم يظهر خلالها بشكل ‏علني".‏

Oadhav : "I think it is good that is not frequently emerge from the media, it is wise not to issue statements or tapes, despite the length of time" during which did not appear in public. "

وكان حكمتيار يشغل منصب رئيس ‏وزراء أفغانستان سابقاً، وهو مُدْرَج ‏ضمن قائمة مطلوبين لدى الولايات ‏المتحدة.

Hekmatyar and the incumbent President Ministers Afghanistan previously, which is included in the list of wanted persons to the United States

. كما أنه يتزعم قوة عسكرية ‏منفصلة عن حركة طالبان ضد الحكومة ‏الأفغانية وقوات الاحتلال التابعة لقيادة ‏حلف شمال الأطلسي والجيش الأمريكي.

He also leads the military force separate from the Taliban against the Afghan government and its occupation forces to lead NATO and the American army.
‏
وفي يناير الماضي، قال حكمتيار: إن ‏المقاتلين الموالين لجماعته ساعدت ابن ‏لادن وأيمن الظواهري، على الهروب ‏من حملة تعقُّب ضخمة قادتْها أمريكا في ‏شرق أفغانستان أواخر عام 2001.

In last January, Hekmatyar said : that the fighters loyal to his son helped Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri, to flee the campaign tracking huge American leaders in eastern Afghanistan late in 2001.
‏
ويعود بثّ آخر شريط مصوَّر ظهر فيه ‏ابن لادن إلى أواخر عام 2004، بينما ‏ظهر آخر تسجيل صوتي له في منتصف ‏عام 2006.

It is broadcast another videotape showed bin Laden in the late 2004, while the most recent voice recording him in mid-2006.

ويُعتقد أنه متوارٍ في الجبال ‏النائية الواقعة على الحدود الأفغانية ‏الباكستانية.

It is believed that Matwar in remote mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
‏
وكان حكمتيار أعلن مطلع مايو أن ‏رجاله ساعدوا زعيم القاعدة ومساعده ‏أيمن الظواهري على الفرار من القوات ‏الخاصة الأمريكية في جبال تورا بورا ‏مطلع 2002 ، مؤكداً أنه التقى به في ‏تلك الفترة.

Hekmatyar was announced early May that his men had helped the Al Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri and help to flee from the American Special Forces in the Tora Bora mountains early 2002, saying that he met him at that period.

Casey

06-05-2007, 12:40 PM

Bin Laden Is Alive, Leading Al-Qaeda, Taliban Says (Update1)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By Tarek Al-Issawi

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is alive and is still issuing instructions to his commanders in the field, a leading Taliban member said.

Bin Laden sent a condolence message to Haji Mansour Dadullah, who succeeded his late brother as military commander of the Taliban, Dadullah said in an interview aired today by al- Jazeera television. His brother, Mullah Dadullah, was killed in a U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan last month.

The al-Qaeda leader ``is active and in good health, and he continues to carry out his duties,'' Dadullah told the channel.

Dadullah said bin Laden urged him to continue on the path established by his slain brother. The Taliban commander previously said bin Laden was alive in an al-Jazeera interview on April 25. In that interview, he said bin Laden was behind a bomb attack outside a U.S. military base in Afghanistan that killed 23 people as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting.

The U.S. accused the Islamist Taliban of sheltering al-Qaeda and bin Laden in Afghanistan. The regime was removed from power in the U.S.-led invasion that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

Troops led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are fighting resurgent Taliban forces in an effort to prevent the group from destabilizing the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Bin Laden ``prefers not to appear in public because that might pose a risk for him. We don't want to lose him,'' Dadullah said in the interview, adding that the Taliban is proud to be in the same camp as bin Laden.

The U.S. Department of State is offering up to $25 million for information leading to bin Laden's capture.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tarek Al-Issawi in Dubai at talissawi@bloomberg.net .

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aUjpQmW2afBY&refer=home

Petronas

06-21-2007, 01:23 AM

Bin Laden lies low, protected in Pakistan
Jun 18, 2007 10:37 AM

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has surrounded himself in a protective network of Islamic supporters in the vast tribal areas of western Pakistan, complicating the hunt for America's most wanted criminal, U.S. intelligence officials say.

The United States has firm evidence bin Laden is alive based on interrogations of captured al Qaeda members and intercepted communications in which known terrorists talk about him, a military intelligence source told The Examiner.

"We get a lot of chatter one or two levels of management below bin Laden that refers to him as 'the Sheik,' 'the esteemed leader,'" said the source, who asked not to be named because he is discussing sensitive intelligence. "We believe him to be alive based on some of the people we have captured who have said that." The source said the United States has picked up no credible information that bin Laden is dead.

The CIA late last year captured Abd Hadi al-Iraqi, believed to be one of the closest al Qaeda operatives to bin Laden. The United States interrogated al-Iraqi for several months before sending him to the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Over five years ago, bin Laden crossed the border from Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountain region to find refuge among like-minded tribal leaders in Pakistan.

Bin Laden's voice has not been picked up in any communication intercept since he was heard by the United States on a short-range radio in Tora Bora. "He is someone who is very concerned about his personal safety and security and takes measures to insure his profile is low," said a U.S. intelligence official. "This is not to mention his physical location, which makes attempts to locate an individual difficult. The fact is he has a support network, people who sympathize with him."

The CIA in 2005 closed Alec Station, the office in Northern Virginia dedicated to tracking bin Laden. It was part of a reorganization of the CIA's Counter Terrorism Center, which has field offices, including one in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. "The work of Alec Station never stopped or diminished, rather it transitioned to other organizational elements within CTC," a former CIA officer told The Examiner.

P.J. Crowley, a military analyst at the Center for American Progress and a former national security aide to President Clinton, said the Iraq war has diverted assets that could be used to find bin Laden. "Now that he is in the tribal areas, I doubt that a bounty of any number will be helpful," Crowley said "Given tribal relationships, they will protect him."

http://www.examiner.com/a-786435~Bin_Laden_lies_low__protected_in_Pakistan.h tml

al-Canine

07-14-2007, 04:28 PM

Possible New Message From Osama Bin Laden

July 14, 2007 3:37 PM
Rhonda Schwartz and Hoda Osman Report:

A brief clip of an older-looking Osama bin Laden is contained in a new al Qaeda videotape praising al Qaeda martyrs posted on jihadi Web sites early this morning.

Experts who study al Qaeda videos told ABC News they had not previously seen the clip of bin Laden, which was released with little fanfare and contains no date references, but say it is most likely an unreleased portion of an earlier message.

The al Qaeda leader speaks of martyrdom for roughly one minute as he addresses an unseen group in a mountainous location, wearing fatigues, a watch and ring, and with extensive gray in his beard.

The clip is part of a 40-minute film "Scent of Heaven" from al Qaeda's as Sahab video propaganda arm discovered on the Internet by Laura Mansfield of Strategic Translations.

The clip also contains several "martyrdom" videos from various al Qaeda followers from Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Turkistan.

In the clip, bin Laden talks about martyrdom as he refers to the prophet Mohammad.

"He wished to become a martyr," bin Laden says of Mohammad, before quoting a hadith (prophet saying).

"By Him, in Whose hand Mohammad's soul is, I would've liked to raid and be killed, then raid and be killed, then raid and be killed," he says.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/07/possible-new-me.html

NYer

07-14-2007, 06:19 PM

Laura Mansfield has the Binny clip here. (http://www.lauramansfield.com/obl_july.wmv)

kotzi

07-15-2007, 10:21 AM

Laura Mansfield has the Binny clip here. (http://www.lauramansfield.com/obl_july.wmv)

AQ has cranked up rhetoric (in particular stressing the importance of martyrdom) and actions (red mosque, PAK). If they don't attack in both GB and US now then never any more in a relevant way, I say, things seem staged to come to a head now. At least AZ is well connected and on top of things. And why NOT use an old memorex tape showing OBL as a signal for the big attack?

:happy_12:

PS I am not a fan of her site but what is this (http://www.homelandsecurityus.net/)?

al-Canine

07-15-2007, 01:22 PM

So does anyone else feel a little creeped out that both UBL and Zawahri—in this week's messages— quoted phrases from Mohammed which were repeated 3 times... ?

UBL: I would love to attack and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred, then attack again and be martyred."

Zawahri: Have I not conveyed? Oh God be my witness. Have I not conveyed? Oh God be my witness. Have I not conveyed? Oh God be my witness.

Z's phrase comes from Mo's last message (http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1099000#post1099000) to his people.

I'm feeling a little queasy here. :sad_01:

Petronas

07-15-2007, 01:27 PM

You're not alone in feeling queasy. These could well constitute coded commands to execute preplanned attacks in the very near future. Plus attacks have often, though not always, followed by a few days releases by OBL or AZ.

Vancouver

07-23-2007, 05:01 AM

You're not alone in feeling queasy. These could well constitute coded commands to execute preplanned attacks in the very near future.Me too; I have the gut feeling, as they say nowadays, that al-Qaida is up to something. But I also get the feeling that our side is up to something. Consider the unusual volume of chatter coming from our side recently. :D All this talk about bin Ladin's location, compounds in Waziristan, urgent need to blow away bin Ladin, reward up to $50 million, etc. A lot of this stuff.
The crisis in Pakistan bodes well, in a sense. How many Pakistani soldiers have to get killed by the Taliban before the rest of the Pak army undertakes to wipe out the Taliban? Everyone can see from the Lal Masjid what the Taliban wants for Pakistan. Rage Boy will perform for the cameras on the side of the Taliban, but many millions of Pakistanis have no desire to go back the 7th Century.
And how many more attempts by Zawahiri's people against Musharref, before Musharref's people take a shot at Zawahiri? Now I know what Zawahiri will want to do. He will want to run away. He always does, and everywhere he goes, he leaves two things behind him: corpses, and failure. Keep your burqa handy, Zawahiri.

kotzi

07-24-2007, 09:28 AM

Me too; I have the gut feeling, as they say nowadays, that al-Qaida is up to something. But I also get the feeling that our side is up to something. Consider the unusual volume of chatter coming from our side recently. :D All this talk about bin Ladin's location, compounds in Waziristan, urgent need to blow away bin Ladin, reward up to $50 million, etc. A lot of this stuff.

As in: "Save the president's legacy by killing or capturing Bin Laden?" Anything else wouldn't work, would it.

Alli

08-15-2007, 03:28 PM

I was just listening to a chap on the radio, Paul Williams. He (and says many *paramilitary* internationally) know that OBL is in DIR (pronounced deer), Pakistan, and you know the rest about nobody being able to infiltrate this etc, etc, etc.

NYer

08-15-2007, 06:28 PM

So does anyone else feel a little creeped out that both UBL and Zawahri—in this week's messages— quoted phrases from Mohammed which were repeated 3 times... ?

Here's another translation -

O WA TAGOO SIAM
O WA TAGOO SIAM
O WA TAGOO SIAM.

On a more serious note, remember those who were snickering at Chertoff's "gut feeling?"

Alli

08-16-2007, 11:09 AM

Here's another translation -

O WA TAGOO SIAM
O WA TAGOO SIAM
O WA TAGOO SIAM.

eh :confused:

On a more serious note, remember those who were snickering at Chertoff's "gut feeling?"
Jinkers, I was one of them.
:sad_01:

al-Canine

09-06-2007, 06:11 PM

Web site said to carry new bin Laden video

Thu Sep 6, 2007 6:03PM EDT

DUBAI (Reuters) - An Islamist Web site said on Friday it would soon carry a new video of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to mark the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities.

The Web site carried a still photograph apparently from the video which showed bin Laden seemingly aged compared to available pictures.

The site did not say when the video, produced by al Qaeda's media arm al-Sahab, would be issued.

Bin Laden was last seen in a video statement aired to coincide with the November 2004 U.S. presidential election. Since then, he has issued several audio messages, the last one in July 2006 in which he vowed al Qaeda would fight the United States anywhere in the world.

Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding in the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

U.S.-led forces have been searching for bin Laden since they toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government after it refused to hand over the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL0664701620070906

Meanwhile, the SITE Institute (http://www.siteinstitute.org/), which supposedly "broke" this news, is down, as of 6:05 pm EST.

Petronas

09-08-2007, 10:13 AM

Trimmed Bin Laden in media-savvy war
Saturday, 8 September 2007, 13:42 GMT 14:42 UK

After an unexplained absence of nearly three years, the al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, has appeared once more on a 30-minute video posted on an Islamist website. The last time he was seen in a video was in October 2004, in an address to the American electorate just before the US presidential elections. Since then he has delivered an audio message in January 2006, again posted on Islamist websites.

Now this latest video message, released just before the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, will dispel the growing rumours that he has been dead for some time and remind both his followers and his enemies that the man with a $50m bounty on his head is still at large.

At first glance the 50-year old Osama Bin Laden, known to his fellow jihadists as Abu Abdullah, looks younger than he did in 2004. Gone is the straggly, unkempt beard that was heavily flecked with grey.

Instead, his beard appears dark, thick and trimmed, although analysts have suggested that rather than being dyed, it may be actually false, and that to help avoid detection he is clean-shaven these days.

The al-Qaeda leader's face still looks tired and lined, as befits a fugitive who may well have to sleep in different locations almost every night, but it is not quite as gaunt or exhausted looking as it was three years ago.

His clean white turban or, 'imma, is the same and Bin Laden wears a traditional white Saudi thaub - a long-sleeved shirt that extends all the way down below the knees.

Over this he is seen wearing a cream-coloured bisht - a cloak worn by respected sheikhs, tribal elders and religious leaders in the Arab world. ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6985086.stm

Mike

09-10-2007, 08:35 AM

Good morning!
Is this anything important?

http://alsaha.fares.net/sahat?128@232.bXalhWoPKQB.0@.3baa5f3b

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
(( خطير جداً جداً ))

الحمد لله الذي زين السماء الدنيا بالنجوم ليلاً وأنارها بالشمس مبصرةً نهاراً

وجعل الأيام دولاً فمن استقام على الهدى اهتدى ، ومن ضل الصراط ضل وهوى

والصلاة على خير الخلق والورى محمد الهادي المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى من سار على دربه واقتفى.

وبعد.. لأول مرة تنشر (السحاب) شريط مشفر بتشفير خاص .. (( لن أصرح عنه )) ..

وهذا تحدي ،، لن يعرفه أحد إلا قلة قليلة .. من أصحاب الإختصاص في عالم الإخلاص .. .. فمن لا يعرف ماذا يعني هذا الشريط من حيثيات ، يكون واهم .. .. فقد سلك كثيرون المفسرون تفسير اللامفسر ..!! وسلوكوا مسلك المهالك .. ولم يروا غزوة النيازك ..!! وتقوّلوا بما لا يليق بالشيخ بكلام شائك ..!! .. ولم يعلموا أن في الأمر حيلة ، ولن تصدقوا إن قلت مكيدة ..!! فالشريط مشفر بلا ريبة ..!! فساعة الصفر حقيقة ..!! ولن تأخر دقيقة ..!! .. وحتى يوم الضربة بالتاريخ سديدة ..!! بالشهر واليوم والساعة الفريدة ..!! .. وإن قلت المكان .. لقالوا إنك تنقل من جريدة ..!! .. لله درك ابن لادن يعرض العرضة الأخيرة .. قبل الضربة الخطيرة ..!! .. .. .. صبراً ، صبراً .. فلن يطول النذير الأخير .. وهذه الثالثة والأخيرة ..!! .. .. ((ملاحظة)) لم أسمع النذير الأخير لابن لادن سوى مرة واحدة فقط .. ورأيت ما رآه الغالي محب الإرهاب .. لكان مع زيادة في التفصيل احتفظ بها لنفسي ..!! .. فقد هبت أول بوادر العاصفة ، التي يسبقها الهدوء ..!! .. رمضان موعد مع الفرقان وتوضيح الحقيقة والبيان ..!! .. . أخي المسلم ، أختي المسلمة إن لم تفهم الموضوع فهذا لن يضرك .. وإن فهمته فاكتمه فهو يضرك ..!! . ((إلى مدير المخابرات المركزية الأمريكية أنت غبي مثل صاحب القبعة)) نريدها حمراء ..!! . نلقاكم في عام 2008 . بالمناسبة الموضوع مشفر أيضاً..!! ... في حفظ الله ورعايته منقول منقول منقول

GOOGLED TRANSLATION:
Urgent very, very, very end encryption tape Sheikh Osama bin Laden (calamity for America)

Name of God the Merciful
(( خطير جداً جداً )) ((Very, very seriously))

الحمد لله الذي زين السماء الدنيا بالنجوم ليلاً وأنارها بالشمس مبصرةً نهاراً Praise be to Allah who Zine minimum sky and the stars at night Anarha Sun Night and day

وجعل الأيام دولاً فمن استقام على الهدى اهتدى ، ومن ضل الصراط ضل وهوى Making days Righted States is guided by the guidance, and strayed and strayed Way Hoey

والصلاة على خير الخلق والورى محمد الهادي المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم وعلى من سار على دربه واقتفى. Prayers and best creatures and Allure Hadi Mohammed Mustafa peace be upon him and from marched on and traced his path.

وبعد.. After .. لأول مرة تنشر (السحاب) شريط مشفر بتشفير خاص .. Published for the first time (Cloud) tape encrypted encrypted special .. (( لن أصرح عنه )) .. ((It will say)) ..

وهذا تحدي ،، لن يعرفه أحد إلا قلة قليلة .. This challenge, not only knew one of a few .. من أصحاب الإختصاص في عالم الإخلاص .. Owners jurisdiction in the world of fidelity .. .. فمن لا يعرف ماذا يعني هذا الشريط من حيثيات ، يكون واهم .. It is not known why this mean tape of reasoning, and the most important .. .. فقد سلك كثيرون المفسرون تفسير اللامفسر ..!! Many have wire Explainers interpretation Allamvser ..! ! وسلوكوا مسلك المهالك .. The Slukwa s attitude .. ولم يروا غزوة النيازك ..!! Did not see the invasion of meteorites ..! ! وتقوّلوا بما لا يليق بالشيخ بكلام شائك ..!! And say not befitting Sheikh thorny words ..! ! .. ولم يعلموا أن في الأمر حيلة ، ولن تصدقوا إن قلت مكيدة ..!! Did not know that the trick is, I will not believe that the device ..! ! فالشريط مشفر بلا ريبة ..!! Strip encrypted without skepticism ..! ! فساعة الصفر حقيقة ..!! Zero hour reality ..! ! ولن تأخر دقيقة ..!! Will minutes late ..! ! .. وحتى يوم الضربة بالتاريخ سديدة ..!! Even on the strike date sound ..! ! بالشهر واليوم والساعة الفريدة ..!! Today month and unique pm ..! ! .. وإن قلت المكان .. Although I place .. لقالوا إنك تنقل من جريدة ..!! They said to you moved from the newspaper ..! ! .. لله درك ابن لادن يعرض العرضة الأخيرة .. God gendarmerie Bin Laden presents prone recent .. قبل الضربة الخطيرة ..!! Before the strike serious ..! ! .. .. .. صبراً ، صبراً .. Patience, patience .. فلن يطول النذير الأخير .. Prognostic will not last long .. وهذه الثالثة والأخيرة ..!! This is the third and final ..! ! .. .. ((ملاحظة)) لم أسمع النذير الأخير لابن لادن سوى مرة واحدة فقط .. ((Note)) have not heard the last of Prognostic Bin Laden only once .. ورأيت ما رآه الغالي محب الإرهاب .. I saw what he saw precious loving terrorism .. لكان مع زيادة في التفصيل احتفظ بها لنفسي ..!! For with the increase in detail kept myself ..! ! .. فقد هبت أول بوادر العاصفة ، التي يسبقها الهدوء ..!! It blew the first signs of the storm, which preceded calm ..! ! .. رمضان موعد مع الفرقان وتوضيح الحقيقة والبيان ..!! Ramadan date with the Criterion and clarify the truth and the statement ..! ! .. . أخي المسلم ، أختي المسلمة إن لم تفهم الموضوع فهذا لن يضرك .. Muslim brother, sister Muslim that did not understand the topic will not hurt .. وإن فهمته فاكتمه فهو يضرك ..!! Although he understands Vactmah hurt ..! ! . ((إلى مدير المخابرات المركزية الأمريكية أنت غبي مثل صاحب القبعة)) نريدها حمراء ..!! ((To the Director of the CIA's like you stupid hat)) want red ..! ! . نلقاكم في عام 2008 . Naleghakm in 2008. بالمناسبة الموضوع مشفر أيضاً..!! Incidentally also encrypted subject ..! ! ... في حفظ الله ورعايته منقول منقول منقول In keeping God and sponsored switched switched switched

TIA!
~Mike

al-Canine

09-10-2007, 10:06 AM

Good morning!
Is this anything important?

This is the third and final ..! ! .. .. have not heard the last of Prognostic Bin Laden ..!! Ramadan date

Apparently there's another (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,296249,00.html) tape surfacing.

Ramadan begins at sundown on Wednesday.

Casey

09-10-2007, 10:39 AM

Good morning!
Is this anything important?

http://alsaha.fares.net/sahat?128@232.bXalhWoPKQB.0@.3baa5f3b

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

TIA!
~Mike

Good morning, Mike.

I stayed up waaaaay to late last night and watched this message being posted on every forum that is still up and running.

There are 2 other messages that suggest similar, posted by the same person or persons who posted the message you refer to.

Only one forum has a new banner that is not linked to any message at the moment.

This is the banner.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/caseybritton/1111.gif

Casey

09-10-2007, 11:00 AM

More in obl video chatter, thread

http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1149352#post1149352

Good morning, Mike.

I stayed up waaaaay to late last night and watched this message being posted on every forum that is still up and running.

There are 2 other messages that suggest similar, posted by the same person or persons who posted the message you refer to.

Only one forum has a new banner that is not linked to any message at the moment.

This is the banner.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/caseybritton/1111.gif

Mike

09-10-2007, 11:13 AM

Thanks Casey :love_08:

Does this guy say the end is encrypted? The video did seem to stop short.
Perhaps the next video is the end of it.

I just don't get it

Published for the first time (Cloud) tape encrypted encrypted special

Casey

09-10-2007, 11:22 AM

Thanks Casey :love_08:

Does this guy say the end is encrypted? The video did seem to stop short.
Perhaps the next video is the end of it.

I just don't get it

It seems to be what is being suggested.

However, many Western groups are disseminating the video regarding the same quirks that are mentioned here.

New bin Laden video announcement:

http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1149369#post1149369

candypreet

09-10-2007, 12:08 PM

good post

mahyuta

09-10-2007, 10:08 PM

Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them....If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya [the poll tax on non-Muslims]. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. (Sahih Muslim 4294)

is this why he mentioned the tax in the video ?

The 801

09-24-2007, 06:36 PM

September 24, 2007, 10:16 am
Was Bin Laden Using Musharraf?

By Mike Nizza

For anyone not aware of the rivalry between Al Qaeda and Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, last week’s audio message from Osama bin Laden seemed a fine reminder. But a report from Newsweek adds more to the story.

First, the multiple media appearances by Mr. bin Laden this month — three so far — were part of an effort to prove that he was alive and very much in charge, the report says:

Lonely, marginalized and suddenly suspicious that he was losing his grip over the organization he helped create, Osama bin Laden finally decided that enough was enough. At least that’s the explanation sources close to him are giving for why, after three long years of silence, the Qaeda leader has released one video and two audiotapes in the past month, including last week’s audio message calling for a jihad against Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. According to Omar Farooqi, a Taliban liaison officer with Al Qaeda, bin Laden recently learned that a faction within his own organization had been conspiring to sideline him, insisting—unnecessarily, bin Laden now believes—that he remain secluded for security reasons.

Also, Mr. bin Laden may have been attempting to co-opt a faction within Al Qaeda trying to sideline him. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the deputy leader, was pegged as the leader of the rebellion, and Mr. bin Laden’s slamming of Mr. Musharraf last week was apparently an endorsement of Mr. Zawahiri’s side of a long-running Al Qaeda feud:

Ever since the 2001 collapse of the Taliban, Zawahiri has been plotting to kill his nemesis, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, narrowly missing twice in 2003. But the Libyans, led by Abu Yahya al-Libi, had argued that Al Qaeda’s resources should be focused on supporting insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq and fomenting terrorism in the West.

Now that Mr. bin Laden bolstered the anti-Musharraf faction and proven to reignited his following with the messages, he’s “seemingly back in charge,” the report says. And that is far from the case for Mr. Musharraf.

This morning’s crackdown in Islamabad left hundreds of activists in custody and close observers cold.

The U.S. Embassy issued a message of “serious concern” in calling for their swift release, a clear sign that he had to do a better job of managing his ambition to win another term as president while staying in the good graces of his close ally in the war on terror.

It was also a sign of weakness, one of his opponents charged during a Time magazine interview after the arrests today. “The government has panicked,” said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for the party led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was exiled again earlier this month as he attempted enter Pakistan.

Tellingly, Mr. Iqbal was speaking from an “underground safe house.”

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/24/was-bin-laden-using-musharraf/?hp

al-Canine

01-22-2008, 09:15 AM

..."this bomb"...? :sad_01:

Bin Laden's son to father: Change your ways

By Aneesh Raman

CAIRO, Egypt (CNN) -- Omar bin Laden has a message for his father, Osama: "Find another way."

The son of the most-wanted man in the world spoke Sunday to CNN in a quiet, middle-class suburb about an hour outside Cairo, Egypt.

Omar bin Laden, who works as a contractor, said he is talking publicly because he wants an end to the violence his father has inspired -- violence that has killed innocent civilians in a spate of attacks around the world, including those of September 11, 2001.

"I try and say to my father: 'Try to find another way to help or find your goal. This bomb, this weapons, it's not good to use it for anybody,' " he said in English learned in recent months from his British wife.

He said that's not just his own message, but one that a friend of his father's and other Muslims have expressed to him. "They too say ... my father should change [his] way," he said.

He said he hasn't spoken to his father since 2000, when he walked away from an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan with his father's blessings. He said he has no idea where his father is, but is confident he will never be caught because locals support him.

Asked if his father might be living along the Afghan-Pakistan border, he said, "Maybe, maybe not."

"Either way, the people there are different," he said. "They don't care about the government."

Now, he and his wife are preparing to launch a movement far different from the one his father, Osama bin Laden, launched. They are pursuing a movement for peace.

At first glance, Omar bin Laden appears to have little in common with the man who has eluded international efforts to find him. The 26-year-old's hair is bound in neat braids, he drives a Jeep and is married to a British national twice his age.

But the physical resemblance quickly sinks in, even without the long beard his father favors. It is a resemblance he doesn't avoid. "Being Osama's son, I don't hide it. I don't hide my name," he said.

"I am proud by my name, but if you have a name like mine you will find people run away from you, are afraid of you."

He said he doesn't consider his father to be a terrorist. When his father was fighting the Soviets, Washington considered him a hero, he said.

"Before they call it war; now they call it terrorism," he said. He said his father believes his duty is to protect Muslims from attack.

"He believes this is his job -- to help the people," he said. "I don't think my father is a terrorist because history tells you he's not."

However, Omar bin Laden -- who was 14 when he began training in al Qaeda camps -- said he differs greatly with his father over the killing of civilians.

Was 9/11 a just attack?

"I don't think 9/11 was right personally, but it happened," he said. "I don't think ... [the war] in Vietnam was right. I don't think what's going on in Palestine is right. I don't think what's going on in Iraq is right.

"If we make what is right and not right, we will make a very big list," he said.

He said he left al Qaeda because he did not want to be associated with killing civilians. He said his father did not try to dissuade him from leaving al Qaeda.

"I told him I was going, and wanted to try life and see what it was like outside because, from a young age I was with my father, and I only saw and heard my father and his friends. My father told me, 'If this is what your choice -- your decision -- is, what can I tell you? I like you to be with me, but this is your decision.' "

So father and son went their separate ways.

But there has been no running from the bin Laden name, not after the events of September 11. On that day, Omar bin Laden was in Saudi Arabia, where 15 of the 19 hijackers were from.

Asked if, upon learning of the news, he knew his father had been behind it, he replied, "Yeah, maybe."

He said he felt sadness for those killed. "I don't think 9/11 was right personally," he said. "I don't agree with 9/11 or with any war where only civilians are dying."

Asked why he did not protest more strongly his father's role in the killing of civilians, he said it is up to the religious clerics close to his father to tell Osama bin Laden to change tactics in the name of Islam.

And even if that most unlikely scenario were to occur, he said, al Qaeda would not stop. "My father doesn't have the power to stop the movement at this moment."

Sitting by his side throughout the hour-and-a-half interview was his wife, Zaina. The two are organizing a multi-month horserace through North Africa in the name of peace, set to kick off this year.

But getting sponsors to line up behind the name bin Laden has been difficult. "It would probably have been easier to do a race without having Omar's name, but then the race would just be a race, it wouldn't be a race for peace," his wife said.

Omar bin Laden said his relationship with his father was limited. He is the fourth of 11 children born to his father's first wife, and he is one of 19 children Osama bin Laden has fathered. "Most of the time he busy, so busy, all the day he's busy [with] his friends. He was working a lot."

Omar bin Laden is now undertaking perhaps an impossible task: trying to rebrand the name they share.

But he said he is not looking for approval from his father. "My life, I take care of my life," he said. "My father he take care of his life."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/21/binladen.son/?iref=mpstoryview

Casey

01-27-2008, 04:17 PM

Pakistan 'frankly' not trying to locate bin Laden: Musharraf

Paris (AP): Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday said that it's more important to battle the remnants of Afghanistan's former Taliban militia than chase after top al-Qaeda leaders.

That Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, are still at large "doesn't mean much," Musharraf said in Paris while on an eight-day swing through Europe.

He suggested that those men -- wanted the world over and whom he hasn't been able to catch over the past six years -- are less of a threat to his regime than the Taliban running roughshod over part of his country. Bin Laden and al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding somewhere in the lawless tribal areas along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan.

"The 100,000 troops that we are using ... are not going around trying to locate Osama bin Laden and Zawahri, frankly," Musharraf told a conference at the French Institute for International Relations in Paris. "They are operating against terrorists, and in the process, if we get them, we will deal with them certainly."

A top US ally in its war on terrorism, Musharraf has come under increasing pressure following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last month and for his brief declaration of emergency rule last year.

Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999, insisted the remnants of the former Taliban regime of neighboring Afghanistan are the "more serious issue," for both countries.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/000200801230374.htm

The 801

02-01-2008, 07:44 AM

Pakistan: US intelligence agents 'uncover Bin Laden letters'

Islamabad, 31 Jan. (AKI) - US secret service agents operating in the remote border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan claim to have found five letters signed by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, Saudi daily Al-Watan said on Thursday.

Citing unnamed local security sources, the newspaper said that the letters are allegedly handwritten in Arabic and bear Bin Laden's apparent signature and seal.

They appear to have been sent last December to some of Bin Laden's followers in the region.

One of the letters is addressed to the Taliban leader in Afghanistan's volatile southern province of Helmand, Mansoor Dadallah.

In the letter, Bin Laden reportedly offers condolences to Dadallah, the brother of Mullah Dadallah, late Taliban leader in Helmand, who was killed last year in a US air strike.

After his brother's death, Mansoor Dadullah claimed he had received a letter from Bin Laden in an interview with satellite Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera.

Mansoor spent several years in jail and was freed in March 2007 as part of a deal that secured the release of kidnapped Italian reporter Daniele Mastrogiacomo, who had been held by Taliban militants for two weeks.

The letter addressed to Dadullah also urges the Taliban to step up its attacks on NATO troops deployed in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Al-Watan reported.

Western intelligence agents are currently analysing the letters for evidence of any contact with 14 alleged members of an Islamic fundamentalist group arrested in anti-terror raids in the north-east Spanish city of Barcelona on January 19.

Twelve Pakistani and two Indians allegedly belonging to Jamaat Al-Tabligh wal-Dawa (Society for Propagation and Preaching) were arrested in a series of police raids.

Police said they had found bomb-related material during the raids and that the operation was aimed at breaking up an Islamist terror network.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1829948965

The 801

02-12-2008, 08:06 AM

Expert: bin Laden to remain at large
Adam Smeltz

UNIVERSITY PARK — Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is not likely to be found or captured in the next five years, renowned terrorism expert Peter Bergen told a Penn State audience Monday night.

But the international terrorism movement, weakened and thwarted numerous times since 2001, seems unable to stage an attack on the U.S. in the same period, he said.

“The American Muslim community has not really bought into the

al-Qaida vision at all,” Bergen told a crowd gathered in Schwab Auditorium. He underscored that the terrorists who carried out attacks on the World Trade Center in New York — first in 1993 and again in 2001 — were neither recruited nor trained in the U.S.

Bergen drew an audience estimated at more than 400 people for the signature lecture in a Schreyer Honors College series. Educated at Oxford University, he is a well-known author and CNN terrorism analyst who interviewed bin Laden in 1997.

It was during that interview — which Bergen described in some detail Monday night — that bin Laden declared war on the U.S.

“The American Muslim community has not really bought into the al-Qaida vision at all.”

• • •

“The fact is that al- Qaida in Iraq didn’t exist before we invaded. ... the movement has brought suicide attacks that have driven United Nations and international- aid organizations from the country.”

At the time, Bergen said he was reluctant to think that the tall, Saudi-born terrorist leader could deliver the brutality of which he later showed himself capable.

The year after the interview, al-Qaida claimed responsibility for coordinated bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Three years after that, the group appeared responsible for the September hijackings that killed almost 3,000 people in New York, Washington, D.C., and southwestern Pennsylvania.

Subsequent military action in Iraq has created a situation that al-Qaida-inspired movements in the country are exploiting, Bergen said.

“The fact is that al-Qaida in Iraq didn’t exist before we invaded,” he said. While al- Qaida forces make up a minority of fighters there— perhaps several thousand people — the movement has brought suicide attacks that have driven United Nations and international- aid organizations from the country, he said.

Further, Bergen said, the al-Qaida influence is largely responsible for sparking the civil war in Iraq. He didn’t seem to hesitate in using the term “civil war,” which some government leaders have resisted.

Among his other predictions and analyses:

•Al-Qaida has begun to regain momentum and regrouped in the past two to three years. Bergen cited as evidence the 2005 attacks in London, a thwarted plan to bring down 10 U.S. airliners in 2006, and al-Qaida’s ability to recruit in England.

He also mentioned the al- Qaida video-production arm, through which the group’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been releasing regular communiqués. Bergen said that their frequency — multiple releases each month — has diminished their news value, but that they still can inspire al- Qaida devotees to take action.

“Of course, he is not on the phone ordering people to do terrorist attacks,” Bergen said. “He releases video and audio tapes. ... Al-Zawahiri is releasing more video tapes than Britney Spears at this point.”

•Although al-Qaida remains a force now, and perhaps will continue to be a substantial presence for another decade, the organization is not sustainable over a longer term, Bergen predicted.

He cited a few reasons, the first being the mass civilian casualties that al-Qaida inflicts. That goes against Islamic teachings, Bergen said. He said the portion of Muslim Pakistanis supporting for the group, for example, has dropped from 42 percent to 9 percent in recent years.

In addition, Bergen said, al- Qaida continues to grow its list of enemies and does not offer an uplifting, positive view for the future.

http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/story/396298.html

al-Canine

02-12-2008, 08:56 AM

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is not likely to be found or captured in the next five years

Maybe that's cuz he's dead. (http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2008/me_terror_02_11.html) :mad_12:

The 801

02-12-2008, 07:27 PM

Yea, I read that, but it was so vague, I didn't post it.

That would be the final slap at bush, if binny was dead. Maybe thats why he didn't try that hard.

Lets figure he was. the administration wouldn't say so, because it would undermine their policy, and AQ wouldn't say so, because it would undermine their policy. And the ISI wouldn't admit he was dead, because that would hook them up to AQ. And Messharif wouldn't say so, because we wouldn't send him billions.

What a mess.

NYer

02-13-2008, 06:33 AM

Weekend At Sammy's?

http://www.brokennewz.com/images/weekend@bn3.jpg

Who had Sammy in their Dead Pool? Or Adam Pearlman, for that matter?

al-Canine

03-26-2008, 05:30 PM

Who had Sammy in their Dead Pool?

Well, for what it's worth, someone has some fond memories...

"Osama bin Laden is a workaholic who will always be one step ahead of Western intelligence," his former bodyguard has told The Daily Telegraph.

_________________________________________________

My life in al-Qa'eda, by bin Laden's bodyguard

He served loyally at the terrorist leader's side in the build up to the attacks on America and is wanted by the FBI and CIA. Nasser al Bahri speaks to Tim Butcher

Osama bin Laden is a workaholic who will always be one step ahead of Western intelligence, his former bodyguard has told The Daily Telegraph.

Many have claimed intimate knowledge of bin Laden over the years. But in the case of Nasser al Bahri, a bearded and slightly portly 35-year-old taxi driver who lives in Yemen, the claim is not tainted by exaggeration.

advertisement
For four years Bahri fought in Afghanistan with al-Qa’eda and served as bodyguard to a man he remembers affectionately as "the Sheikh".

His experience makes Bahri of intense interest to the FBI and CIA, but they have so far failed to persuade the Yemeni authorities to deport him for questioning.

"The thing I remember most about the Sheikh is that he was very, very active," said Bahri.

"From the start of the day before dawn when he began his prayers to late at night he was always doing something, never resting. We were not living in a comfortable environment but that did not stop him from all the time working, thinking and planning.

"After prayers came administration and after administration came meetings with distinguished visitors, sometimes secret visitors, but all day he never stopped."

Sitting in a quiet corner of a hotel restaurant in Sana’a, the capital of Yemen, Bahri shook his head at the colourful claims about his role protecting bin Laden in the late 1990s.

He did not screen bin Laden’s food for poison. He was not under orders to shoot bin Laden dead if he was about to fall into enemy hands.

Instead, he acted as an armed personal assistant, carrying his baggage, making sure his satellite communications were working and chivvying the various other members of the entourage from cooks to drivers.

"To be honest I have never killed a man," said Bahri. "The worst moment came when a Sudanese man came for a visit and he became very rude and disrespectful to The Sheikh. I had to grab his hands and handcuff him and take him away.

"But even then the Sheikh told me to let him go."

Like his sponsor, Bahri was born in Saudi Arabia to Yemeni immigrants. He was educated to the equivalent of A Level and left school at 18.

He drifted through various jobs in his early 20s, falling in with a group of young jihadists disenchanted with pro-Western Saudi rulers.

In 1996 at the age of 23 he joined a group of militants who travelled to Quetta, the Pakistani city close to the Afghan border.

"From there we took jeeps and crossed the border but I could not say where," he said. "When we arrived at the al-Qa’eda training area the Sheikh heard there were a group of Arabs who had arrived so he hosted a meeting and spoke to us.

"It was very special to meet our new leader and hear his views."

He sent for his Yemeni wife, Taysir al Qala, to join him in southern Afghanistan and their first child, Habib, was born in Kandahar.

Bahri’s time as bodyguard to bin Laden between 1996 and 2000 is perhaps of most interest to Western intelligence because it was when the al-Qa’eda leader changed strategy.

"From the moment I knew him he was thinking all the time about extending the war everywhere," said Bahri.

"He would always say we must hit America on a front that it never expects. He kept saying he wanted to fight America on a battlefield it cannot control."

Bahri said he had no idea at the time about the September 11 attacks but that when they happened he believed they fell into the pattern bin Laden had been formulating during their time together.

Bahri left Afghanistan in 2000 because his father in law was ill with a kidney condition back in Yemen.

He flew home shortly before al-Qa’eda attacked the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in late 2000.

Arrested in a round up of militants, he convinced tthe Yemeni authorities that he had no role in the attack but still spent two years in jail, meaning he was under detention when the September 11 attacks took place.

So desperate was US intelligence for leads after the attacks that FBI investigators flew to Yemen to interview him in jail more than once.

He was released in 2002 and has since earned a living as a taxi driver and junior college lecturer in human resources.

While expressing no regret at his relationship with bin Laden and saying he would gladly do it again, he declined to discuss his beliefs about jihadism, terrorism and any distinction between the two.

"That would take too long," he said politely, before picking up his spectacles and disappearing out on to the street.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/27/wbinladen127.xml

al-Canine

04-02-2008, 10:39 PM

Steve Coll is on a book tour, for what this info is worth... or not.....

04/02/2008 03:41 PM

SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH US AUTHOR STEVE COLL

'Osama bin Laden is Planning Something for the US Election'

US author Steve Coll spent years looking into Osama bin Laden's family. Now, his new book provides a unique insight into the clan. SPIEGEL spoke with him about where the terrorist might be hiding, how his father got his start, and the unique romantic liasons pursued by one of his brothers.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Coll, Osama bin Laden recently broke a long silence. He threatened Europe and called for the "liberation" of the Gaza Strip. How seriously should we take these missives? Do they tell us anything about him or about where he might be?

Steve Coll: Bin Laden has long formulated his messages such that they touch on current events. It is not difficult to imagine him hidden away somewhere on the Afghanistan border watching al-Jazeera or CNN and taking notes for his next communiqué. I think his comments on Europe were mostly an effort to make headlines -- written after he heard about the Muhammad caricatures being reprinted. But it could also be an indication that he got wind of a plot developing in Europe. In the last two years, we have found connections between such plots and al-Qaida headquarters. His mention of Gaza is typical of his attempt to play a role in current events. He simply wants to show that he is still alive and keeping abreast of developments in the Muslim world.

SPIEGEL: Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama accuses the Bush administration of having dangerously neglected the hunt for the world's most-wanted terrorist. Is he right?

Coll: It would have been possible to eliminate Osama bin Laden, specifically between 1998 and 2001, in the time before Sept. 11. We had agents on site at the time, and they gave (former President Bill) Clinton the chance to strike three times. One time he decided against a missile attack, because he was unwilling to accept the deaths of children. A swing was distinguishable on a satellite image of bin Laden's base near Kandahar. It probably would also have been possible to surround the camp with Special Forces and extract him. But those weren't the political priorities at the time. But even after 9/11 there was an opportunity. Bin Laden himself later wrote about how desperate his situation was during the heavy bombing of his cave hideout in Tora Bora near the Pakistani border in December 2001. He managed to escape at the last minute. Whether some of the Afghan troops that had advanced with US troops into the mountains were simply too half-hearted or actively helped him get away, it's hard to say. In any event, we neglected to bring in the Tenth Mountain Division, which specialized in that type of combat and was partly stationed in Uzbekistan at the time. It was a bad decision.

SPIEGEL: Where is bin Laden now?

Coll: I am firmly convinced that he is on Pakistani soil, and I would even venture to say where: in the mountainous region of North Waziristan, near the city of Miram Shah. Bin Laden knows the area like the back of his hand. It is controlled by the Haqqani clan, in which he has deep roots. Pakistan's army doesn't dare enter the region.

SPIEGEL: Do you think he's in some sort of al-Qaida camp where he can play a role coordinating the group's activities?

Coll: Osama probably moves from place to place, protected by friends -- which doesn't mean that someone won't betray him one of these days. And he apparently has access to modern means of communication, like satellite TV. The Miram Shah region, unlike rural Afghanistan, is further developed in this respect than we in the West generally assume. I imagine that Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy, isn't in the same place as bin Laden.

SPIEGEL: Out of caution or for tactical reasons?

Coll: Probably both. But in the last two or three years, the two have regained so much confidence that I've heard they even get together at Shuras, the group consultations among the al-Qaida leadership. We don't know whether Bin Laden himself issues commands to carry out terrorist attacks. But it's practically certain that he knows about most al-Qaida operations.

SPIEGEL: You devote much of your new book to his family and its origins. Why?

Coll: I believe that Osama bin Laden and the broad contradictions among religion, tradition and modernity in the Middle East, with enmity toward the West on one side and the attractiveness of our ideas and way of life on the other, is best understood through the prism of this clan.

SPIEGEL: Do you see the bin Ladens as a terrorist clan? Or are they just a nice family with one well-known black sheep?

Coll: They are a large family, at any rate. Osama alone has 24 brothers and 29 sisters, and the bin Ladens have always been a clan that encompasses an astonishingly broad range of ideologies -- from those of its completely worldly members, like bon vivant Salem bin Laden, a Beatles fan and playboy, to those of its religious fanatics. This diversity was also evident on that fateful day in America. When the terrorists slammed their hijacked American Airlines jet into the Pentagon, Shafiq bin Laden, Osama's half-brother, was in a conference with investors at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Washington, just a few kilometers away. The conference was sponsored by the Carlyle Group, in which both the bin Ladens and the Bush family held shares.

SPIEGEL: As with most of the world's successful family clans, the bin Ladens also got their start behind a powerful patriarch.

Coll: Indeed. Osama's father Mohammed was a self-made man who transformed himself from a simple, illiterate farmer's son to a multimillionaire. He comes from the inhospitable Hadramaut, a bitterly poor region in Saudi Arabia, whose name couldn't be more appropriate. Hadramaut means "death is among us." At 14, Mohammed took his fate into his own hands. In 1925, he crossed the Red Sea to the north on an overcrowded wooden dhow, wandered half-starved through the desert, and eventually made it to Jiddah, a dismal and stiflingly small city at the time. But Osama's father overlooked the poverty and saw an opportunity.

SPIEGEL: What was he able to do that others couldn't have done?

Coll: He had seen the astonishing, tall clay brick buildings his fellow Saudi Arabians had built in the Hadramaut. He wanted to become a builder, to tear down houses and build towers. Towers, and later aircraft, would, in surprising variations, determine the fate of this family.

SPIEGEL: Where did Mohammed bin Laden get the startup capital for his business?

Coll: He slept in a hollow in the sand, worked part-time in a shop for pilgrims, cooked, worked in a stone quarry and saved every cent. He started a company in 1931 and soon became involved in housing construction. In the days of the first oil boom, he used ambition, hard work and good contacts to become the top builder for the Saudi royal family. Soon, in addition to high-rises, he was building dams and roads. He became rich.

SPIEGEL: A lot of folks were rich. Where did his influence come from?

Coll: Money couldn't change his social position in Saudi Arabia, even though he was awarded a cabinet position in 1955. The al-Saud royal family appreciated his honesty and reliability, but they would never allow their daughters to marry him or any of his sons. If Mohammed wanted to ensure that his children would have better opportunities -- and that was something he wanted more than anything else -- a first-class education was critical.

SPIEGEL: He must have had his favorites, among the 54 children from his 22 wives. Was Osama one of these favorites?

Coll: Mohammed bin Laden quickly divorced Osama's mother, a Syrian woman from the port city of Latakia. But everything suggests that the father was an important role model for Osama. As a young boy, he accompanied his father to Mecca and Medina, where Mohammed completed extensive renovation work, just as he did in the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, an important religious site for Muslims. The senior bin Laden was a devout man, and these projects in Islam's holiest places were of great personal importance to him. But he was by no means a fanatic, and he was surprisingly cosmopolitan for a man of his background. He was a modernizer.

SPIEGEL: How can you tell?

Coll: He also employed Christians and other "infidels" on his construction site in Jerusalem, bought more than half a dozen modern Packard two-seaters from the United States and was the first private citizen in Saudi Arabia to have his own airplane. He had it maintained by TWA. An American pilot would eventually lead to his downfall, when he crashed the bin Laden family plane on a September day in 1967.

'Osama Was More of a Shy Boy'

SPIEGEL: Had the patriarch clearly set up his succession? Did Osama play a role?

Coll: Osama, son number 17, was just 10 years old when the father died. Like the other male heirs, he received a 2.3 percent share of the company, while each of the daughters received only 1 percent. This money and the interest on the company's annual profits -- invested, contrary to the rules of Islam, with Western banks -- made Osama a rich man. He was a millionaire, but he wasn't worth 300 million as has been claimed. After a transition period, in which King Faisal assumed a guardian-like role, Salem bin Laden was made the head of the huge family company. He was at least 10 years older than his brother Osama and had attended a British boarding school.

SPIEGEL: Some of the siblings received their education in the West or in the Lebanese capital Beirut, which was very liberal at the time, while others stayed in Saudi Arabia. Didn't Osama want to venture out into the world?

Coll: He visited Beirut once, but he apparently found life there to be more alienating than fascinating. Sometimes he watched American TV series like "Bonanza" and "Fury," and sometimes he played football, but always in long trousers. But Osama, who was more of a shy boy, sought his role model, his new father figure, elsewhere. He was heavily influenced by a teacher who promoted the ideas of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood. Osama's radicalization was not directed against the family. He accepted Salem's authority without objection, even though he must have disapproved of his drinking habits, his playboy lifestyle and his fondness for Western pop music. But at first Osama's religious and revolutionary zeal by no means contradicted the policies of the Saudi royal family, especially when it came to issues like the call to "liberate" Jerusalem, and then, later on, the fight against the Soviet occupiers in Afghanistan, which he plunged into with enthusiasm.

SPIEGEL: Did the other Bin Ladens admire Osama, or did they just see him as an eccentric?

Coll: They thought the intensity and rigor with which he lived his faith were odd. For example, he forbade his young wife from drinking through a straw and his children from drinking from a bottle, because he felt that these things were un-Islamic. But by no means did they see him as a sectarian outsider. Just as it was once customary in families of the European nobility for a son to choose the priesthood, they considered it quite normal that one of their own would choose the call of religion.

SPIEGEL: It soon became more than that.

Coll: Yes. Osama became radicalized in 1979, with the attack of radical Islamists on the Great Mosque in Mecca, the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. His ego and his ambition grew when, in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, he distributed money, most of it donated by his family, to the Afghan insurgents and then joined the mujaheddin in their holy war.

SPIEGEL: How was the family able to maintain this split between Mecca and the West?

Coll: Salem was quite successful as the head of the family and as a businessman. He knew how important the donations were for the Afghan resistance movement. On the advice of his politically influential US friends, he also helped finance the CIA's campaign against the Contras in Nicaragua. Most of all, however, Salem bin Laden lived his American dream, which included villas, cars and private planes. He liked to travel and he loved singing to an audience. He once sang Bavarian folk songs at the Oktoberfest in Munich, after paying $2,000 in cash to buy a spot in the overflowing beer tent. His love life was especially eccentric.

SPIEGEL: In what way?

Coll: He had five preferred girlfriends: an American, a Briton, a Frenchwoman, a Dane and a German. One day he had them all flown to London, introduced them to each other and announced that he wanted to marry each of them and give them each a villa. The only condition was that they would have to be available for him at all times -- and have their respective national flags flying on their property and a car made in their respective country parked in front of the door. He dreamed of his own, private United Nations. The German, nicknamed "my Panzer," left immediately, while most of the others played hard-to-get. Salem eventually married the British woman…

SPIEGEL: …but was unable to enjoy his good fortune for long.

Coll: That's right. A short time later, in May of 1988, he took off in an ultralight aircraft from the Kitty Hawk Field of Dreams in San Antonio and, though he was an experienced pilot, inexplicably hit power lines and crashed. It was yet another aviation death, and once again it was linked to America. The brother who then took over as head the company, Bakr bin Laden, was a moderately religious, internationally experienced and worldly man.

SPIEGEL: How did the rupture between Osama and the family come about?

Coll: Osama had found a new mentor in the Pakistani-Afghani border region. Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian scholar with the Muslim Brotherhood, acquainted him with the concept of international jihad. New weapons, paid for with Saudi money and delivered by the United States, turned the war around in favor of the mujaheddin. After Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan and he returned home to Saudi Arabia, Osama began searching for new projects. When the Iraqis invaded Kuwait in 1990, he offered the royal family his Arab fighters for a punitive expedition against Saddam Hussein, playing the loyal Islamic guerilla leader in the service of the monarchy. But to his great disappointment, the rulers in Riyadh chose to pin their hopes on the Americans and agreed to allow the US to station large numbers of troops in Saudi Arabia.

SPIEGEL: But didn't the bin Laden family make money on the deal?

Coll: The company, under Bakr's leadership, built a helicopter landing site for the US Army. All of this was too much for Osama: the humiliation stemming from the rejection of his support, and the certificates of appreciation that US General Norman Schwarzkopf handed to individual executives within the bin Laden Group for their "invaluable support." He sharpened the tone of his political speeches, and then took his four wives and many children to live in exile in Sudan. After the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, when Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida organization came under suspicion, the family officially disowned him.

SPIEGEL: Were all contacts truly cut off?

Coll: No. Osama's firstborn son Abdullah had already abandoned the father before he moved on to Afghanistan and became more and more involved in terrorism. But we know that the mother and several other family members traveled to Kandahar to attend the wedding of the second-eldest son Mohammed in January 2001.

SPIEGEL: Carmen bin Laden, a sister-in-law of Osamas who lived in Saudi Arabia for a long time, told SPIEGEL that she believes that the "Bin Ladens never disowned Osama; in this family, a brother remains a brother, no matter what he has done." Do you have evidence to support this claim?

Coll: No direct evidence. One of the family members, Saad bin Laden, is under house arrest in Tehran as a suspected terrorist. And there are financial transactions by individual family members that are difficult to trace and therefore suspicious, but no overwhelming evidence. Bakr bin Laden and the globalized family company are far too dependent on international acceptance to remain in contact with Osama, no matter what they think of him. After Osama's declaration of war on the United States, the family hired a former Wall Street Journal journalist as a PR advisor. And with only one exception all bin Ladens who were living the United States left the country shortly after the attack.

SPIEGEL: And now the family is spread across the globe. Can you give us a short summary?

Coll: Yeslam bin Laden has secured the rights to the family name for his Bin Laden Fashions, which he abandoned in the face of protests. Abdullah owns an event management agency in Jiddah. Hassan is one of the principal shareholders in the Hard Rock Café Middle East. Other family members finance Hollywood films, own or have owned privatized prisons and an airport in the United States. Bakr and the Bin Ladin Group are bidding on the contract to build the world's tallest building in Dubai. He counts Prince Charles, George Bush senior and Jimmy Carter among his close acquaintances. He has also taken flying lessons and pilots his private jet himself.

SPIEGEL: And Osama…

Coll: …is by no means the country bumpkin, the fanatic fundamentalist he is sometimes portrayed as in the West. He sees himself as a master of global changes and their technologies. He believes, not quite incorrectly, that he has used the modern media more effectively than his American adversaries. Robbed of his Saudi Arabian identity, at home in international jihad, Osama, as his most recent messages from the underground show, sees himself as a true world citizen.

SPIEGEL: He sent a message to the candidates in the American presidential campaign four years ago, shortly before election day…

Coll: …and the Democrats and (former presidential candidate) John Kerry see this as one of the main reasons behind their loss. I believe that he wants to influence America this time, as well. There is a threat of the terrorist attack on American soil that al-Qaida has long warned of. Osama bin Laden is planning something for the US election.

SPIEGEL: He could harm the Democrats, who have long led in the opinion polls, but are seen as less competent when it comes to fighting terror. Could Osama be the Republicans' last hope?

Coll: This is the year of the Democrats, unless there is a huge disaster.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Coll, thank you for this interview.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,544921,00.html

The 801

04-03-2008, 12:16 PM

Great post Al C, I always appreciate the full printing of items, because sometimes the links peter out later. I lost a ton of Mugniyeh stuff early on because of this. This maintains the full historical evidence.

Noted this in your interview:

SPIEGEL: Where is bin Laden now?

Coll: I am firmly convinced that he is on Pakistani soil, and I would even venture to say where: in the mountainous region of North Waziristan, near the city of Miram Shah. Bin Laden knows the area like the back of his hand. It is controlled by the Haqqani clan, in which he has deep roots. Pakistan's army doesn't dare enter the region.

So, for fun, check this out:

Taliban welcome back an old friend
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - Like a voice from the grave, legendary Afghan mujahideen leader Jalaluddin Haqqani has emerged from years of silence to boldly launch the Taliban-led spring offensive in Afghanistan, at the same time burying any doubts of a split between his coalition of resistance groups and Mullah Omar's Taliban.

In a video message released last week and which is only now coming into wider circulation, Haqqani, speaking in his trademark low-pitched voice and with his hair dyed red with henna, called on the people of Afghanistan "to stand up against the US-led forces in Afghanistan and drive them out".

The release of the message by Haqqani, who has a bounty on his

head as one of the US's most-wanted men, coincides with an important North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting in Bucharest, Romania, this weekend at which the divided alliance will try to hammer out a more coherent strategy in the war in Afghanistan which many analysts believe it is losing.

As Haqqani speaks on the video, he is accompanied by a background song which pledges his allegiance to Mullah Omar, laying to rest any doubts that he has set himself up as a rival to the mainstream Taliban.

Along with his son Sirajuddin, Jalaluddin Haqqani has built up a well-organized group, known as the Haqqani Network, with roots in Pakistan's tribal areas, that, now firmly allied with Mullah Omar, will pose a dangerous challenge to the coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Haqqani soundly dismissed any notion - as touted by senior NATO officials - that the Taliban were weakened and might forego their spring offensive. "All 37 allies [in NATO] will be humiliated and driven out of Afghanistan - jihad is compulsory and will continue until the end of time; we are without resources, but we have the support of God."

Haqqani said the Taliban and their allies in Afghanistan had come up with new plans to fight against NATO, but these did not have any room for reconciliation. "We are geared for war," Haqqani stated.

"[President George W] Bush and his allies have decided to kill us or arrest us - they consider us as weak and think of themselves as all powerful. They think we have no place left in the world to survive - they think we are destined either to die or to be captured ... they think they are wealthy nations, with their money and with half of the world behind them.

"They think they can enslave poor Afghans - bomb us with their planes and gunship helicopters - they think they have everything and we are voiceless - the media are with them and they belittle our resistance. We kill 80 and they report two or one. I promise the Afghan nation that soon we will be victorious," said Haqqani.

The long speech by the Pashtun leader, who made his name fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s and remains the most-respected tribal figure in southeastern Afghanistan, is the most sophisticated yet of the Taliban's presentations to Pashtun people.

Copies of Haqqani's speech have spread all over eastern Afghanistan and are available in various formats, including on cassette tape and through cell phone downloads. After being silent for so long, and having been reported dead on numerous occasions, the impact of people listening to Haqqani is immense and will undoubtedly work as a galvanizing force among Pashtuns.

This especially as NATO has in recent months worked hard to portray the Taliban as a spent force consisting of a bunch of naive young lads with no credible leader left.

"They projected the rumor that Jalaluddin Haqqani had died in Dubai [in the United Arab Emirates]. I am neither a shopkeeper nor a trader that I would travel to Dubai. Neither am I a politician who roams all around the world ... the Americans thought that with their developed technology they could plant the news of my death in the media. But now the media are realizing their lies to demoralize the mujahideen," Haqqani said.

A graphic part of Haqqani's video shows a suicide operation carried out by a Turk-German named Cuneyt Ciftci, also known as Saad Abu Furkan. He is seen in the video blowing himself up in a delivery truck near a US base in the Sabari district of Khost province in Afghanistan on March 3. According to Western press reports, two soldiers with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and two Afghan workers were killed and six others wounded. But the video claims the killing of 63 people.

The Taliban's new battle
The inclusion in the video of this suicide attack - one of dozens that has taken place in the country in recent years - is important as it shows an unprecedented level of planning and organization not normally associated with the Taliban.

Footage shows a professionally drawn map, like an architect's, of a compound of the Sabari district headquarters. There is detail of the boundary walls, the protective inner walls, entry points, rooms, backyard and front portions of the newly built structure. Clearly the Taliban had contacts among the laborers or contractors. There are pictures of Taliban guerrillas sitting around the map discussing their plan to launch the suicide bomber in an explosive-laden vehicle.

This is a far cry from usual grainy Afghan videos of ambushes on military convoys in the mountains. Haqqani's video is reminiscent of those made by the Iraqi resistance in 2004-05, when operations were meticulously planned by former officers of Saddam Hussein's army and executed with precision.

In the many years since being ousted in 2001, the Taliban have had numerous ups and downs, from the successful spring offensive of 2006 to the failed mass uprising of 2007. Now, the Taliban have adopted a policy of preserving their strength by only hitting specific targets, rather than waste their resources in multiple direct confrontations with NATO forces.

The Taliban have also opened up a new front based in Khyber Agency in Pakistan just across the border from Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, as NATO has beefed up its presence in the traditional Taliban strongholds of Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Kunar provinces.

Last week, NATO announced the opening of an intelligence center near the Torkham border post, at the crossroad of Khyber Agency and Nangarhar province. But it was not able to thwart the biggest-ever guerrilla operation against a US base in the province a few days later. More than 200 Taliban participated in an overnight hit-and-run operation. Taliban sources claimed the killing of 70 US soldiers, but there was no confirmation of that figure from NATO or any other independent source.

According to the video, the Taliban will use as much foreign expertise as possible, as well as tapping into tribal elders and their supporters. This means that mainstream Taliban commanders like Mullah Beradar from southwestern Afghanistan and commanders who are allied with the Taliban but who keep their own identities, like Anwarul Haq Mujahahid from Nangarhar and Uzbek and Arab commanders, will join hands for a coherent overall strategy. This of course includes Haqqani and his considerable following.

A relatively new string in the Taliban's bow is the reliance on thousands of Pakistani and other jihadis put out of "work" since the struggle in Kashmir de-escalated. They are well trained, and as they did in Indian-administered Kashmir and other parts of India, they can be expected to target key infrastructure and high-profile targets, such as government buildings.

This year's suicide attack by the Haqqani Network on the Serina Hotel in Kabul, in which several people, including foreigners, were killed, and the attack in Khost on March 3 shown in the video, indicate one key direction in which the Taliban-led insurgency is headed.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/JD04Df02.html

Umm, maybe these guys need their own thread too.....

Shipwrx

04-03-2008, 12:44 PM

I suspect something is planned for the election as well.

Should we open the conspiracy theory Box now as to who actually does it with OBL being blamed for it again.

al-Canine

04-04-2008, 06:20 PM

BOOKS OF THE TIMES

The Bricklayer’s Sons: The Family That Spawned 9/11

By MICHIKO KAKUTANI

THE BIN LADENS
An Arabian Family in the American Century

By Steve Coll
Illustrated. 671 pages. The Penguin Press. $35.

Steve Coll’s riveting new book not only gives us the most psychologically detailed portrait of the brutal 9/11 mastermind yet, but in telling the epic story of Osama bin Laden’s extended family, it also reveals the crucial role that his relatives and their relationship with the royal house of Saud played in shaping his thinking, his ambitions, his technological expertise and his tactics.

“The Bin Ladens” uses the prism of one family to examine the mind-boggling, culture-rocking effects that sudden oil wealth had on Saudi Arabia, while shedding new light on the “troubled, compulsive, greed-inflected, secret-burdened” relationship that developed between that desert nation and the United States, and the conflicts many Saudis felt, pulled between the traditional pieties of their ancestors and the glittering temptations of the West.

It is a book that possesses the novelistic energy of a rags-to-riches family epic, following its sprawling cast of characters as they travel from Mecca and Medina to Las Vegas and Disney World, and yet, at the same time, it is a book that, in tracing the connections between the public and the private, the political and the personal, stands as a substantive bookend to Mr. Coll’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning 2004 book, “Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the C.I.A., Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to Sept. 10, 2001.”

That earlier work focused on the rise of Islamic extremism during the anti-Soviet jihad in the 1980s in Afghanistan, where Mr. bin Laden first emerged as a leader, while this volume looks at the familial, cultural and political forces that shaped him as he came of age in Saudi Arabia.

Parts of Mr. Coll’s narrative are heavily indebted to other reporters’ pioneering work on this subject — most notably, Peter Bergen’s two books on Mr. bin Laden, and “The Looming Tower,” Lawrence Wright’s searing book about Al Qaeda and the road to 9/11. But by focusing on Mr. bin Laden’s conflicted relationship with his family and that family’s complicated relationship with the West, Mr. Coll, a staff writer for The New Yorker who also worked for many years at The Washington Post, has added fascinating new details to our understanding of how Mr. bin Laden evolved from a loyal family adjutant into an angry black sheep, intent on lashing out at the very people — the Saudi royal family and the United States of America — that his father and brothers had cultivated in their business dealings for years.

Just as recent books like Jacob Weisberg’s “Bush Tragedy” have underscored the role Oedipal rivalries may have played in George W. Bush’s presidency and his decision to go to war against Iraq, so this volume underscores the role that Freudian family dynamics may have played in Mr. bin Laden’s radicalization and his declaration of war against America.

Mr. Coll traces how Osama — who was still a boy when his father, Muhammad, was killed in an airplane accident in 1967 — found a succession of father figures in a series of radical mentors, including a high school gym teacher who involved him in an after-school Islamic study group and Abdullah Azzam, a charismatic scholar who introduced the young Osama to “the concept of transnational jihad.”

Mr. Coll’s book also traces a host of bizarre connections among its dramatis personae, suggesting that there are often less than six degrees of separation when it comes to the new globalized world of international finance. We learn, for instance, that Muhammad bin Laden began his rise by working as a bricklayer and mason for Aramco, the Arabian American Oil Company, which had been formed to manage the oil rights of the Standard Oil Company of California, and that the huge international company that the bin Ladens built would come to do business with well-known American firms like General Electric, and draw on advice from the law firm Baker Botts, headed by James A. Baker III, the former secretary of state and Bush family adviser.

We also learn that Jim Bath, a former reserve pilot with the Texas Air National Guard who used to carouse with George W. Bush, later became a business partner in Houston with Salem bin Laden, Osama’s half-brother.

The ultimate self-made man, the family patriarch Muhammad bin Laden left an impoverished and deeply religious canyon village to seek his fortune (during an early interlude in the pilgrim city of Jeddah, he was so poor that he reportedly slept in a ditch he dug in the sand) and through a combination of skill, acumen and the assiduous cultivation of the royal family, became the king’s principal builder, overseeing renovations of sacred sites in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. He would bequeath to his children not just a fortune, but also what Mr. Coll calls a “transforming vision of ambition and religious faith in a borderless world.” His British-educated son, Salem, who took over the company after his death, would expand its international reach, and he would also embrace a Westernized, jet-set existence that allowed him to indulge his eccentricities to the fullest.

In fact, Salem emerges from this volume as a compelling, larger-than-life figure, a picaresque playboy, at once guileless, brilliant and self-indulgent, who held together the increasingly fractious bin Laden clan through sheer force of will and charisma. Salem, who dressed in jeans, loved airplanes and liked to play the harmonica, reportedly “paid a bandleader at an Academy Awards party in Los Angeles hundreds of dollars to let him sing ‘House of the Rising Sun’ in seven languages.”

Mr. Coll reports that Salem organized family expeditions to Las Vegas, shipped thousands of cases of Tabasco sauce back to Saudi Arabia and dreamed of marrying four women from four Western nations: his estate, he imagined, would resemble the United Nations, with four houses, one flying an American flag, one a German flag, one a French flag and one the Union Jack. Salem died in 1988 in a plane accident in Texas.

As for Osama bin Laden, Mr. Coll, like Mr. Wright in “The Looming Tower,” suggests that the Qaeda founder’s turn to international war against the United States was not inevitable. Mr. Coll writes that when the Saudi royal family agreed in the summer of 1990 to the arrival of American troops in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Mr. bin Laden “offered no public dissent” at the time, but “moved quickly with the rest of his family to protect his personal fortune against the possibility that the Al-Saud regime might collapse.” Although he had come to see himself as an “international Islamic guerrilla leader,” his views at the time, Mr. Coll writes, were still “nuanced, changeable and laced with contradictions.”

Increasingly at odds with the Saudi royal family, Mr. bin Laden left the kingdom in 1991 for the Sudan, where he bought a farm and raised horses and sunflowers while training jihadis (whom he sent to places like Bosnia). “Osama seemed to believe during this period,” Mr. Coll writes, “that he could have it all in Sudan — wives, children, business, horticulture, horse breeding, leisure, pious devotion and jihad — all of it buoyed by the deference and public reputation due a proper sheikh. He did not yet seem to grasp that his enterprise, particularly in its support for violence against governments friendly to or dependent upon the Al-Saud, might prove difficult to reconcile with the interests of his family in Jeddah.”

In June 1993, Mr. Coll reports, the family, most likely under pressure from the Saudi government, moved to expel Osama as a shareholder of the Muhammad bin Laden Company and the Saudi bin Laden Group. The following year the family publicly repudiated him, the Ministry of Interior announced that he had been formally stripped of his Saudi citizenship, and Mr. bin Laden began writing lengthy essays denouncing the royal family, which he circulated by fax.

By 1995, Mr. Coll writes, there was “a hint of King Lear in the wilderness” to his exile: he was out of money, one of his wives had divorced him, and his eldest son had left him to return to Saudi Arabia. Isolation fueled Mr. bin Laden’s self-righteousness, however, and his wrath increasingly focused on the United States, particularly after Washington put pressure on Sudan’s government to expel him from Khartoum, leading to his exile in 1996 back to the harsh lands of Afghanistan.

While he careered toward violence, other members of his family moved to strengthen their ties with the West. There were family investments in enterprises ranging from Iridium, a satellite communications network, to the Hard Rock Cafe franchise in the Middle East.

In the days after 9/11 Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador in Washington — who met with President Bush on the evening of September 13 — helped arrange (with F.B.I. permission) a special chartered plane flight to carry more than a dozen bin Ladens, some of whom had been living in the United States for years, back home to Saudi Arabia. Subsequent F.B.I. investigations “turned up no evidence of complicity by the bin Laden family in terrorist violence,” Mr. Coll writes, and a decision seems to have been made at the White House sometime early in 2002 that, barring the emergence of new evidence, “the U.S. government would not sanction the bin Laden family in any way because of its history with Osama.”

One F.B.I. analyst summed up the bureau’s assessment this way: there were “millions” of bin Ladens “running around” and “99.999999 percent of them are of the non-evil variety.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/books/01kaku.html?

Below, Members of the bin Laden family on a trip to Falun, Sweden, in 1971. (Osama bin Laden did not make the trip.)

al-Canine

04-04-2008, 06:22 PM

Below, Members of the bin Laden family on a trip to Falun, Sweden, in 1971. (Osama bin Laden did not make the trip.)

The bin Ladens: they're just like us! ;)

al-Canine

05-21-2008, 09:41 PM

OPINION from the Los Angeles Times

Bin Laden is out there
He may be out of sight, but his latest messages show that he should not be out of mind.

May 21, 2008

As President Bush jetted home from the Middle East on Sunday, Osama bin Laden stuck his bloody thumb in the president's eye yet again, releasing his second recorded message in three days. The first was a commentary on the occasion of Israel’s 60th anniversary, and the second was an epistle on Gaza, in which Bin Laden, answering Bush's speech to the Israeli Knesset, called on true Muslims to overthrow the Arab regimes that have failed to stop Israel from oppressing the Palestinians.

But the release of the messages didn't make page one of any major American newspaper, including this one. Seven years have passed since Bush vowed to capture Bin Laden "dead or alive." Is there truly nothing newsworthy in the mastermind of the murder of nearly 3,000 American civilians having no difficulty providing well-timed spin to counter the messages Bush tried to deliver to the Middle East?

Or have we collectively grown so numb after years of failure in the so-called global war on terror that we have accepted that Bin Laden cannot be found? If so, this is indeed the soft bigotry of low expectations. We delude ourselves if we believe that Bin Laden's survival doesn't matter or that his ideology is in decline. The State Department's latest report on terrorism concludes that Al Qaeda and its affiliates remain the greatest terrorist threat to the United States.

And are Americans truly so familiar with Bin Laden's thinking that we need not pay close attention to what he is saying? That would have come as a surprise to President Lincoln, who studied the remarks of Confederate rival Jefferson Davis, or to his successors, who deemed it vital to listen to Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh. North Vietnamese Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap famously informed his American counterparts exactly how he would defeat them -- and then did so. Michael Scheuer, former head of the CIA's Bin Laden unit, says the enemy leader's actions have been unusually true to his word -- and that's important because, in his latest message, he answers critics who say Muslims must never kill other Muslims by arguing that the great warrior Saladin would never have liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders if he had been prohibited from killing fellow Muslims.

Bin Laden will be waiting to humiliate the next U.S. president as surely as he has Bush. The question is whether the new president will know his enemy any better, or prove any more skillful at playing America's weakened hand.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-binladen21-2008may21,0,1395947.story

The 801

05-23-2008, 08:45 PM

Long and interesting......

The Unraveling
by Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank
The jihadist revolt against bin Laden.

Within a few minutes of Noman Benotman's arrival at the Kandahar guest house, Osama bin Laden came to welcome him. The journey from Kabul had been hard, 17 hours in a Toyota pickup truck bumping along what passed as the main highway to southern Afghanistan. It was the summer of 2000, and Benotman, then a leader of a group trying to overthrow the Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, had been invited by bin Laden to a conference of jihadists from around the Arab world, the first of its kind since Al Qaeda had moved to Afghanistan in 1996. Benotman, the scion of an aristocratic family marginalized by Qaddafi, had known bin Laden from their days fighting the Afghan communist government in the early '90s, a period when Benotman established himself as a leader of the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.

http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/8137d59a-9e08-4da3-bbed-0619af48403b/noman%5B1%5D.jpg?size=l
Noman Benotman on a Libyan government private jet bound for Tripoli on a secret mission in January 2007.Credit: Courtesy of Noman Benotman

The night of Benotman's arrival, bin Laden threw a lavish banquet in the main hall of his compound, an unusual extravagance for the frugal Al Qaeda leader. As bin Laden circulated, making small talk, large dishes of rice and platters of whole roasted lamb were served to some 200 jihadists, many of whom had come from around the Middle East. "It was one big reunification," Benotman recalls. "The leaders of most of the jihadist groups in the Arab world were there and almost everybody within Al Qaeda."

Bin Laden was trying to win over other militant groups to the global jihad he had announced against the United States in 1998. Over the next five days, bin Laden and his top aides, including Ayman Al Zawahiri, met with a dozen or so jihadist leaders. They sat on the floor in a circle with large cushions arrayed around them to discuss the future of their movement. "This was a big strategy meeting," Benotman told one of us late last year, in his first account of the meeting to a reporter. "We talked about everything, where are we going, what are the lessons of the past twenty years."

Despite the warm welcome, Benotman surprised his hosts with a bleak assessment of their prospects. "I told them that the jihadist movement had failed. That we had gone from one disaster to another, like in Algeria, because we had not mobilized the people," recalls Benotman, referring to the Algerian civil war launched by jihadists in the '90s that left more than 100,000 dead and destroyed whatever local support the militants had once enjoyed. Benotman also told bin Laden that the Al Qaeda leader's decision to target the United States would only sabotage attempts by groups like Benotman's to overthrow the secular dictatorships in the Arab world. "We made a clear-cut request for him to stop his campaign against the United States because it was going to lead to nowhere," Benotman recalls, "but they laughed when I told them that America would attack the whole region if they launched another attack against it."

Benotman says that bin Laden tried to placate him with a promise: "I have one more operation, and after that I will quit"--an apparent reference to September 11. "I can't call this one back because that would demoralize the whole organization," Benotman remembers bin Laden saying.

After the attacks, Benotman, now living in London, resigned from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, realizing that the United States, in its war on terrorism, would differentiate little between Al Qaeda and his organization.

Benotman, however, did more than just retire. In January 2007, under a veil of secrecy, he flew to Tripoli in a private jet chartered by the Libyan government to try to persuade the imprisoned senior leadership of his former group to enter into peace negotiations with the regime. He was successful. This May, Benotman told us that the two parties could be as little as three months away from an agreement that would see the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group formally end its operations in Libya and denounce Al Qaeda's global jihad. At that point, the group would also publicly refute recent claims by Al Qaeda that the two organizations had joined forces.

This past November, Benotman went public with his own criticism of Al Qaeda in an open letter to Zawahiri, absorbed and well-received, he says, by the jihadist leaders in Tripoli. In the letter, Benotman recalled his Kandahar warnings and called on Al Qaeda to end all operations in Arab countries and in the West. The citizens of Western countries were blameless and should not be the target of terrorist attacks, argued Benotman, his refined English accent, smart suit, trimmed beard, and easygoing demeanor making it hard to imagine that he was once on the front lines in Afghanistan.

Although Benotman's public rebuke of Al Qaeda went unnoticed in the United States, it received wide attention in the Arabic press. In repudiating Al Qaeda, Benotman was adding his voice to a rising tide of anger in the Islamic world toward Al Qaeda and its affiliates, whose victims since September 11 have mostly been fellow Muslims. Significantly, he was also joining a larger group of religious scholars, former fighters, and militants who had once had great influence over Al Qaeda's leaders, and who--alarmed by the targeting of civilians in the West, the senseless killings in Muslim countries, and Al Qaeda's barbaric tactics in Iraq--have turned against the organization, many just in the past year.

After September 11, there was considerable fear in the West that we were headed for a clash of civilizations with the Muslim world led by bin Laden, who would entice masses of young Muslims into his jihadist movement. But the religious leaders and former militants who are now critiquing Al Qaeda's terrorist campaign--both in the Middle East and in Muslim enclaves in the West-- make that less likely. The potential repercussions for Al Qaeda cannot be underestimated because, unlike most mainstream Muslim leaders, Al Qaeda's new critics have the jihadist credentials to make their criticisms bite. "The starting point has to be that jihad is legitimate, otherwise no one will listen, " says Benotman, who sees the Iraqi insurgency as a legitimate jihad. "The reaction [to my criticism of Al Qaeda] has been beyond imagination. It has made the radicals very angry. They are very shaky about it."

Why have clerics and militants once considered allies by Al Qaeda's leaders turned against them? To a large extent, it is because Al Qaeda and its affiliates have increasingly adopted the doctrine of takfir, by which they claim the right to decide who is a "true" Muslim. Al Qaeda's Muslim critics know what results from this takfiri view: First, the radicals deem some Muslims apostates; after that, the radicals start killing them. This fatal progression happened in both Algeria and Egypt in the 1990s. It is now taking place even more dramatically in Iraq, where Al Qaeda's suicide bombers have killed more than 10,000 Iraqis, most of them targeted simply for being Shia. Recently, Al Qaeda in Iraq has turned its fire on Sunnis who oppose its diktats, a fact not lost on the Islamic world's Sunni majority.

Additionally, Al Qaeda and its affiliates have killed thousands of Muslim civilians elsewhere since September 11: hundreds of ordinary Afghans killed every year by the Taliban, dozens of Saudis killed by terrorists since 2003, scores of Jordanians massacred at a wedding at a U.S. hotel in Amman in November 2005. Even those sympathetic to Al Qaeda have started to notice. "Excuse me Mr. Zawahiri but who is it who is killing with Your Excellency's blessing, the innocents in Baghdad, Morocco and Algeria?" one supporter asked in an online Q&A with Al Qaeda's deputy leader in April that was posted widely on jihadist websites. All this has created a dawning recognition among Muslims that the ideological virus that unleashed September 11 and the terrorist attacks in London and Madrid is the same virus now wreaking havoc in the Muslim world.

Two months before Benotman's letter to Zawahiri was publicized in the Arab press, Al Qaeda received a blow from one of bin Laden's erstwhile heroes, Sheikh Salman Al Oudah, a Saudi religious scholar. Around the sixth anniversary of September 11, Al Oudah addressed Al Qaeda's leader on MBC, a widely watched Middle East TV network: "My brother Osama, how much blood has been spilt? How many innocent people, children, elderly, and women have been killed ... in the name of Al Qaeda? Will you be happy to meet God Almighty carrying the burden of these hundreds of thousands or millions [of victims] on your back?"

What was noteworthy about Al Oudah's statement was that it was not simply a condemnation of terrorism, or even of September 11, but that it was a personal rebuke, which clerics in the Muslim world have shied away from. In Saudi Arabia in February, one of us met with Al Oudah, who rarely speaks to Western reporters. Dressed in the long black robe fringed with gold that is worn by those accorded respect in Saudi society, Al Oudah recalled meeting with bin Laden--a "simple man without scholarly religious credentials, an attractive personality who spoke well," he said--in the northern Saudi region of Qassim in 1990. Al Oudah explained that he had criticized Al Qaeda for years but until now had not directed it at bin Laden himself: "Most religious scholars have directed criticism at acts of terrorism, not a particular person. ... I don't expect a positive effect on bin Laden personally as a result of my statement. It's really a message to his followers."

Al Oudah's rebuke was also significant because he is considered one of the fathers of the Sahwa, the fundamentalist awakening movement that swept through Saudi Arabia in the '80s. His sermons against the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia following Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait helped turn bin Laden against the United States. And bin Laden told one of us in 1997 that Al Oudah's 1994 imprisonment by the Saudi regime was one of the reasons he was calling for attacks on U.S. targets. Al Oudah is also one of 26 Saudi clerics who, in 2004, handed down a religious ruling urging Iraqis to fight the U.S. occupation of their country. He is, in short, not someone Al Qaeda can paint as an American sympathizer or a tool of the Saudi government.

Tellingly, Al Qaeda has not responded to Al Oudah's critique, but the research organization Political Islam Online tracked postings on six Islamist websites and the websites of Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya TV networks in the week after Al Oudah's statements; it found that more than two-thirds of respondents reacted favorably. Al Oudah's large youth following in the Muslim world has helped his anti-Al Qaeda message resonate. In 2006, for instance, he addressed a gathering of around 20,000 young British Muslims in London's East End. "Oudah is well known by all the youth. It's almost a celebrity culture out there. ... He has definitely helped to offset Al Qaeda's rhetoric," one young imam told us.

More doubt about Al Qaeda was planted in the Muslim world when Sayyid Imam Al Sharif, the ideological godfather of Al Qaeda, sensationally withdrew his support in a book written last year from his prison cell in Cairo. Al Sharif, generally known as "Dr. Fadl," was an architect of the doctrine of takfir, arguing that Muslims who did not support armed jihad or who participated in elections were kuffar, unbelievers. Although Dr. Fadl never explicitly called for such individuals to be killed, his takfiri treatises from 1988 and 1993 gave theological cover to jihadists targeting civilians.

Dr. Fadl was also Zawahiri's mentor. Like his protégé, he is a skilled surgeon and moved in militant circles when he was a member of Cairo University's medical faculty in the '70s. In 1981, when Anwar Sadat was assassinated and Zawahiri was jailed in connection with the plot, Dr. Fadl fled to Peshawar, Pakistan, where he operated on wounded mujahedin fighting the Soviets. After Zawahiri's release from jail, he joined Dr. Fadl in Peshawar, where they established a new branch of the "Jihad group" that would later morph into Al Qaeda. Osama Rushdi, a former Egyptian jihadist then living in Peshawar, recalls that there was little doubt about Dr. Fadl's importance: "He was like the big boss in the Mafia in Chicago." And bin Laden also owed a deeply personal debt to Dr. Fadl; in Sudan in 1993, the doctor operated on Al Qaeda's leader after he was hurt in an assassination attempt.

So it was an unwelcome surprise for Al Qaeda's leaders when Dr. Fadl's new book, Rationalization of Jihad, was serialized in an independent Egyptian newspaper in November. The incentive for writing the book, he explained, was that "jihad ... was blemished with grave Sharia violations during recent years. ... [N]ow there are those who kill hundreds, including women and children, Muslims and non Muslims in the name of Jihad!" Dr Fadl ruled that Al Qaeda's bombings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere were illegitimate and that terrorism against civilians in Western countries was wrong. He also took on Al Qaeda's leaders directly in an interview with the Al Hayat newspaper. "Zawahiri and his Emir bin Laden [are] extremely immoral," he said. "I have spoken about this in order to warn the youth against them, youth who are seduced by them, and don't know them."

Dr. Fadl's harsh words attracted attention throughout the Arabic-speaking world; even a majority of Zawahiri's own Jihad group jailed in Egyptian prisons signed on and promised to end their armed struggle. In December, Zawahiri released an audiotape lambasting his former mentor, accusing him of being in league with the "bloodthirsty betrayer" Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak; and, in a 200-page book titled The Exoneration, published in March, he replied at greater length, portraying Dr. Fadl as a prisoner trying to curry favor with Egypt's security services and the author of "a desperate attempt (under American sponsorship) to confront the high tide of the jihadist awakening."

Ultimately, the ideological battle against Al Qaeda in the West may be won in places such as Leyton and Walthamstow, largely Muslim enclaves in east London, whose residents included five of the eight alleged British Al Qaeda operatives currently on trial for plotting to bring down U.S.-bound passenger jets in 2006. It is in Britain that many leaders of the jihadist movement have settled as political refugees, and "Londonistan" has long been a key barometer of future Islamist trends. There are probably more supporters of Al Qaeda in Britain than any other Western country, and, because most British Muslims are of Pakistani origin, British militants easily can obtain terrorist training in the tribal areas of Pakistan, Al Qaeda's main operational hub since September 11. And now, because it is difficult for Al Qaeda to send Middle Eastern passport holders to the United States, the organization has particularly targeted radicalized Muslims in Britain for recruitment. So the nexus between militant British Muslims, Pakistan, and Al Qaeda has become the leading terrorist threat to the United States.

Over the last half-year, we have made several trips to London to interview militants who have defected from Al Qaeda, retired mujahedin, Muslim community leaders, and members of the security services. Most say that, when Al Qaeda's bombs went off in London in 2005, sympathy for the terrorists evaporated.

In Leyton, the neighborhood mosque is on the main road, a street of terraced houses, halal food joints, and South Asian hairdressers. Around 1,000 people attend Friday prayers there each week.

Usama Hassan, one of the imams at the mosque, has a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from Imperial College in London, read theoretical physics at Cambridge, and now teaches at Middlesex University. But he also trained in a jihadist camp in Afghanistan in the '90s and, until a few years ago, was openly supportive of bin Laden. And, in another unusual twist, he is now one of the most prominent critics of Al Qaeda. Over several cups of Earl Grey in the tea room next to the mosque, Hassan--loquacious and intelligent, every bit the university lecturer--explained how he had switched sides.

Raised in London by Pakistani parents, Hassan arrived in Cambridge in 1989 and, feeling culturally isolated, fell in with Jamiat Ihyaa Minhaaj Al Sunnah (JIMAS), a student organization then supportive of jihads in Palestine, Kashmir, and Afghanistan. In December 1990, Hassan traveled to Afghanistan, where he briefly attended an Arab jihadist camp. He was shown how to use Kalashnikovs and M-16s and was taken to the front lines, where a shell landed near his group's position. "My feeling was, if I was killed, then brilliant, I would be a martyr," he recalls. Later, as a post-graduate student in London, Hassan played a lead role in the student Islamic Society, then a hotbed of radical activism. "At the time I was very anti-American. ... It was all black and white for us. I used to be impressed with bin Laden. There was no other leadership in the Muslim world standing up for Muslims." When September 11 happened, Hassan says the view in his circle was that "Al Qaeda had given one back to George Bush."

Still, as Al Qaeda continued to target civilians for attacks, Hassan began to rethink. His employment by an artificialintelligence consulting firm also integrated him back toward mainstream British life. "It was a slow process and involved a lot of soul-searching. ... Over time, I became convinced that bin Laden was dangerous and an extremist." The July 2005 bombings in London were the clincher. "I was devastated by the attack," he says. "My feeling was, how dare they attack my city."

Three days after the London bombings, the Leyton mosque held an emergency meeting; about 300 people attended. "We explained that these acts were evil, that they were haram," recalls Hassan. It was not the easiest of crowds; one youngster stormed out, shouting, "As far as I'm concerned, fifty dead kuffar is not a problem."

In Friday sermons since then, Hassan says that he has hammered home the difference between legitimate jihad and terrorism, despite a death threat from pro-Al Qaeda militants: "I think I'm listened to by the young because I have street cred from having spent time in a [jihadist] training camp. ... Jihadist experience is especially important for young kids because otherwise they tend to think he is just a sell-out who is a lot of talk." This spring, Hassan helped launch the Quilliam Foundation, an organization set up by former Islamist extremists to counter radicalism by making speeches to young Muslims in Great Britain about how they had been duped into embracing hatred of the West.

Such counter-radicalization efforts will help lower the pool of potential recruits for Al Qaeda--the only way the organization can be defeated in the long term. But the reality facing British counterterrorism officials, such as Detective Inspector Robert Lambert, the recently departed head of the Metropolitan police's Muslim Contact Unit, is that "Al Qaeda values dozens of recruits more than hundreds of supporters." In order to target the most radical extremists, the Metropolitan police have backed the efforts of a Muslim community group, the Active Change Foundation, based around a gym in Walthamstow run by Hanif and Imtiaz Qadir, two brothers of Kashmiri descent.

Hanif Qadir, now 42, revealed to us that he himself was recruited by Al Qaeda after the U.S. overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Jihadist recruiters in east London, no doubt noting wealth, sought out Qadir, who had earned enough money running a car repair shop to buy a Rolls-Royce and live in some style. "The guy who handled me was a Syrian called Abu Sufiyan. ... I'm sure he was from Al Qaeda," recalls Qadir. "He was good at telling you what you wanted to hear ... he touched all my emotional buttons." Qadir agreed to join. He drew up a will and, in December 2002, bought a first-class ticket to Pakistan. But, as the truck he was in crossed the dirt roads into Afghanistan, a chance occurrence changed his life: A truck, carrying wounded fighters, approached them from the other direction. Among them was a young Punjabi boy whose white robes were stained with blood. "These are evil people," another of the wounded shouted. "[W]e came here to fight jihad, but they are just using us as cannon fodder." Qadir's truckload of wannabe jihadists made a u-turn. "That kid, he was like an angel. He kicked me back into reality," recalls Qadir. "When I landed back in the U.K., I wanted to find [the Al Qaeda recruiters] and cut their heads off."

Qadir never found them, but he became determined to stop others like him from being recruited. In 2004, he and his brother opened the gym and community center in the Walthamstow neighborhood of east London. Soon, hundreds of young Muslims were attending.

The scale of the challenge was quickly clear. Soon after the center opened, he got wind that pro-Al Qaeda militants were secretly booking rooms there for their meetings. Worse, in the summer of 2006, several of those arrested in connection with the Al Qaeda airlines plot, including alleged ringleader Abdulla Ahmed Ali, were found to have attended his gym. But, rather than shutting the radicals out, Qadir continued to allow them to meet. "Sometimes our youngsters get into debates with these people, for example on jihad, and make them look ridiculous in front of their followers," he says. Qadir believes his approach is finally starting to pay off: "The extremists are burning out: The number of radicals in Walthamstow is diminishing, not growing."

At another mosque in London, the Muslim Brotherhood joined forces with the British authorities to reclaim the institution from pro-Al Qaeda militants. The Brotherhood is the most powerful Islamist group in the Arab world, with chapters throughout Europe and North America. It has long opposed Al Qaeda's jihad, a stance that so angered Zawahiri that he published a book, The Bitter Harvest, condemning the organization in 1991. From the late '90s, the Finsbury Park mosque in London had been dominated by the pro-Al Qaeda cleric Abu Hamza Al Masri. During that time, few selfrespecting jihadists traveling through London passed up the free accommodation in its basement. Visitors included Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called "twentieth hijacker" of the September 11 plot, and Richard Reid, who tried to down a U.S.-bound airliner with a shoe bomb in December 2001.

In 2003, British police shut the mosque, but Abu Hamza's followers continued to have a strong presence in the area. In February 2005, police helped broker a deal for the mosque to re-open under the leadership of the local chapter of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), a Muslim Brotherhood group. No sooner had the moderates gained control of the Finsbury Park mosque than they were confronted by Abu Hamza's angry followers, led by the pugnacious Atilla Ahmet, who calls himself "the number-one Al Qaeda in Europe" and who, in October, pled guilty to providing British Muslims with terrorist training. "They brought sticks and knives with them," recalls Kamal El Helbawy, spokesman for the new trustees at the mosque.

Undeterred, a few days later Helbawy gave the first Friday sermon, explaining that this was a new start for the mosque and stressing how important it was for Muslims to live in harmony with their neighbors. Detective Inspector Lambert, the Metropolitan police officer who helped broker the takeover, says that, because of its social welfare work and its track record supporting the Palestinian cause, the MAB has "big street cred in the area and [has] made an impact on Abu Hamza's young followers."

Salman Al Oudah, the Saudi preacher, spoke at the re-opened mosque in 2006, as has Abdullah Anas, an Algerian former mujahedin fighter based in London who has been a critic of Al Qaeda for years. Anas worked with bin Laden in Pakistan during the '80s, fought in Afghanistan for almost a decade against the communists, and married the daughter of a Palestinian cleric who is still lionized as the spiritual godfather of the jihadist movement, the most radical wing of which would morph into Al Qaeda. Anas told us that his critiques of Al Qaeda were not well-received in 2003, but that, "in the last two or three years, there has been a change in opinion," citing the Madrid and London bombings as turning points. In 2006, Anas went public with his criticisms of Al Qaeda, in an interview with Asharq Al Awsat, one of the leading newspapers in the Arab world, criticizing the London subway bombings as "criminal deeds ... prohibited by the Sharia."

Detective Inspector Lambert told us preachers like Anas and Al Oudah "can't be discounted. ... When you have Muslim leaders who are attacked both by Al Qaeda supporters and by commentators who oppose engagement [with Islamists], then they are in a useful position."

In December, Al Qaeda's campaign of violence reached new depths in the eyes of many Muslims, with a plot to launch attacks in Saudi Arabia while millions were gathered for the Hajj. Saudi security services arrested 28 Al Qaeda militants in Mecca, Medina, and Riyadh, whose targets allegedly included religious leaders critical of Al Qaeda, among them the Saudi Grand Mufti Sheikh Abd Al Aziz Al Sheikh, who responded to the plot by ruling that Al Qaeda operatives should be punished by execution, crucifixion, or exile. Plotting such attacks during the Hajj could not have been more counterproductive to Al Qaeda's cause, says Abdullah Anas, who was making the pilgrimage to Mecca himself. "People over there ... were very angry. The feeling was, how was it possible for Muslims to do that? I still can't quite believe it myself. The mood was one of shock, real shock."

Is Al Qaeda going to dissipate as a result of the criticism from its former mentors and allies? Despite the recent internal criticism, probably not in the short term. As one of us reported in The New Republic early last year, Al Qaeda, on the verge of defeat in 2002, has regrouped and is now able to launch significant terrorist operations in Europe ("Where You Bin?" January 29, 2007). And, last summer, U.S. intelligence agencies judged that Al Qaeda had "regenerated its [U.S.] Homeland attack capability" in Pakistan's tribal areas. Since then, Al Qaeda and the Taliban have only entrenched their position further, launching a record number of suicide attacks in Pakistan in the past year. Afghanistan, Algeria, and Iraq also saw record numbers of suicide attacks in 2007 (though the group's capabilities have deteriorated in Iraq of late). Meanwhile, Al Qaeda is still able to find recruits in the West. In November, Jonathan Evans, the head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency MI5, said that record numbers of U.K. residents are now supportive of Al Qaeda, with around 2,000 posing a "direct threat to national security and public safety." That means that Al Qaeda will threaten the United States and its allies for many years to come.

However, encoded in the DNA of apocalyptic jihadist groups like Al Qaeda are the seeds of their own long-term destruction: Their victims are often Muslim civilians; they don't offer a positive vision of the future (but rather the prospect of Taliban-style regimes from Morocco to Indonesia); they keep expanding their list of enemies, including any Muslim who doesn't precisely share their world view; and they seem incapable of becoming politically successful movements because their ideology prevents them from making the real-world compromises that would allow them to engage in genuine politics.

Which means that the repudiation of Al Qaeda's leaders by its former religious, military, and political guides will help hasten the implosion of the jihadist terrorist movement. As Churchill remarked after the battle of El Alamein in 1942, which he saw as turning the tide in World War II, "[T]his is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Noman Benotman, bin Laden's Libyan former companion-in-arms, assesses that Al Qaeda's recent resurgence, which he says has been fueled by the Iraq war, will not last. "There may be a wave of violence right now, but ... in five years, Al Qaeda will be more isolated than ever. No one will give a toss about them." And, given the religio-ideological basis of Al Qaeda's jihad, the religious condemnation now being offered by scholars and fighters once close to the organization is arguably the most important development in stopping the group's spread since September 11. Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell tacitly acknowledged this in his yearly report to Congress in February, when he testified that, "Over the past year, a number of religious leaders and fellow extremists who once had significant influence with Al Qaeda have publicly criticized it and its affiliates for the use of violent tactics."

Most of these clerics and former militants, of course, have not suddenly switched to particularly progressive forms of Islam or fallen in love with the United States (all those we talked to saw the Iraqi insurgency as a defensive jihad), but their anti-Al Qaeda positions are making Americans safer. If this is a war of ideas, it is their ideas, not the West's, that matter. The U.S. government neither has the credibility nor the Islamic knowledge to effectively debate Al Qaeda's leaders, but the clerics and militants who have turned against them do. Juan Zarate, a former federal prosecutor and a key counterterrorism adviser to President Bush, acknowledged as much in a speech in April when he said, "These challenges from within Muslim communities and even extremist circles will be insurmountable at the end of the day for Al Qaeda."

These new critics, in concert with mainstream Muslim leaders, have created a powerful coalition countering Al Qaeda's ideology. According to Pew polls, support for Al Qaeda has been dropping around the Muslim world in recent years. The numbers supporting suicide bombings in Indonesia, Lebanon, and Bangladesh, for instance, have dropped by half or more in the last five years. In Saudi Arabia, only 10 percent now have a favorable view of Al Qaeda, according to a December poll by Terror Free Tomorrow, a Washington-based think tank. Following a wave of suicide attacks in Pakistan in the past year, support for suicide operations amongst Pakistanis has dropped to 9 percent (it was 33 percent five years ago), while favorable views of bin Laden in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, around where he is believed to be hiding, have plummeted to 4 percent from 70 percent since August 2007.

Unsurprisingly, Al Qaeda's leaders have been thrown on the defensive. In December, bin Laden released a tape that stressed that "the Muslim victims who fall during the operations against the infidel Crusaders ... are not the intended targets." Bin Laden warned the former mujahedin now turning on Al Qaeda that, whatever their track records as jihadists, they had now committed one of the "nullifiers of Islam," which is helping the "infidels against the Muslims."

Kamal El Helbawy, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who helped bring in moderates at the Finsbury Park mosque in London, believes that Al Qaeda's days may be numbered: "No government, no police force, is achieving what these [religious] scholars are achieving. To defeat terrorism, to convince the radicals ... you have to persuade them that theirs is not the path to paradise."

Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank are research fellows at New York University's Center on Law and Security. Peter Bergen is also a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of The Osama Bin Laden I Know

http://www.tnr.com/story.html?id=702bf6d5-a37a-4e3e-a491-fd72bf6a9da1

The 801

05-26-2008, 08:28 AM

Terrorism: Bin Laden in Pakistan's K2 mountains, says report

Dubai, 26 May (AKI) - (by Hamza Boccolini) - Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is hiding in the K2 mountains of northern Pakistan, according to sources cited by Arabic television network, Al-Arabiya.

The report also said US secret services were intending to drive him out in a major military operation encompassing the northern Pakistani tribal areas.

According to the Dubai-based network, in the past few days US security and military officials had a top-level summit at a military base in the Qatari capital, Doha, to plan an operation to hunt for the al-Qaeda leader.

General David Petraeus, the US commander in Iraq and the US ambassador to Islamabad, Anne Petersen, were reported to have attended the summit.

Last week Petraeus testified before a US Congressional committee about security in Iraq and warned that members of al-Qaeda based in Pakistan's tribal areas were planning a new September 11 attack.

Reports say that the CIA has located the Saudi terrorist in so-called "rooftop of the world", the area of Pakistan that borders Afghanistan to the west, in particular the chain of mountains of Nurestan and China to the north.

There are fears that Bin Laden is planning new attacks on the west using Arabs but also Europeans who have converted to Islam.

Meanwhile support for al-Qaeda is reportedly broadening, not only among the Afghan Taliban and Pakistani tribes that deny Bin Laden's presence in the area, but also fundamentalists including the Muslim Brotherhood that has changed its strategy.

The leader of the Egyptian-based brotherhood, Mahdi Akef, has called the Saudi leader "a mujahid that sincerely fights against foreign occupation to be closer to Allah".

In an interview published on the Arab website, Elaph, read by many young Saudis, Akef said he supported the activities of al-Qaeda against occupiers and not those against the people.

The first victim in this strategy was Libyan Abu Laith al-Libi, al-Qaeda's number three, killed in a US air raid in January in Mir Ali, in Pakistan's tribal areas. Two Kuwaitis were also killed in the attack and a Libyan who was one of the group's leaders.

The US aircraft had targeted an al-Qaeda summit where al-Libi was meeting Abu Obeida Tawari al-Obeidi and Abu Adel al-Kuwaiti. Another Libyan leader, Abdel Ghaffar al-Darnawi, who was previously responsible for links in Iran before moving to the frontline in Afghanistan, was also at the meeting.

After that raid, Mansoor Dadullah, the brother of a senior pro-Taliban militant commander Mullah Dadullah, was seriously injured in a blitz by the Pakistani army in February in a village in Baluchistan where he was hiding with four other militants. He was then captured by Pakistani security forces.

A few days later, the Americans began fresh action launching Drones that killed 13 militants in Waziristan in northern Pakistan and 15 terrorists were killed in another raid on 14 May in the tribal region of Bajaur, on the Afghan border

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2196750952

Looks like Bush is finally getting serious. One thing he really wants taken care of for his legacy.

Casey

05-26-2008, 01:32 PM

Casey

05-26-2008, 04:32 PM

Terrorism: Bin Laden in Pakistan's K2 mountains, says report

Dubai, 26 May (AKI) - (by Hamza Boccolini) - Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden is hiding in the K2 mountains of northern Pakistan, according to sources cited by Arabic television network, Al-Arabiya.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2196750952

Some things never change...

Pakistan: Bin Laden is not here, says Taliban leader

Islamabad, 26 May (AKI) – A top Taliban commander in Pakistan Baitullah Mehsud has rejected reports that al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, and other leaders are hiding in his region.

"The al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, and the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, are not in our territory," he said in an interview broadcast by the Arabic satellite television network, Al Jazeera.

http://www.adnkronos.com:80/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.2197440893

This just keeps getting better and better...

Osama Bin Laden is not in Pakistan he is dead says Taliban leader
Monday, 26 May 2008 17:43 Pakistan Daily

A top Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud has rejected reports that al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, and other leaders are hiding in his region.

"The al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden is dead, and the Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Omar, are not in our territory," he said in an interview broadcast by a satellite television network.

Funeral prayers have been said for Osama bin Laden over the years with one reported by a Pakistani news organisation, and another in an Egyptian newspaper as far back as December 2001.

This report quoted an official of the Taliban saying that he had suffered serious complications in the lungs and died a natural and quiet death.

The news has been reported that he died of heart and kidney disorders. Americans and Pakistani leaders have suggested that he was one, killed in the US bombing of Afghanistan, died of illness later, or just died.

The pro-Taliban leader who is based in Pakistan's tribal area of South Waziristan denied hosting the Saudi leader in local villages, as US intelligence officials suspect.

Mehsud also rejected claims by the government in Islamabad that he was responsible for the assassination in December of Pakistan People's Party leader, Benazir Bhutto. "It wasn't us who killed Bhutto," he said.

He was quoted saying that the ex Prime minister was murdered because of the reason her leak to the media.

Benazir Bhutto had said Osama Bin Laden was murdered live on a British televevision interview with David Frost of the BBC on 2nd November 2007 has Benazir Bhutto mentioning that Osama Bin Laden was murdered 2 minutes into the video.

One has to be curious as to how a comment like this could not have leaked.
If it is true that Osama Bin Laden was murdered then it could completely turn U.S. Middle Eastern policy on its head.

However, with Saddam Hussein out of the picture, we have only one ' dead man' left. If that 'dead man' is dead, what would be the effect on the American elections 2008?

http://www.daily.pk/world/asia/82-asia/3960-osama-bin-laden-is-not-in-pakistan-he-is-dead-says-taliban-leader.html

The 801

05-26-2008, 08:57 PM

Ia this the same dead bin laden who just made that pro Palestinian video tape?

Casey

05-26-2008, 09:43 PM

Ia this the same dead bin laden who just made that pro Palestinian video tape?

yeah, yeah, that's him.

Casey

05-27-2008, 11:51 PM

Matchboxes with $5m Osama bounty message circulating in Peshawar

* Bin Laden is wanted by US govt on charges of killing 220 people in Kenya, Tanzania

By Daud Khattak

PESHAWAR: Matchboxes carrying Al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden’s photograph are in circulation in Peshawar city, advertising huge rewards from the US government in return for information about Osama.

“Contact the nearest US embassy or consulate, if you have any information about Osama Bin Laden,” says the text written in Urdu on one side of the matchbox containing 30 sticks.

Postal and email addresses for sharing of information with the US government have also been given on the other side of the matchbox, which also mentions the web-site www.heroes.net for further information.

The inside text states Bin Laden is wanted by the US government on charges of killing 220 innocent citizens in Kenya and Tanzania on August 7, 1998.

It further says that the US government will pay up to $5 million for any information leading to the arrest of Bin Laden in any country or help prove the charges levelled against him.

The statement says the informer’s name will be kept secret, and ‘possible’ relocation to another place.

Previously, leaflets were distributed in the Tribal Areas and t-shirts carrying Bin Laden’s photos were also introduced in Peshawar to encourage people to provide information about the Al Qaeda chief.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C05%5C28%5Cstory_28-5-2008_pg7_10

Casey

05-27-2008, 11:53 PM

Matchboxes with $5m Osama bounty message circulating in Peshawar

Postal and email addresses for sharing of information with the US government have also been given on the other side of the matchbox, which also mentions the web-site www.heroes.net for further information.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008%5C05%5C28%5Cstory_28-5-2008_pg7_10

I hope this article has a typo.

The web address I believe they intend to direct people to is www.heroes.COM.

Shipwrx

05-28-2008, 12:37 AM

I hope this article has a typo.

The web address I believe they intend to direct people to is www.heroes.COM.

not surprised

Casey

05-28-2008, 06:36 PM

Today's OBL News.....

Media Report: "Osama Bin Laden Hiding In Area Along Pakistan's Borders"
5/28/2008 3:11 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding in the "rooftop of the world", the Karakoram section of the Himalayan range along Pakistan's borders with Afghanistan and China, a media report said even as the United States stepped up its campaign to catch the fugitive al-Qaida leader and his senior associates, including Ayman al-Zawahiri.

According to an Agence France-Presse report citing an Afghan intelligence official, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan's northwestern Chitral region bordering Afghanistan. Afghan authorities received information about bin Laden's whereabouts four or five months ago, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

According to Al-Arabiya, the Dubai-based television network, in the past few days U.S. security and military officials had a top-level summit at a military base in Qatar's capital Doha to plan an operation to hunt for Osama. U.S. commander in Iraq General David Petraeus and U.S. ambassador to Islamabad Anne Patterson were reported to have attended the summit.

Osama bin Laden has not been sighted since he escaped the dragnet of U.S.-led forces in the Tora Bora mountainous region of Afghanistan in December 2001. The al-Qaida fugitive has recorded at least four video and audiotapes since last September from his unknown hideouts bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan's government has previously denied bin Laden is hiding in its tribal regions, and said he is in Kunar province in neighboring Afghanistan, according to the report.

by RTT Staff Writer

http://www.rttnews.com/Content/GeneralNews.aspx?Node=B1&Id=616241

NYer

05-28-2008, 09:51 PM

New elite CIA team assembled to find Sammy ...

http://www.thespoof.com/sitepics/celebs/ACFE192.JPG

I truly pity the fool.

al-Canine

06-11-2008, 12:02 PM

Osama bin Laden and the U.S. economy

Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:13am EDT
Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters columnist.
The opinions expressed are his own.

By Bernd Debusmann

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Past performance is no guarantee of future behavior but it can't be long before Osama bin Laden issues a message crowing about the parlous state of the U.S. economy and hailing it as a success for al Qaeda.

Last September, on the sixth anniversary of the attacks on the New York Twin Towers and the Pentagon, a bin Laden video included a line on "the reeling of many of you under the burden of interest-related debts, insane taxes and real estate mortgages." A few days before the 2004 presidential election, his message said al Qaeda was on track with its oft-declared policy of "bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy."

At the time, a gallon of gasoline hovered around $2, the housing bubble was still inflating, and the word recession was rarely uttered. Now, the price of gasoline has soared past $4, a record, hundreds of thousands of Americans have lost their homes, the Labor Department has just announced the U.S. economy lost jobs for the fifth straight month. Plenty of material for an al Qaeda speechwriter.

How much of the trouble is due to the chain of events bin Laden unleashed with the September 11 attacks? They prompted the war in Afghanistan, meant to wipe out al Qaeda, capture bin Laden and bring him to justice. That was followed by the war on Iraq and a host of security programs under the umbrella of what the Bush administration calls the Global War on Terror.

Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee for next November's presidential elections, has accused the Bush administration of having neglected the hunt for bin Laden. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, says in campaign speeches that he knows how to capture bin Laden and will follow him "to the gates of hell."

Better late than never. Bin Laden and his top commanders slipped away from their U.S. special forces pursuers in Afghanistan at the end of 2001. Washington then began focusing not on the mastermind of September 11 but on Iraq's Saddam Hussein, who had nothing to do with it. The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq convinced millions of Muslims that al Qaeda was right in portraying the U.S. as anti-Islam and intent on seizing the Middle East's oil riches.

Bin Laden's assertion that the Iraq war is bleeding the American economy is now in synch with most Americans. A recent New York Times/CBS showed that 67 percent believe the war in Iraq has contributed "a lot" to America's economic problems.

In the words of Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist: "The Iraq adventure has seriously weakened the U.S. economy...You can't spend $3 trillion on a failed war and not feel the pain at home."

Harvard University budget expert Linda Bilmes says the war is diverting government expenditures from schools, roads, research and other areas that would have stimulated the economy in the short run and accelerated growth in the long run.

(There are other factors for the downturn, including weak regulation of complex financial instruments combined with loose lending standards for mortgages. But perception is reality.)

IS OSAMA'S AL QAEDA STILL IMPORTANT

As the 20th anniversary of al Qaeda's founding approaches, next August, America's leading terrorism experts are engaged in a public dispute over how best to fight terrorists, and who is most dangerous - "Qaeda Central" or a new generation of potential terrorists.

On one side of the argument is Bruce Hoffman, a Georgetown University professor who says al Qaeda has recovered from a series of blows and is back plotting large-scale international operations from safe havens along the Afghan-Pakistan border.

On the other side is Marc Sageman, a forensic psychiatrist and former CIA officer who ran operations in Pakistan. He says al Qaeda is a fading force, still dangerous but yesterday's men. In a book entitled Leaderless Jihad, he says the biggest threat now comes from "self-recruited wannabees" who find each other on the Internet.

"They are young people seeking thrills and a sense of belonging and significance in their lives. And their lack of structure and organizing principles makes them even more terrifying and volatile than their terrorist forebears."

Examples of leaderless jihadists, inspired but not directed by al Qaeda: The Dutch Hofstad Network (one of whose members murdered the film maker Theo van Gogh) and the people who carried out the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

One of the biggest problems in countering the leaderless jihad is the vast pool of Muslims who detest the United States. How big is that pool? Earlier this year, the Gallup organization published the results of what it described as the largest-ever survey of Muslims. It found that the vast majority of the world's 1.3 billion Muslims condemn violence against civilians.

But seven percent hate the United States so deeply that they consider the September 11 attacks "completely justified." Seven percent translates into 91 million people. According to Sageman, "withdrawal from Iraq is a necessary condition for diminishing the sense of moral outrage that Muslims feel."

It would also be good for the economy.

http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed2/idUSL1138532220080611

al-Canine

06-14-2008, 09:14 AM

Where is Osama Bin Laden? An analysis

Posted on Friday, June 13, 2008 6:40 AM PT
Filed Under: Terrorism
By Robert Windrem, NBC News Producer

It isn’t a comforting assessment.

A "Western military analyst" was asked earlier this month about reports that Osama Bin Laden was seen on the slopes of K2, the world’s second highest mountain on the Pakistan-China border, or in the Khost Province of Afghanistan.

His response was stunning in both its honesty and its frustration.

"We don't have a clue where he is or even may be,” the Western analyst said. “We have had NO credible intelligence on OBL since 2001. All the rest is rumor and rubbish either whipped up by the media or churned out in the power corridors of western capitals."
In fact, say U.S. officials, the last time U.S. operatives saw Osama Bin Laden--other than in his own videos--was in the famous Predator video shot in August 2000 where he is seen walking with a security contingent near his compound at Tarnak Farms in eastern Afghanistan. The Predators had not been armed yet.

The last time the U.S. heard Osama Bin Laden was at the battle for Tora Bora, when an NSA operative overhead him giving orders on a frequency not normally monitored and not recorded. There were some initial concerns about the identification but the agency later learned from other sources and materials that indeed that had been him.

But that unfortunately is it.

There have been suggestions Bin Laden was wounded, and some speculation he has died. One piece of evidence that suggested he had been hurt was the long interval between videotaped messages from him, but those were a long time ago. A tape released around Christmas 2001--and thus after the Tora Bora battle--was later determined (through time references in the tape) to have been made about November 17, 2001. After that, there were no contemporaneous videos until the October 29, 2004, tape, the infamous one released just before the U.S. presidential election. (Don’t be surprised if he does that again; al-Qaida is very cognizant of election dates.)

Still, the US is confident about some aspects of Bin Laden’s life on the run, drawn from interrogations of other high value targets as well as notebooks and computer hard drives captured with al Qaeda officials or found after they were killed.

Where does he live?

Not in caves. The general belief, gleaned from interrogations of his compatriots, is that Bin Laden lives in one of the many mud-walled compounds that can be found along the border with Pakistan and Afghanistan. If you fly in a chopper, you will see them--large multi-walled buildings that are continually expanded. The largest ones are those of the clan leaders.

How often does he move?

Bin Laden is NOT believed to move that often, either. He does not normally change locations every night or even very frequently. He is believed to stay long periods of time--months in some instances--in one place. In some cases, al-Qaida security personnel have married into local tribes and clans, making them part of the extended family and giving Bin Laden and others additional protection. When he does move, it is not with a large convoy of trucks. (He used to be driven around in a white Mitsubishi Pajero, accompanied by white Toyota Tundras, but those days are long gone.) The latest information--and it is not current--is that he moves on motorbikes. One reason is that cars and trucks can be spotted by the roving “J-Stars” aircraft. Motorbikes cannot be as easily seen. According to Pakistani officials, Bin Laden and other al-Qaida officials move mostly late at night. In the hours after the sunset prayers, they will move into a village and take over a guesthouse in a large compound.

How is his health?

As for his health, he is 50 years old, turning 51 (according to the best estimates) in July. He does NOT have kidney failure and does NOT need dialysis. He has had kidney stones. He is also seen as somewhat of a hypochondriac. He is missing a toe, lost in a battle against the Soviets. He reportedly has an enlarged heart and chronically low blood pressure, which he treats with drugs. There is even some dispute over his height. Is he tall? Yes. Is he 6’5”? Maybe not. As one intelligence official told me, “If you see a guy who is 6’4” tall and looks like him, kill him.”

Who are his bodyguards?

His security personnel are directed by his brother-in-law and believed to include Chechen and Uzbeks as well as Arabs. And yes, there are reports that if he is about to be captured, his bodyguards have orders to “martyr” him. However, the default position of U.S. forces has always been to kill him, not capture him. Don’t expect heroic efforts to save him, as in the case of Abu Musab al Zarqawi. The same holds true for Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin Laden’s deputy. The U.S. has Bin Laden’s DNA, which the Saudis provided. It’s always helpful when you have 52 siblings.

How important is he now?

The U.S. believes that OBL is more of a titular, inspirational leader, with Zawahiri as CEO and the leading philosopher. There has been some tension, the U.S. believes, between their Saudi and Egyptian underlings. The Egyptians are in charge, but virtually every counter-terrorism official we talk to notes that North Africans, particularly Libyans, are rising within what they call al-Qaida Central.

Do Bin Laden and Zawahiri travel together?

OBL and Zawahiri have not traveled together since mid 2003, for security reasons. Although the U.S. does not have a clue where OBL is, they have been able to track and target Zawahiri multiple times, by his own accounts. The most recent targeting was January 13, 2006, in Damodola in Pakistan. The U.S. fired volleys of Hellfire missiles at two guesthouses, but Zawahiri had already left. U.S. and Pakistani officials have told us that they believe he was tipped off. Zawahiri himself has admitted he was there.

Who is the next most important leader?

The U.S. has deliberately put a high priority on taking out al-Qaida’s Number Threes, killing or capturing five of them since September 11. They are the directors of international operations, the men who would organize attacks against the United States and United Kingdom. The big prize in each takedown are the computer hard drives, phonebooks and notebooks. To maintain operational security, al-Qaida requires that new courier and computer networks be formed. This obviously slows down planning. Moreover, the U.S. believes such takedowns are one of the few things that can push OBL’s security team to pick up and move. The hope is that U.S. spy planes see some of that movement.

Al Qaida’s current No. 3 is Sayed Sheikh, an Egyptian confidante of Zawahari.

further commentary (http://deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/13/1138296.aspx) on this article is pretty fun reading.... opinions all over the place.

Casey

06-14-2008, 08:42 PM

Get Osama Bin Laden before I leave office, orders George W Bush
Date: Saturday, June 14 @ 17:37:28 MST
Topic: Americas

Sarah Baxter

President George W Bush has enlisted British special forces in a final attempt to capture Osama Bin Laden before he leaves the White House.

Defence and intelligence sources in Washington and London confirmed that a renewed hunt was on for the leader of the September 11 attacks. “If he [Bush] can say he has killed Saddam Hussein and captured Bin Laden, he can claim to have left the world a safer place,” said a US intelligence source.

Bush arrives in Britain today on the final leg of his eight-day farewell tour of Europe. He will have tea with the Queen and dinner with Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah before holding a private meeting with Brown at No 10 tomorrow and flying on to Northern Ireland.

The Special Boat Service (SBS) and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment have been taking part in the US-led operations to capture Bin Laden in the wild frontier region of northern Pakistan. It is the first time they have operated across the Afghan border on a regular basis.

The hunt was “completely sanctioned” by the Pakistani government, according to a UK special forces source. It involves the use of Predator and Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles fitted with Hellfire missiles that can be used to take out specific terrorist targets.

One US intelligence source compared the “growing number of clandestine reconnaissance missions” inside Pakistan with those conducted in Laos and Cambodia at the height of the Vietnam war.

America rarely acknowledges the use of Predator and Reaper drones, but the most recent known strike was on a suspected Al-Qaeda safe house in the Pakistani province of North Waziristan earlier in June. Villagers said the house was empty.

Intelligence on the whereabouts of Bin Laden is sketchy, but some analysts believe he is in the Bajaur tribal zone in northwest Pakistan. He has evaded capture for nearly seven years. “Bush is swinging for the fences in the hope of scoring a home run,” said an intelligence source, using a baseball metaphor.

A Pentagon source said US forces were rolling up Al-Qaeda’s network in Pakistan in the hope of pushing Bin Laden towards the Afghan border, where the US military and bombers with guided missiles were lying in wait. “They are prepping for a major battle,” he said.

The main operations in Pakistan are being undertaken by Delta, the US army special operations unit, and the British SBS.

Special forces are being sent to capture or kill Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters based on intelligence provided by the Special Reconnaissance Regiment and its US counterpart, the Security Co-ordination Detachment.

The step-up in military activity has increased tensions between Pakistan and the US. A senior Pakistani government source said President Pervez Musharraf had given tacit support to Predator attacks on Al-Qaeda.

Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said last week that the US would “partner [the Pakistanis] to the extent they want us to” to combat insurgents.

Pakistan lodged a strong diplomatic protest last week over what it claimed was an airstrike on a border post with Afghanistan that killed 11 of its troops.

The United States declined to accept this version of events. “It is still not exactly clear what happened,” said Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article4138791.ece

al-Canine

07-02-2008, 09:40 AM

Deal lets U.S. drones strike bin Laden

Musharraf agreement limits Pentagon

Rowan Scarborough
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The United States has a standing agreement with Pakistan that CIA-operated Predator drones may strike Osama bin Laden's hide-out without prior permission from Islamabad, according to people familiar with the arrangement.

One source said the free hand - an exception in a country politically sensitive to U.S. counterterrorism operations - was granted by President Pervez Musharraf early in the war if the U.S. locates bin Laden in Pakistan's rugged tribal areas, where he is thought to be hiding.

A knowledgeable official disclosed the arrangement to The Washington Times at a time of growing frustration in the Pentagon and in the CIA that bin Laden remains at large seven years into the war and as President Bush's term approaches an end.

That fact has put renewed focus on the Pakistani government's restraints on the U.S. effort to find bin Laden. Pakistan prohibits American military ground forces on its soil, limiting the U.S. presence to scores of CIA officers and paramilitary operators.

Nadeem Kiani, spokesman at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, declined to comment on the purported bin Laden deal but said Pakistan stands ready to move against bin Laden if he is inside the country.

Pakistan allowed the CIA to secretly launch missile-equipped Predators from its soil into Afghanistan during the war to oust the Taliban. It has continued to let the agency fly the unmanned surveillance planes over Pakistan.

But earlier this year, Mr. Musharraf rejected a Bush administration request to allow more CIA personnel into his country. Washington must coordinate planned strikes on militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where bin Laden is thought to be hiding. Bin Laden as a target is an exception to that rule.

"What I can tell you is that the president has a strong, overarching commitment to make sure that we track down and bring to justice Osama bin Laden and other top members of al Qaeda," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters Monday.

The arrangement with Pakistan was confirmed by a second source - a former U.S. intelligence officer who spent time in Afghanistan.

A CIA spokesman declined to comment.

Pakistan's sovereignty has been an issue in the presidential campaign. Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, said at one point that he would unleash strikes into Pakistan without Islamabad's approval to hit bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders.

The U.S. has options for sending special operations teams into Pakistan if bin Laden's exact location is determined, but military officials said it would be the Predator, not boots on the ground, that would be dispatched to kill the al Qaeda leader.

This is because a Predator could be airborne - or redirected in flight - in a matter of minutes. In contrast, special operations forces in Afghanistan would have to be assembled, briefed on the mission and then dispatched by helicopter - a time-consuming and risky process.

By not requesting Pakistan's approval first, the U.S. would avoid the risk of breaching operational security. Washington still harbors suspicions about Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence agency (ISI), which helped establish pro-al Qaeda Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

It is one thing to have Pakistan's permission to shoot bin Laden on sight. It is another to find him.

"It's a needle in a haystack," said one intelligence official.

For nearly seven years, since his escape from Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountain region, bin Laden has evaded capture.

The reasons given by intelligence officials: He stopped communicating on radios and telephones to avoid being intercepted by the National Security Agency; he is protected by militant leaders whose tribes have been infiltrated by al Qaeda operatives who impose a no-talk discipline; the CIA has been unable to penetrate this tribal ring of security to find a spy who might disclose his location; and bin Laden moves frequently amid the FATA's vast, rugged terrain.

"I would say to you in the last seven years there has been a lot of success in terms of finding that second- and third-level al Qaeda guy," Mrs. Perino said. "And we have been able to prevent attacks so far. But one of the things that we're up against is that we have a very determined enemy. They hide in caves, they respect no uniform, they are in a very treacherous geographic area that's very hard to get into."

The NSA installed a network of electronic boxes in the Afghan mountains to absorb communications from the FATA. The chatter has helped the CIA identify militant hide-outs and training bases, but the network has not picked up bin Laden's voice.

The military's chief terrorist hunting unit is Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), a mix of Army Delta Force, Navy SEALs and a special intelligence unit known as Task Force Orange.

An intelligence source said most JSOC assets are committed to Iraq to hunt a list of high-value targets within the al Qaeda in Iraq organization. At one point last year, the JSOC contingent in Afghanistan was down to just 30 SEALs.

The U.S. Special Operations Command, which oversees the JSOC, does not discuss the unit´s numbers.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/02/deal-lets-us-drones-strike-bin-laden/

NYer

07-02-2008, 10:05 AM

At Death's Door? (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008/07/02/story_2-7-2008_pg7_43)

http://www.imakenews.com/imediainc/word_images/7991350_image001.gif

Time Magazine?

al-Canine

07-02-2008, 03:45 PM

At Death's Door? (http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008/07/02/story_2-7-2008_pg7_43)

"Based on his current pharmaceutical intake....."

So, let me get this right.... the spooks can track down the name of the medicines Binny is taking, but as far as his whereabouts, they haven't a clue? :confused:

NYer

07-02-2008, 05:08 PM

Maybe the author used some of Sy Hersh's sources?

Casey

07-03-2008, 06:05 PM

"Based on his current pharmaceutical intake....."

So, let me get this right.... the spooks can track down the name of the medicines Binny is taking, but as far as his whereabouts, they haven't a clue? :confused:

I have been biting my lip on this whole story. Last we heard from anyone who "might" actually know of OBL's condition, he was fine and not suffering renal failure.

And, just stumbled on this,

CIA Unaware Of Bin Laden Report
By: Brian K. Sullivan and Robin Stringer, © Bloomberg
07/03/2008

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency said it had no knowledge of a report cited in Time magazine that concludes al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden may die of kidney disease within months.

"We have found no one here familiar with this alleged report or the analytic line it supposedly conveys,'' Mark Mansfield, a CIA spokesman, said in an e-mail message.

Time cited an unidentified U.S. official as saying a CIA report concluded the terrorist leader was taking drugs for the disease and may die in six to 18 months. The report was issued between six and nine months ago, Time said.

"If we knew that bin Laden was that sick, it means that we would be in position to drop a 500-pound bomb on him,'' said Rep. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, in a telephone interview. "It's all speculation.''

Bloomberg

http://www.thebulletin.us:80/site/index.cfm?newsid=19826136&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

Shipwrx

07-03-2008, 11:09 PM

And all this time not one search of existing Leper colonies within the regions equipped with state of the art Medical equipment donated by and supported by Muslim Charities. Of which originally organised by whom? Oh yeah that O'samma guy. hmmn.

I may have miswritten that. read between the lines anyway you like.

al-Canine

07-07-2008, 04:20 PM

Bin Laden: A final encore?

By M.D. Nalapat

Manipal, India — After he and his 116-strong cohort of family and retainers were enabled to escape from Afghanistan’s Tora Bora in 2003, courtesy of a complacent Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and a complicit U.S. administration, Osama bin Laden has seemed as helpless as a trussed chicken when it comes to another strike against the U.S. homeland. Indeed, since his escape, the much-hyped emir of al-Qaida has become almost as toothless as former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein after his defeat in Operation Desert Storm.

Although the Iraqi dictator's sulfurous rhetoric never ceased, he began to steadily destroy his offensive capabilities, believing that this would preserve him from a second attack. Although most Western statespersons and analysts claim that Hussein "deceived international opinion by pretending to a WMD capability that did not exist," Iraqi spokespersons themselves repeatedly stated that their weapons of mass destruction had become history.

The reality remains that the Iraqi authorities began to completely dismantle their already-degraded stockpiles after Husayn Kamil al-Majed, son-in-law of Saddam Hussein, was honey-trapped into defecting to Jordan in 1995. Since then, remaining stockpiles were systematically destroyed, as became clear to most intelligence agencies save those interested in keeping alive the myth of Hussein’s WMD capability to ensure continued good behavior on the part of the Gulf sheikhdoms, all of whom were terrified of Saddam Hussein and therefore tacked close to the United States.

Superb – and largely unacknowledged – work by the U.S. Treasury has resulted in a drying-up of funds to Osama bin Laden and other like-minded fanatics. Bin Laden himself is believed to be making payouts of roughly US$300,000 each month to local chiefs in order to buy continued protection for his entourage, which must be leaving very little to bolster his offensive capabilities.

Although he was reportedly in southern Afghanistan till 2004, he is believed to have relocated to Waziristan in Pakistan, where he was apparently shifted to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in 2007 in order to negate allegations of complicity with longtime acquaintances in the Pakistan military.

Just as only a hopelessly besotted George W. Bush and his vice president would believe Musharraf when he claimed that nuclear scientist A. Q. Khan made at least 218 shipments of sensitive missile and nuclear material into and out of Pakistan all by himself, it is difficult to deny that bin Laden – and his substantial entourage, now numbering around 60 – could not have evaded capture in Pakistan had the army genuinely sought to capture him.

The same sources that informed this columnist in 2003 of a likely assassination attempt on Musharraf – a forecast that he published in the Indian newsweekly Sahara Time – have claimed that an understanding exists between bin Laden and friends in the Pakistan army that no attack would be conducted on U.S. territory, and in exchange for such forbearance, he would continue to be allowed to remain at large. They further claim that this understanding has been confined to bin Laden and his friends within Pakistan, and has not included the United States, which therefore remains unaware of the Faustian bargain made with the wily ex-sheikh.

Should another attack on the U.S. homeland take place, pressure on Pakistan to capture bin Laden would be too much to withstand, unlike events after 9/11, when the Pakistan army's role was quickly overlooked and they were co-opted to put out a fire that they themselves had created and nurtured.

In the chaotic years after 9/11, the Inter-Services Intelligence was able to divert U.S. assistance to favored individuals in southern Afghanistan, who by 2006 had become the nucleus of fresh resistance to NATO. Subsequently, anti-Taliban Northern Alliance leaders were displaced from the team of President Hamid Karzai, and replaced by others who favored a softer approach to the Taliban. Much of the present deterioration in the ground situation in that country can be tracked to wrong decisions made by NATO during 2001-04, as a result of advice from the Pakistan army.

As for the sources mentioned, their credibility cannot be brushed aside in light of the fact that two assassination attempts were indeed made against Musharraf in 2003, a few months after their prediction was announced. Hence, their story of such an informal understanding between bin Laden and his friends in Pakistan cannot be ruled out.

It is true that thus far, there has been no al-Qaida attack on the U.S. homeland since 9/11. However, this may be due to lack of ability – caused by superb policing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – rather than an absence of intention. As for the bombings in London and Spain, these are believed to be the responsibility of copycats with no organizational contact with bin Laden. The term "al-Qaida" is today used as a generic term to define the origins of almost any attack conducted by Wahabbi extremists. To that extent, bin Laden continues to be credited for actions in which he has had no role.

What is clear is that bin Laden, through his Sancho Panza, Ayman al-Zawahiri, has been swift to claim credit for any mass terror attack. Al-Zawahiri has made several references to the ongoing violence in Iraq, and reports talk of an "al-Qaida in Iraq." However, most such actions seem to have been motivated less by adherence to Wahabbi extremist ideology than to resentment at the occupation of the country by foreign troops.

It is telling that security has improved precisely in those sectors where – following the sensible British lead under Prime Minister Gordon Brown – U.S. troops have handed responsibility for policing to Iraqi forces, thereafter keeping a much lower profile. Of course, General David Petraeus and his backers credit the lower casualty figures to precisely the opposite – an increase in U.S. troop strength.

Those active in maintaining longstanding linkages between jihadis and some elements of the Pakistan army claim that bin Laden has been in deteriorating physical health since 1997, and that his condition worsened after 2005, requiring constant medical attention. They are unwilling to speculate on his longevity, stating – no doubt with justification – that such "decisions" are in the hands of a Higher Power than either Bush or Musharraf.

However, should the fugitive from Tora Bora actually be in a near-terminal state, the danger is that he may seek to depart this world in the clouds of another mega-terrorist act. Paradoxically, therefore, the international community may be less, rather than more, secure as a consequence of a possible physical collapse of bin Laden.

If bin Laden passes away without another major strike, it would reinforce the view of those who argue that his failure to seriously disrupt life in target countries indicates that his ideology and actions do not have divine blessing, and that they are instead motivated by the devil in order to tarnish the fair name of Islam.

After witnessing the example made of Saddam Hussein, it would be rash to expect Osama bin Laden to follow the Tikriti's lead in dismantling offensive capabilities. Now that those tracking him within Pakistan say that he may be close to his final days, sustained vigilance is needed to ensure that the man who has defamed a great faith and brought unmerited suspicion on an enlightened and moderate worldwide religious community departs not with a bang, but with a whimper.

(Professor M.D. Nalapat is vice-chair of the Manipal Advanced Research Group, UNESCO Peace Chair, and professor of geopolitics at Manipal University. ©Copyright M.D. Nalapat.)

http://upiasiaonline.com/Politics/2008/07/07/bin_laden_a_final_encore/4362/

The 801

09-10-2008, 10:40 AM

Remember this guy? It seems like the administration sort of lost focus on this topic.

In Hunt for Bin Laden, a New Approach

By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, September 10, 2008; Page A01

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Frustrated by repeated dead ends in the search for Osama bin Laden, U.S. and Pakistani officials said they are questioning long-held assumptions about their strategy and are shifting tactics to intensify the use of the unmanned but lethal Predator drone spy plane in the mountains of western Pakistan.

The number of Hellfire missile attacks by Predators in Pakistan has more than tripled, with 11 strikes reported by Pakistani officials this year, compared with three in 2007. The attacks are part of a renewed effort to cripple al-Qaeda's central command that began early last year and has picked up speed as President Bush's term in office winds down, according to U.S. and Pakistani officials involved in the operations.

There has been no confirmed trace of bin Laden since he narrowly escaped from the CIA and the U.S. military after the battle near Tora Bora, Afghanistan, in December 2001, according to U.S., Pakistani and European officials. They said they are now concentrating on a short list of other al-Qaeda leaders who have been sighted more recently, in hopes that their footprints could lead to bin Laden.

In interviews, the officials attributed their failure to find bin Laden to an over reliance on military force, disruptions posed by the war in Iraq and a pattern of underestimating the enemy. Above all, they said, the search has been handicapped by an inability to develop informants in Pakistan's isolated tribal regions, where bin Laden is believed to be hiding.

With CIA officers and U.S. Special Forces prevented from operating freely in Pakistan, the search for bin Laden and his lieutenants is taking place mostly from the air. The Predators, equipped with multiple cameras that transmit live video via satellite, have launched their Hellfire missiles against four targets in the past month alone. Since January, the reconnaissance drones have killed two senior al-Qaeda leaders with $5 million bounties on their heads.

Still, debate persists among both U.S. and Pakistani officials over the merits of this aggressive approach, which has resulted in higher civilian casualties and strained diplomatic relations. "Making more effort and flailing are different things," said a senior Pakistani security official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid alienating U.S. authorities.

Bin Laden, a 51-year-old Saudi, has thwarted the U.S. government's attempts to catch him since 1998, when he signed a fatwa calling for attacks on Americans and ordered the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Today, seven years after he masterminded the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, bin Laden is believed to wear disguises routinely and takes extreme care to avoid electronic communications, relying on human couriers to pass messages, officials said. Pakistani officials said the CIA and the U.S. military have played into bin Laden's hands by pursuing al-Qaeda with bombs and missiles. Pashtun tribes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, angry at the number of civilian casualties, see the United States as the enemy, the officials said. Despite a $25 million reward posted by the U.S. government, no one has been willing to turn in the al-Qaeda leader.

"Unless you have people who support you, human intelligence will never work," said Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai, a retired Pakistani general who oversaw efforts to track bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders after 2001. "You have to have friendly people."

Another major obstacle has been the war in Iraq.

Officials with the CIA and the U.S. military said they began shifting resources out of Afghanistan in early 2002 and still haven't recovered from that mistake.

"Iraq was a fundamental wrong turn. That was the most strategically negative action that was taken," said John O. Brennan, a former deputy executive director of the CIA and a former chief of the National Counterterrorism Center. "The collective effort in the government required to go after an individual like bin Laden -- the Iraq campaign consumed that."

The Bush administration tried to reinvigorate the flagging hunt for bin Laden early last year by redeploying Predator drones, intelligence officers and Special Forces units to Pakistan and Afghanistan. But by then, U.S. counterterrorism officials said, the war in Iraq had already given bin Laden and his core command precious time to regroup and solidify their new base of operations in northwestern Pakistan.

More recently, the search has been hobbled by a tattered relationship between the United States and Pakistan. CIA and U.S. military officials said cooperation is so bad that they now withhold intelligence about the suspected whereabouts of al-Qaeda commanders out of fear that the Pakistanis might tip them off. Leaders in Pakistan respond that they are committed to fighting al-Qaeda. But they also persistently deny that bin Laden is in their country.

Although they lack hard evidence, U.S. officials said it is only logical that bin Laden is in Pakistan, where he has roamed the mountains along the Afghan border for two decades and enjoyed the protection of Taliban leaders.

"In many ways, it's a perfect place," said Bruce Riedel, a former South Asia analyst for the CIA and National Security Council. "But there's not a scintilla of evidence that we have any idea where he is."

U.S. intelligence officials said bin Laden's fear of being caught prevents him from overseeing al-Qaeda's day-to-day operations. But they said there is no doubt he remains in charge of the network.

Bin Laden "remains al-Qaeda's authoritative source for strategic and tactical guidance," Ted Gistaro, the U.S. government's top intelligence analyst for al-Qaeda, said in a speech last month. He added that bin Laden, along with his Egyptian deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, "continue to maintain al-Qaeda's unity and its focus on their strategic vision and operational priorities."

Bin Laden is believed to depend on a small circle of fellow Saudis for his personal security. But officials said the Taliban provides him and his lieutenants with a network of safe houses.

According to an internal Taliban memo viewed by The Washington Post, Taliban security operatives have a code name for bin Laden -- Taqwa, an Arabic term that means fear of or reverence for God.

A Hamstrung Hunt

In late 2005, the CIA disbanded Alec Station, its special unit dedicated to tracking bin Laden. The search was going nowhere.

The CIA concluded that bin Laden's importance had diminished compared with other terrorist threats, such as al-Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq. Analysts who had specialized in tracking the terrorist leader were reassigned.

A year later, however, many intelligence officials were beginning to change their minds. After the disruption of the airliner plot in London in August 2006, it became clear that al-Qaeda's core command -- previously thought to have been knocked out -- had made a comeback. The CIA later dispatched scores of additional officers to Pakistan's ungoverned tribal areas and North-West Frontier Province, where al-Qaeda had taken root.

The environment, however, had become more hostile than ever. Resurgent Taliban fighters had forced the Pakistani government to sign cease-fire agreements in the lawless tribal border areas of North and South Waziristan. Surveys showed that bin Laden's popularity had soared among Pakistanis and that animosity toward the United States was pervasive.

Most CIA case officers were restricted to Pakistani military bases in remote areas. Arthur Keller, a retired CIA officer who served in the tribal areas in 2006, said he had little freedom of movement. Pakistani liaison officers, he said, were more interested in keeping an eye on their CIA counterparts than in providing assistance.

"I couldn't go out myself -- blond-haired, blue-eyed me. I could do it in Austria, but not in Pakistan," Keller said. "It's all done at two removes. That's typical of how it works in a region where the Pakistanis aren't interested in helping out, which they definitely weren't."

Since then, the hunt for bin Laden and his deputies has also been hamstrung by a running dispute among U.S. officials over whether to send Special Forces units into Pakistan, despite an order from the Pakistani government prohibiting such operations.

U.S. officials said they have drafted several covert missions since 2005 that would have dispatched teams of Navy SEALs and the Army's Delta Force into Pakistan after receiving intelligence on individual al-Qaeda leaders, though not bin Laden. But most of the raids were canceled or failed to receive high-level approval because of doubts that they would work and concern over the fallout if U.S. commandos were killed or captured, the officials said.

"There were some really heated debates between the CIA and Special Forces about who should have authority to do what, and under what circumstances," said a senior U.S. counterterrorism official involved in the discussions. "Don't underestimate the friction that was caused by that."

The disagreements appear to have been resolved, at least for now.

Last week, in a covert raid, U.S. commandos crossed from Afghanistan into Pakistan in helicopters and killed about 20 people in a suspected Taliban compound in South Waziristan.

Although it formally protests such actions as a violation of its sovereignty, the Pakistani government has generally looked the other way when the CIA has conducted Predator missions or U.S. troops respond to cross-border attacks by the Taliban. But some officials said ground incursions deep into Pakistani territory could provoke political upheaval.

"This has become incredibly complicated and messy," said a former senior British intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "The Americans have been talking about inserting themselves militarily into the tribal areas since 2005, at least. But I think it would just complicate the whole issue by a very significant factor."

Michael Scheuer, a retired CIA officer and former chief of the agency's bin Laden unit, said there weren't many alternatives. "Our options are terrible," he said. "The new president will inherit a fish that is really starting to smell."

Ignoring Hearts and Minds

Pakistani officials said that if the U.S. government had really wanted to rout al-Qaeda, it should have tried harder to modernize Pakistan's impoverished tribal belt, instead of targeting it with missiles.

"We thought, and we still think so, that the American strategy should have been to stabilize the area rather than look for a needle in a haystack," said Mahmood Shah, a retired civilian security chief for the tribal regions.

"If you find him now, the problem still won't be resolved," he said of bin Laden. "Maybe you'll get the fish, but you'll poison the pond around him."

Since 2002, the United States has given more than $10.5 billion in aid to Pakistan, not including funds for covert operations. Much of the money, however, has gone to Pakistan's military or has been spent with little oversight, according to U.S. government audits. Only a tiny fraction has gone for building schools and hospitals in western Pakistan.

"The Americans didn't believe in that," said the senior Pakistani security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "They just said, 'Bang, bang, bang.' A man who has a sledgehammer in his hand, all problems look like nails."

J. Cofer Black, director of the CIA's counterterrorism center from 1999 to 2002, was a key player in the hunt for al-Qaeda and well known in Washington for his give-no-quarter approach. "When we're through with them, they will have flies walking across their eyeballs," he told Bush shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks.

In an interview last month, however, Black echoed concerns expressed by other officials that the U.S. government had paid too little attention to the "hearts and minds" of people living along the Afghan-Pakistani border, many of whom have reinforced their allegiance to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

"This may sound strange coming from a flies-on-the-eyeballs guy, but the most important thing is support and aid to local leaders and the population," Black said. "If you don't have that, you can put in all the divisions you want, and it won't matter."

A Double Game

For seven years, the hunt for bin Laden hinged on the proposition that the U.S. government had a reliable partner in Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, who resigned under pressure last month.

But even some Pakistanis said the U.S. government was naive to think that Musharraf or his generals would do much to find bin Laden. They noted that Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency had cultivated ties with the al-Qaeda leader for two decades and that many officers remained sympathetic to his cause.

Afrasiab Khattak, a Pashtun politician based here in the northwestern city of Peshawar, said Pakistani forces would occasionally help the CIA capture second-string al-Qaeda figures, but only to keep the aid money flowing from Washington.

"The Bush administration deceived itself," he said. "From the very beginning, the Pakistani generals were playing a double game. It was an open secret."

Khattak said he has warned U.S. officials since 2000 of bin Laden's close relations with Pakistan's spymasters, adding that he tried to alert Washington after 2002 that al-Qaeda was rebuilding in the tribal areas.

"We kept telling the Americans, 'They are here.' They said: 'No, no. This cannot be true. General Musharraf is very committed, he's with us,' " recalled Khattak, president of the Awami National Party in North-West Frontier Province.

Musharraf and other Pakistani officials have repeatedly dismissed assertions that bin Laden is in their country, pointing the finger at Afghanistan instead.

Retired Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeill, former commander of the NATO-led military coalition in Afghanistan, said that whenever he raised the subject of bin Laden with his Pakistani counterparts, the answer was the same.

"They'd say: 'If he's around here, he's on your side of the border. If you think you know where he is, tell us,' " said McNeill, who stepped down as commander in June. "That's always their comeback. My response is: 'If I knew, I don't believe I'd tell you. We'd go after him first.' "

Pakistani generals, in turn, blame U.S. officials for not trusting them. They point out that more than 1,000 Pakistani troops have been killed while fighting insurgents in the tribal regions.

Aurakzai, who was appointed after Sept. 11, 2001, to oversee military operations in northwestern Pakistan and later served for almost two years as governor of North-West Frontier Province, said the United States doesn't want to accept the possibility that bin Laden could be hiding elsewhere.

"We've been imprisoned by this idea that he's either on the Afghan or Pakistani side of the border," he said. "Why aren't we looking anywhere else? I think we need to change this mind-set."

So where to start?

"How the hell do I know?" the general replied.

Special correspondent Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar and staff researcher Robert E. Thomason in Washington contributed to this report.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/09/09/ST2008090903480.html

The 801

09-13-2008, 08:13 PM

Government collection of early bin laden statements and interviews. Don't like to post stuff with just a URL, but it won't fit.

Drink deep the gathering gloom.......

http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ubl-fbis.pdf

candypreet

09-22-2008, 10:50 AM

good posts

al-Canine

09-22-2008, 12:43 PM

Remember this guy? It seems like the administration sort of lost focus on this topic.

Yeah... too bad he isn't running an investment bank! :sad_01:

rectar

09-22-2008, 01:54 PM

Why should cheney gang take out binny and his doctor whils't they are incarcerated in Pakistan bunker lol, don't have to pay rewards lololol......

al-Canine

10-20-2008, 04:40 PM

What a Top Terror Tracker Learned About Osama Bin Laden

Dalton Fury is the nom de plume of a Delta Force commander who led U.S. troops in Afghanistan's Tora Bora mountains in the end of 2001, when Osama a bin Laden was in full flight. Fury's new book, Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man, is a riveting account of one of the most important — but also least understood — battles in the war on terror. It tells of the bravery of the men under his command, but also of the intelligence failures that allowed bin Laden and many top al-Qaeda leaders to escape from the mountains.

Fury, who can't use his real name because of security concerns, is now a private citizen. He spoke with TIME's World Editor, Bobby Ghosh, on the phone from an undisclosed location. Excerpts:

TIME: When you hear a U.S. Presidential candidate saying. "I promise we'll kill Osama Bin Laden," what runs through your mind?

Dalton Fury: What runs through my mind is that it doesn't really matter who is going to go in the White House next year. If there's no intelligence on where located, then you can have Mickey Mouse in the White House. If they had good actual intelligence now, they would have hit him a Hellfire missile, or even potentially sent a special team in there. But it's just not as easy as saying, "When I get elected, I'll kill him," because if we knew where he was now, we would have already made the attempt.

[B]Are we getting better intelligence now?

I think we're always improving, We're trying to build a better mousetrap, but you know, it's hard to fight [al-Qaeda] with conventional weaponry. The answer isn't always money. You can buy a thousand more Predator drones, and put them over there and clog the airspace, but they're not stupid — they know when the Predators are up there. So yeah we're going to make them fly higher and have more powerful cameras and all that stuff, but I think that because [al-Qaeda leaders] live in mud huts and they're barely washing and bathing themselves... that we somehow treat them as if they are inferior human beings.

How aware were they of your abilities, the abilities of the Delta Force?

I'd be naive to say that they weren't aware of it. I think they're smart enough and have shown a propensity to understand how the Internet works and how to get around being discovered by using various means.

The view that exists in the U.S., is that bin Laden's living in a cave somewhere, that he's cut off from the rest of the world.

Bin Laden garners a lot of support from people because he has the ability and the willpower to live in austere conditions, to live like the average Afghani or the average Pashtun — without a lot of creature comforts. It's hard for a Western mind to realize that bin Laden is perfectly comfortable with a couple of meals a day of flat bread and some rice, as long as he has can read the Koran and put out his audio and videotapes when he sees fit. It's hard to imagine anybody, any leader in the West to have the ability to do that, but he's shown that he can certainly do that.

What have you learned about him, his personality, or his lifestyle, that surprises you?

My book talks about him surrounding himself with individuals of his blood type, which I thought was very interesting. If he's wounded then he has a guy with the same blood, who can give him a transfusion. But, that's completely counter to the legend that bin Laden's bodyguards have been ordered to kill him if he is wounded in a battle. If that was true, in my personal opinion, he would have stayed in Tora Bora, and not ran. That surprised me very much. I really thought he would stay and fight as he advertised.

The other thing that surprised me was that [during the fighting in Tora Bora] he actually told his women and children to arm themselves and come out of the caves and fight the Americans. For a man of bin Laden's stature, who puts so much credence in the Koran and the afterlife and paradise, it seemed like he reduced himself to an actual human being, with actual fears and concerns for his own health, his own survival. In his sermons and tapes, he appears above those concerns, yet here he was, asking the women and children to do the fighting for him.

When detectives track a serial killer for a long time then, they can sometimes get in his head — and they can anticipate his next move. Do you feel the same way about Osama bin Laden?

I don't think we know that much about his personality, to tell you the truth. He's obviously been very evasive over the years, and you're not getting a lot of people walking in with information.

What is it that people in the U.S. still don't get about bin Laden that you think they ought to?

I think they don't get how powerful this Islamic religion is, and how powerful the Koran can be to a very small percentage, a minute percentage, of the Muslim community — people who will, in the name of bin Laden, or in the name of Jihad or like al-Qaeda ideology, strap on a suicide bomb or get into a bomb-laden vehicle, and blow up a hotel or a checkpoint — all in the name of bin Laden.

I think that he has such enormous magnetism that you almost have to respect it. No American is going to strap a bomb to himself and go kill someone in the name of Barack Obama or John McCain — that's not going to happen.

Many Americans think, "Hey come on, we're offering a reward of $25 million, we've been looking for this guy for seven years, so come on, what's the big deal? How hard can it be?" But when you actually get around those people [who shelter the al-Qaeda leaders] you see how honorable they are, how independent they are, how hospitable they are, all according to their religion. It's much different than communism, you know. We never faced that in the Cold War. This truly is a different enemy here.

Where did you come up with Dalton Fury? It's a great name.

Simple Google search: It wasn't taken. It's pretty far from my true name.

What's next for you?

I have no idea, I'm a private citizen and I think I'll just spend family time and watch the news and see when we finally grab bin Laden. I hope it's a violent death. I hope he doesn't die of old age or health reasons. Personally I think he needs to die the same way that 3,000 individuals died on 9/11.

You don't want to see him being tried first?

I don't want to see him be tried, no. I don't think anybody does. I think it would be a circus. With Saddam Hussein, it was probably a good idea that he was tried, because millions of [Iraqis] hated him, he terrorized the majority of the country. No one in Afghanistan or Pakistan really hates bin Laden, so you don't have those millions of enemies that Saddam had.

Killing him it might make him a martyr, that's okay. I think [the terrorists will] soon forget about it. I think they'll lose their stomach for the fight when they see the mighty bin Laden was vulnerable, and was finally taken out. I don't think they'll have an easy time replacing him. I know the other top tier [al Qaeda leadership] can barely get along as it is, they all don't particularly like each other. I don't think there's anybody that can bring the following out like bin Laden can.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1852005,00.html

al-Canine

10-25-2008, 08:45 AM

:add40:

Bin Laden writing his memoirs

Islamabad, Oct 25 (PTI) World's most wanted fugitive, Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is reportedly writing a book on the struggle of his terrorist network that dispenses money, logistical support and training to radical groups in over 50 countries.

The book, being written in Arabic, will later be translated into English. Bin Laden decided to write the book to counter "propaganda" against Al Qaeda, Geo News channel reported.

Bin Laden is writing the book with the assistance of a "young man with a Middle Eastern background who will later translate the text into English", the channel reported. The book will reportedly highlight atrocities allegedly being committed on Muslims by the Western world.

Bin Laden will also discuss how the medieval Crusades greatly impacted the growth of Western influence in world affairs and ultimately helped the US to control the oil reserves of the Muslim states.

The book will shed light on the evolution of Al Qaeda and 9/11 terror attacks on the US.

Bin Laden, who was born in Riyadh on March 10, 1957, is a member of the prominent bin Laden family of Saudi Arabia.

The Al Qaeda leader has been indicted in a US federal court for his alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and is on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's list of 10 most wanted fugitives.

Though bin Laden has not been indicted for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US, he has reportedly claimed responsibility for the strikes. Reports suggest he earned a degree in civil engineering in 1979, or a degree in public administration in 1981.

Bin Laden also operated from Pakistan for a brief while in the 1980s as part of the mujahideen movement against the Soviet forces that had occupied Afghanistan.

http://www.ptinews.com/pti%5Cptisite.nsf/0/52190F93B53D82D7652574ED00339862?

al-Canine

10-29-2008, 08:56 AM

US elections: Waiting for bin Laden

B Raman | October 29, 2008 | 16:20 IST

It is just one week before the US Presidential elections. We all know all that we want to know about the two candidates Senators John McCain of the Republican Party and Senator Barrack Obama of the Democratic Party. We also know what the American people think of them and their ideas for the future through the public opinion polls which, without an exception, predict voter approval for Obama and his ideas -- whether relating to the economy, the so-called war against terrorism or Iran's nuclear programme.

But there is still a missing gap in our knowledge -- what Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda think of the two candidates and their proposed policies. On the eve of the Presidential elections of 2004 (on October 29, 2004), Osama entered the pre-poll scene in the US with a video message to the American people, which poured scorn over American claims regarding the war.

Commenting on his message, I had written: "As the date of the polls approached, there was feverish speculation as to whether Bush, helped by (then) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, would produce OBL before the American people like a magician producing a rabbit out of his hat and thereby make John Kerry look silly and win a thumping victory. Instead of Bush producing OBL and embarrassing Kerry, it is OBL's spin-masters who have produced him before the voters, making Bush, Kerry and everybody else in the US look silly and confused."

Is OBL planning a similar entry into the poll scene before the Americans vote? It will be out of keeping with him if he does not. Watch out during the days to come. Will he pour scorn over McCain and Bush just as al Qaeda web sites are already doing? What will he say about the statements of Obama about his determination to hunt for OBL, even if he has to send the US troops into Pakistani territory to catch him -- provided he has precise intelligence? Will he talk of what the jihadis in Pakistan and Afghanistan describe as the newly opened third front in the war -- on Wall Street?

Or will the expected message fail to materialise? If it fails to come, that will be more significant than his message if it does come. Failure to materialise would mean that there is something wrong somewhere in the Pashtun belt from where OBL is stated to be operating. The US and the Asif Ali Zardari government in Pakistan -- while pretending to criticise in open each other's counter-terrorism policies -- have been secretly co-operating and coordinating their operations even more closely than was the case under Musharraf -- the US from the air through repeated air strikes by pilotless drones in the two Waziristans and through aerial surveillance and the Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps on the ground in the Bajaur Agency and the Swat Valley.

It is apparent that the stepped up operations both by the Americans and the Pakistanis are not unrelated to the Presidential polls. If the Americans can get a high-value target such as OBL or his No 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri before the polls, it will not only redound to the credit of Bush before he leaves office, but could also benefit McCain, who is desperately trying to avert a seeming rout in the elections.

Al Qaeda's foreign volunteers are on the run from village to village, from mosque to mosque and from madrasa to madrasa to protect themselves from the air strikes of the US and Pakistan. The war against terrorism has seen intense air strikes in Afghan territory from the beginning. Since Zardari's meeting with Bush in New York in September, it has been seeing an intense wave of air strikes in Pakistani territory. US planes have been flying across Pakistani air space over the tribal belt as if they are flying in US air space without worrying about the pro-forma criticism from Pakistani leaders and officials and repeatedly attacking suspected Al Qaeda hide-outs. They have killed many, but not the ones that matter.

What stands between the US and OBL or Zawahiri is just luck and a little bit of advance intelligence. Both have eluded the US so far. For air strikes, the US has to be lucky only once. OBL and Zawahiri have to be lucky every time.

OBL must be constantly moving to deny that one stroke of luck to the US. How serious is the ground position for him? One will get an answer either way -- whether his pre-poll message materialises or does not.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/29guest.htm

al-Canine

10-30-2008, 11:06 PM

OK... so I guess we are waiting.... :sad_01:

Exclusive: U.S. Expects Bin Laden Message Near Election

Analysts: OBL Could Speak Out in an Effort to Prove His Relevance

By PIERRE THOMAS
Oct. 30, 2008—

Multiple senior government officials tell ABC News the intelligence community is anticipating a message from Osama bin Laden before or just after the presidential election.

As we race toward Election Day, sources say a number of intelligence analysts have concluded it is critical for al Qaeda's top leader to be seen or heard, if only for public relations purposes. Those analysts believe that if bin Laden is not heard from, he runs the risk of being considered irrelevant or impotent. The U.S. intelligence community has some indication that there is some confusion among Islamic radicals about their leadership.

According to sources, the full weight of the intelligence electronic eavesdropping and human sourcing is right now desperately looking for any hint of a bin Laden statement. So far there is only rumor, no hard evidence a message is coming, officials said.

Interestingly, the U.S. government may be the reason why bin Laden could have some problems getting a message out, officials suggested to ABC News.

The United States is engaged in an intensive effort to disrupt the use of the Internet by Islamic radicals. Message boards and Web sites have been targeted. Some officials believe that if bin Laden is not heard from, some will conclude he may be dead.

Another source cautioned against such speculation, suggesting that bin Laden is most concerned about his own safety at the moment, and might increasingly fear for his life.

The sources tell ABC News the U.S. government is quietly engaged in a high-tempo moment attacking al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in the tribal regions of Pakistan, where U.S. officials fear the terrorists have found a safe haven from which to stage plots against Afghanistan, Pakistan and throughout the world, including the West.

A review of published reports about drone attacks in the tribal region suggests the United States may have more than tripled the number this year, compared to 2007, especially in recent months. One official tells ABC News, "We have killed a lot of senior leaders. They [radicals] are having a really bad month."

Another source agreed, noting that in recent weeks the No. 4 ranking leader in all of al Qaeda had been killed in a drone attack. The source said the hit, which was reported in The New York Times, was a huge deal and was surprised it had not gotten more play. The game plan is simple, the officials said. Keep al Qaeda off balance and scrambling.

There had been growing fears, not based on any specific intelligence, that al Qaeda has been likely plotting to attack the United States before the election, or during the transition to a new presidency. Homeland security officials are calling it a Period of Heightened Alert, or POHA, which ABC News first reported in last summer.

Sources confirm that there is an intensive effort all across the U.S. government to play offense. As of now, there is still no specific, credible evidence pointing to an imminent attack on the U.S. homeland. But that's clearly not stopping the government from being incredibly active at what it sees as a critical moment.

In 2004, bin Laden released a message in the days just before the election. Though some believe that the message affected the outcome in favor of President Bush, exit poll data do not support that notion. Among voters who called the tape "very important" in their vote, Kerry won, 53-47 percent. Among those who called it either very or somewhat important, the vote was 50-50. It was among those who called it unimportant that Bush won, by 56-43 percent.

ABC News' Gary Langer contributed to this report.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=6148984&page=1

al-Canine

11-04-2008, 09:18 AM

Binny Boy, wherefore art thou? :mad_01:

Missing in Action; Bin Laden Election Tape Fails to Appear

Another Success in the Secret US Campaign to Silence al Qaeda

By BRIAN ROSS and REHAB EL-BURI
November 4, 2008—

Unlike the last election, and despite predictions to the contrary, the Osama bin Laden 2008 election tape has yet to appear.

Senior US officials say that is no accident.

Since the morning of September 11, 2008, US and allied intelligence agencies have largely shut down what had been al Qaeda's routine access to certain internet sites that distributed its leaders' video messages.

"We've been able to squelch their message," said former CIA intelligence officer John Kiriakou, now an ABC News consultant. "We push al Qaeda's web operation from country to country, to a point where they're just not able to find a country that's going to be willing to host their websites anymore."

CIA officials declined to comment.

Al Qaeda Propaganda Distributors Caught Off Guard as Sites are Shut Down

The secret effort was launched just days before September 11 of this year, when the group has normally posted a video celebrating the anniversary of the terror attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Al Qaeda propaganda distributors were apparently caught off guard when their normal distribution sites in Germany and Malaysia were shut down in the first week of September and have not come back online since.

The cyber war attack on al Qaeda's internet access came in coordination this autumn with stepped up missile strikes at suspected terror operations posts in the tribal areas of Pakistan.

"We know bin Laden is extremely concerned about his security, and the attacks have no doubt kept him quite pre-occupied," said a senior US official.

Could a bin Laden Tape Affect the US Election?

In the days before the 2004 Presidential election, a bin Laden video appeared on the internet threatening new attacks on the United States. Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry later said he believed the bin Laden video tipped the election in favor of President Bush, even though polling did not show a connection.

"You, the American people, I talk to you today about the best way to avoid another catastrophe and about war," bin Laden said on the tape made public Oct. 29, 2004.

"Security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda," bin Laden said. "Your security is in your own hands," he said in an obvious reference to the election.

The Obama campaign had girded for the release of a similar tape this year and has attempted to "inoculate" the public with advance effort to minimize its import or the suggestion that Republican candidate Sen. John McCain would better handle terror-related issues.

In 2004, a second tape produced by American al Qaeda Adam Gadahn was secretly provided to Fox News by Republican operatives in the Bush administration.

The tape had initially been turned over in Pakistan to ABC News, which gave a copy to the FBI and the CIA for authentication purposes.

Before the authentication was complete, and before the tape had been broadcast by ABC News, a government official leaked a copy to Fox, in the apparent belief it would help the re-election chances of President Bush.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=6173515

Vancouver

11-04-2008, 01:51 PM

The ABC article misses several important points.

The dead websites that they are talking about, such as Ekhlaas and Firdaws, distributed only links to the videos and audios. The videos and audios themselves are stored on numerous and mostly innocent free hosting services unrelated to the forums. From there they get copied to individuals' computers and websites, before the hosting services have time to delete them.

The tribal area of Pakistan is getting attacked more than usual nowadays by the Pakistanis and the Americans both, which could have the big guys on the run, or at least less able than usual to communicate. In fact Abu Jihad al-Masri -- top propaganda guy in Pakistan -- was reported killed with numerous others in late October. Maybe the pre-election videos or audios went up in smoke.

Most interestingly, on the surviving enemy websites, none of the members seems to know what happened to those main forums. My theory: it was not just the websites that were taken out, but the webmaster too.

--------------------------------

I'm not too surprised that Usama didn't show up this year, because he's getting more and more paranoid, and his recent audios have been duds. But I expected Adam Gadahn to lip off. Zawahiri maybe, but he could well be on the run from the turkey shoot in Waziristan, laying lower than usual.

al-Canine

11-18-2008, 08:48 AM

When Will Obama Give Up the Bin Laden Ghost Hunt?

By Robert Baer

In a talk to the Atlantic Council this week CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden said Osama bin Laden is alive. I'll take his word for it. But bin Laden's strange disappearance makes one wonder what exactly happened to him. The last relatively reliable bin Laden sighting was in late 2001. A video that he appears in last year shows him with a dyed beard. More than a few Pakistani intelligence operatives who knew bin Laden scoff at the idea he would ever dye his beard. They think the tape was manipulated from old footage, and that bin Laden is in fact dead. But then again, they would have an interest in making us believe bin Laden is dead, since it would relieve American pressure to find him by any means necessary, including going into Pakistani territory.

And what about all the other audiotapes bin Laden has put out since 9/11? Experts will tell you that off-the shelf digital editing software could manipulate old bin Laden voice recordings to make it sound as if he were discussing current events. Finally, there's the mystery why bin Laden didn't pop up during the election. You would think a narcissistic mass murderer who believes he has a place in history would find it impossible to pass up an opportunity to give his opinion at such a momentous time, at least dropping off a DVD at the al Jazeera office in Islamabad.

I asked a half dozen of my former CIA colleagues who have been on bin Laden's trail since 9/11. What surprised me was that none would say for certain whether he is alive or dead. Half assumed he is dead, the other half assumed he is alive. I suppose a lot of their timidity has to do with the still open wounds about the CIA's missing an event like Saddam's destruction of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. It would be so much easier to miss the death of a single man.

The important point of Hayden's Atlantic talk Thursday was that Muslims have turned against bin Laden, realizing that his campaign against the West has ended up killing more Muslims than it has Islam's enemies. Al-Qaeda may be picking up adherents in North Africa and Yemen, preparing its return, but it certainly is no longer in a position to destabilize Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country. And, although Hayden didn't say it, there is no good evidence bin Laden is capable of mounting a large-scale attack. He failed to pull off an October surprise, as many in the FBI and CIA had feared he would.

Despite all this, whether bin Laden is alive or dead is actually pretty irrelevant. Obama has no real choice but to revitalize the search for him, if only for political considerations. If al-Qaeda were to attack in the United States the first months of his term, Obama would end up for the rest of it explaining why he wasn't more vigilant.

But what if bin Laden really is dead, buried under a hundred tons of rock at Tora Bora or so weakened that he might as well be dead? Indefinitely crashing around Afghanistan and Pakistan's wild, mountainous tribal region on a ghost hunt cannot serve our interests. The longer we leave troops in Afghanistan the worse the civil war there will become. One day Obama will need to give up the hunt — declare bin Laden either dead or irrelevant. He has more important enemies to deal with, from Iran to Russia.

Robert Baer, a former CIA field officer assigned to the Middle East, is TIME.com's intelligence columnist and the author of See No Evil and, most recently, The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1859354,00.html?iid=tsmodule

The 801

11-23-2008, 09:46 PM

CIA strike brings bin Laden closer

Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent | November 24, 2008
Article from: The Australian

HOPES of capturing Osama bin Laden rose sharply among terrorist hunters in Pakistan last night as details emerged of the targeted weekend attacks by unmanned CIA Predator drones that killed Rashid Rauf, the alleged mastermind of the 2006 plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.

Rauf, a British citizen linked to al-Qa'ida's leadership, was killed when the compound where he was hiding in the heart of Pakistan's tribal belt was bombarded by Hellfire missiles fired from the US drones, which are said to have killed at least four major militant operatives this month.

The targeted bungalow in Khaisoor, North Waziristan, belonged to Khaliq Noor, who locals say is not a Taliban figure but who rented it to the militants. The village is a Taliban stronghold - it was here that Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and Pakistan government officials signed the 2005 peace agreement that the Americans regard as a surrender to terrorism.

Rauf, who was hunted by US, British and Pakistani intelligence agencies, was being protected by al-Qa'ida, intelligence sources in Islamabad said last night.

It was reported that Pakistani intelligence had tracked him down and passed on the co-ordinates of where he was staying to the CIA. It is claimed he was killed in the strike, as well as Abu al-Asr Misri, an al-Qa'ida bomb maker and operations expert.

The CIA is said to be operating under new rules, approved by US President George W.Bush, that reduce the "confidence threshold" for "high value" targets believed to be in a target zone from 90 per cent likely to between 50 and 60 per cent before a strike can be ordered.

"I guess it's a long way between saying, 'Look, we've got Rauf and a bunch of other major al-Qa'ida and Taliban figures in the past two or three months', and saying that if we can get them there's no reason why we can't get Bin Laden and (Ayman) al-Zawahiri - but that's the way it's shaping up," a senior Western intelligence source in Islamabad said yesterday. "I guess that after this and all that's happened in the past few weeks as a result of the drones, Osama's sleeping a little less easily in his bed at night."

Retired Pakistani general and defence analyst Talat Masood was quoted as saying that the killing of Rauf, if confirmed, "goes to show US intelligence is improving". He said: "The effects of Pakistan's protests against such strikes will be minimal if there is convincing proof the missiles strikes are hitting senior al-Qa'ida figures, which Pakistan has been unable to do."

In a US drone attack beyond Pakistan's tribal areas last week, and for the first time against a target in a so-called settled area, a Saudi militant, Abdullah Azan al-Saudi, was killed as the Hellfire missiles ripped into a compound where he was staying in the town of Bannu. Al-Saudi was the main operational link between the al-Qa'ida and Taliban leaderships.

Earlier in the month, an Egyptian identified as al-Qa'ida's Abu Jihad al-Misri was killed in another US drone attack in the North Waziristan Tribal Agency.

While Islamabad is protesting about the US strikes, insisting they are counter-productive, intelligence officials believe they are doing their job. "Will they say the same thing if we get Osama?" one asked yesterday.

The reported killing of Rauf came as Pakistan's foreign ministry prepared to renew pressure on Washington to stop the attacks, and a day after US ambassador Anne Patterson was hauled in to be rebuked.

Pakistan says the civilian casualties the US strikes cause only serve to win greater support for the militants.

Even British commanders are wary of the CIA strikes, given the resentment they cause among the locals. One officer described them as "utter madness".

The US view, amid intelligence claims of an impending plot on the scale of September 11, is that killing suspected terrorist leaders should take priority.

There were reports yesterday of concern among British MPs that British intelligence agencies may have been complicit in the assassination of a British subject.

Officially, Britain is not told of impending US missile attacks on terrorist suspects, and both MI5 and MI6 state publicly they are not involved in assassinations.

British intelligence officials yesterday refused to say whether they were aware of Rauf's location before he was killed. Andrew Dismore, Labour Party chairman of the parliamentary committee on human rights, said he would refer the matter to the committee for possible investigation.

"This is a very serious matter, particularly if the attack was based on intelligence provided by the British security agencies," Mr Dismore said.

Rauf had been at the top of the most-wanted list of every intelligence agency operating in Pakistan since his escape from custody in December last year, apparently with the complicity of the guards who were supposed to be taking him back to prison after a court hearing.

They had stopped at a local McDonald's in Islamabad for lunch, and they say Rauf asked to be allowed to say his prayers in a nearby mosque. He was reportedly freed by members of Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of God), and has not been seen since.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24694264-2703,00.html

al-Canine

12-19-2008, 02:56 PM

What Osama bin Laden Might Look Like in Disguise

December 19, 2008 10:29 AM ET
By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Ever wonder what terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden might look like if he shaved his trademark beard and turned in his robes and camouflage for a western business suit? Well, apparently so did the intelligence analysts at the National Counterterrorism Center. In their popular annual desk calendar, just received at Whispers, a page about the al Qaeda leader features an altered photograph, showing a neatly trimmed bin Laden in a dark suit and tie, looking more like a used-car dealer than a guerrilla fighter.

Bin Laden has a $27 million bounty on his head and a distinctive visage that has become remarkably familiar over the past decade, but the Westernized Osama looks surprisingly different. Still, it's a face only his mother could kiss. And there are some things he won't be able to disguise. The NCTC's calendar points out that he remains unusually tall (somewhere between 6 foot 4 and 6 foot 6) and walks with a cane. The NCTC, which is the U.S. intelligence community’s primary analytical shop for terrorism, has not yet posted its 2009 calendar, but the 2008 version is on its website.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/washington-whispers/2008/12/19/what-osama-bin-laden-might-look-like-in-disguise.html

The 801

01-14-2009, 05:47 PM

Commentary: Why bin Laden is speaking out

By Peter Bergen
CNN National Security Analyst

Editor's note: Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst and a fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington and at New York University's Center on Law and Security. His most recent book is "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader."
Peter Bergen says Osama bin Laden has long been focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Peter Bergen says Osama bin Laden has long been focused on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The new 22-minute tape posted Wednesday on a radical Islamist Web site is the first one from Osama bin Laden in nine months. On it, the al Qaeda leader urges Muslims to wage jihad against Israel because of its offensive in Gaza.

U.S. counter-terrorism officials had been expecting that bin Laden would release a tape before the 2008 presidential election just as he had done four years earlier.

On October 29, 2004, he released a videotaped address to the American people in which he said that it was irrelevant whether Americans elected Sen. John Kerry or George W. Bush as president. The key issue, as far as he was concerned, was that the United States needed to change its policies in the Muslim world.

Bin Laden, however, made no comments during the 2008 campaign season, and his recent silence has been puzzling.

The likely explanation is the large number of U.S. Predator drones armed with Hellfire missiles that have launched multiple strikes in the past year into the tribal areas of Pakistan where al Qaeda is headquartered and where bin Laden is believed to be hiding.

Since the beginning of 2008, there have been at least 30 such missile strikes, according to a count by CNN's Pakistan bureau.

In 2007, there were only four.

Those strikes have killed several al Qaeda leaders, including two on January 1 who were alleged to have had a role in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa; strikes that President Bush mentioned in his Tuesday interview with CNN's Larry King.

[B]The ramped-up pace of the Hellfire strikes has clearly interrupted al Qaeda operations and has increased the costs to its leaders of being visible.

But the now 19-day-old Israeli offensive in Gaza would not be something that the al Qaeda leader could be silent about for long.

After September 11, 2001, it became commonplace to say that bin Laden and al Qaeda had only latched on to the issue of Israel and Palestine belatedly.

The most prominent exponents of this view were former Clinton national security adviser Sandy Berger and incoming Obama deputy chief of staff, Mona Sutphen, who published an article in Foreign Affairs magazine in November 2001 in which they argued that al Qaeda had never made much of the Palestinian issue before 9/11 and was only highlighting it in its recent statements to broaden its base of support in the Muslim world.

Nothing could be further from the truth, as even the most casual reading of bin Laden's most widely distributed pre-9/11 statements demonstrates.

The al Qaeda leader's first public declaration that he was at war with the United States was issued August 23, 1996. In that declaration, he is quite clear about where he stands on the issue of Palestine: "I feel still the pain of [the loss of] Al-Quds in my internal organs." Al Quds, the Arabic word for Jerusalem, is the site of the al-Aqsa mosque, the third holiest place of pilgrimage in Islam, which was annexed to Israel in 1967.

Bin Laden went on to say that he felt the loss of Jerusalem "like a burning fire in my intestines."

Similarly, in August 1998, when al Qaeda held its first and only news conference to announce the formation of its "World Islamic Front against the Crusader and the Jews," the fatwa that was circulated around the world after the conference concluded: "The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do so, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque ."

Bin Laden has a personal connection to the al Aqsa mosque, as his father's construction company was responsible for its restoration in the 1960s. The site hosting the tape from the al Qaeda leader features audio of bin Laden and a picture of that mosque.

So intense are bin Laden's feelings about the Palestinian issue that, according to the 9/11 commission, he wrote Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the operational commander of the 9/11 attacks, two letters pressing him to move forward the timing of the attacks on Washington and New York to June or July 2001 to coincide with a planned visit to the White House of Israel's then-prime minister, Ariel Sharon. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed resisted the pressure.

On Al-Jazeera, in his only television interview after 9/11, bin Laden responded to the notion that he had only recently started to push the Palestinian issue: "That is not true. [I] made a speech in 1986 that urged Muslims to boycott American products [because] the Americans take our money and give it to the Jews so they can kill our children with it in Palestine."

Jamal Ismail, a Palestinian journalist who knew bin Laden in the mid-1980s, remembers that he "was not willing to drink any soft drinks from American companies, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Sprite, 7-Up. He is trying to boycott all American products because he believes that without Americans, Israel cannot exist."

It is significant that al Qaeda's first-ever videotape production, which was posted to the Internet in June 2001, focused heavily on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The tape showed pictures of Israeli soldiers striking a Palestinian woman and of a young Palestinian boy being shot.

On the videotape, the al Qaeda leader then made the connection explicit between Palestinian suffering and supposed American complicity, saying, "We speak of the American government, but it is in reality an Israeli government."

Bin Laden's conspiratorial reading of the role that the Israel plays in the U.S. government is not credible, but it does represent his deeply held belief that the American and Israeli governments are one and the same.

Might the new bin Laden tape further fan the flames of the Gaza conflict? Unlikely. Hamas has no desire to add to its problems by an association with al Qaeda, a group that it has condemned in the past. For its part, al Qaeda's leaders have regularly criticized Hamas for participating in democratic elections, which they regard as not sanctioned by Islamic law.

[I]The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peter Bergen

NYer

01-15-2009, 11:59 AM

Osama needs a bailout. (http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/195859.php)

Howie notes in an e-mail that in his latest message Osama bin Laden begs for money. Laura Mansfield translates it this way:

I have the expertise of Jihad all thanks to God and I know the financial expenses so one businessman's donation is sufficient to help in any of these fronts.

So, while the vast majority of the message is a rant about how the U.S. economy is in dire straights -- caused, in his view, by our wars against Islamists like bin Laden -- its ironic that he ends his message with leave the fighting to us, just send in your cash.

Sounds to me that bin Laden is looking for a bailout himself.

Sorry, Sammy, get in line right after Joe "Girls Gone Wild" Francis.

Vancouver

01-15-2009, 07:20 PM

Copy and paste of an English translation by an al-Qa'ida publicity guy:
--------
All praise be to Allah. We thank Him, we seek His guidance and forgiveness. We seek His refuge from the evils of our souls, and the evil results of our deeds.

Whosoever Allah guides, there is none to lead him astray, and whosoever is led astray by Allah, there is none to guide him.

I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah, alone, without partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

To proceed:

My dear Muslim Ummah (nation)

I am not the one who stands in front of you in these difficult days under the guise of condemnation and denunciation to react toward what is happening to our people in Gaza, but I stand before you to say a word of truth which helps us to get back what was extorted of the truth.

Word of truth which doesn't wheedle neither king nor Prince, neither savant nor minister.

Word which doesn't recognize the false international legitimacy and fear not the United Nations Security Council which spread fright among the oppressed people in the small and weak countries like Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Kashmir and Chechnya.

Word of truth which the whole world stood against in order to erase it from our method and life then erase us.

It is the sacred Jihad (fighting for the sake of Allah) to get back Bayt al-Maqdis and al-Quds (Jerusalem)

Poetry:

O captive Quds suffering its violation
And Muslims still sleeping far from Jihad

O my Muslim Ummah

The great point of imbalance in the previous efforts to free Palestine is that, those who assumed its cause were governors who betrayed their trust. In the war of 1948, the Muslims were surprised how we were defeated, but the surprise was to be victorious in that war, how can we be victorious while our kings entrusted the matter of war to the real governor of Jordan at that time, the British General Glub Basha. How can a nation be victorious while the leader of its armies is its enemy? At that time every one of our kings had a Basha like this one to guide him, for example: in Peninsula he was the non-enthroned king, the British General Philip, and it was enough for deceiving people to be named by the governor as Haj Abd-Allah Philip.

Him who looked into the British ********s related to this matter knows the degree of heedlessness reigning at that time among people, and now these deceptions still continuing with a change of faces and names. In each capital today there is "Bremer" (ex U.S. Civil Administrator of Iraq) overtly or secretly, and there is with him "Allawi" (former Iraqi Prime Minister ) at his disposal to execute his orders, and in each country there is "Sistani" (Iranian Shi'a cleric in Iraq) and "Tantawi" (Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University in Egypt) supported by groups of official and unofficial Savants, and groups of writers, intellectuals, journalists and reporters who give false legitimacy to the agents of the crusaders in our countries. All these groups are enemies of our Ummah (nation) and we must beware of them, they are known in majority because the most important of their characteristics is that the governor enables them of the mass media to address people and deceive them regularly, while he prevents the truthful from a Friday sermon in outlying village.

Other points of imbalance we face nowadays are many ways that are raising slogans to free Palestine, most of them are in favor of mislaying the cause. One of the vastest way is what the governments are doing concerning the Ministerial Sessions and transference of the cause to the United Nations and Security Council, this is a way of disclaiming the responsibility and mislaying of the Palestinian cause.

Some of these ways also, is what some savants are doing about asking the governors to come to aid of Palestine, this is another way of disclaiming the responsibility and mislaying the Aqsa mosque and the martyrs' bloods. How can we ask help from the agents of our enemies, aren't those people tired of supplicating during these long decades?

Poetry:

Him who seeks the help from Amer in his distress
Is like him who seeks help of fire from scorching heat

There is another way taken by the Islamic groups and which is the permission of the governors to do Jihad, or asking them (governors) to be at the level of their peoples' requests, and this is also another way of disclaiming the responsibility, which results in foisting heads into sands and deceiving the followers of these groups, and it is also mislaying of the cause. Those (leaders of the Islamic groups) must speak out frankly to their brothers and inform them that the responsibility is very heavy and they are not ready to assume it. Both international and regional Kufr (disbelief) are the same in attacking violently every one working and saying the word of truth in favor of this cause.

The duty is to instigate the youths to do Jihad and to arrange them in battalions to fight for the sake of Allah the Zionist-Crusader alliance and its agents in the region, not to make them feel satisfied by protesting in streets without arms.
These leaders of the Islamic groups must let the courageous and capable persons from their brothers to lead the group in these difficult conditions in order to do the legitimate duty.

Poetry:

Him among you who is not convinced that the fight is a duty
Must give the way for other and not stray the one who is convinced

With all these numerous deviated ways, there is one right way to get back al-Aqsa mosque and Palestine, it is the Jihad for the sake of Allah as we mentioned before. Allah Soubhanahu Wa Taala shows us how to stop the aggression of the infidels in the Holy Quran when He said: [Then fight (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) in the Cause of Allâh, you are not tasked (held responsible) except for yourself, and incite the believers (to fight along with you), it may be that Allâh will restrain the evil might of the disbelievers. And Allâh is Stronger in Might and Stronger in punishing.] (4:84). So, by inciting people and fighting the enemy, so that the aggression of the infidels stops.

As I say to my Ummah:

Being ******* with laying the responsibility on the governors and savants, doesn't exempt you (O my Ummah) from responsibility, but it is also another way of disclaiming the responsibility. For the order of Allah in the Holy Quran is very clear whereas the Jihad for the sake of Allah with soul and money is a duty until the achievement of the goal..

O my Muslim Ummah:

You are able to defeat the Zionist entity by your popular potentialities and huge energies without any support of the governors, even the majority stand with the Zionist-Crusader alliance in the same trench. Here , I would like to assure you my Ummah, I am sure that this matter is easy for you Allah willing if we took it seriously by trusting in Allah Soubhanahu Wa Taala, executing his orders and abandoning the deviated way.

Here I am giving you two evidences proving that you are able to defeat our enemies by small capacities:

* First evidence is the great defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by the grace of Allah then by your popular efforts without any intervention of any army of your governments, even if the general winds were behind the Mujahideen's ship at that war. Since that the flag of the Soviet Union was removed from the world and thrown in the forgetting basket, praise and gratitude are due to Allah.

* As for the second evidence: after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the American system seized the opportunity of being alone without adversary and went into impose its hegemony and policy upon the world, so the governors of our region became more surrendering which made America more tyrant and more supporting the Zionist entity to destroy the crops and the cattle in Palestine.

Then a group of your sons (O my Ummah) declared the Jihad against this only magnate, Hitler of the era, the rhinoceros to which we broke the horn, destroyed its fort and demolished its tower (9/11 events). That made its president angry and claimed that he would reach the Mujahideen's leaders dead or alive to regain the prestige of America and to make them as a lesson for others, he was like Abu Jahel in Bader battle and went out strutting by his great number of accouterments. Thus we destroyed them, killed his soldiers and dispersed his companions, by the grace of Allah.

Hence, when the battle became fierce and the enemy attacked us, the response was the sharp swords to drive away the oppression .

Here is America being shaky under the hits of the Mujahideen which made it suffering from human political and financial losses and now it is drowning in the economic crisis till the point of asking for alms from both small and grand countries. Therefore, this made it without respect in front of its friends and it could no longer dread its enemies.

Here we need a stance of pondering, you know well that the first loser due to the recession of the American oppression is the Zionist entity, because it will lose one of the most important components of its subsistence and life's arteries. This terrible and fast recession of the American power is one of the most important causes which pushed the Israelis to carry out this savage attack on Gaza, in a despairing attempt to profit from the last days of the two periods of Bush administration, in which the Zionist entity found what couldn't be reached by others from power, money, determination and rancor to assault the Muslims and to beat all powers refusing the American ascendancy in the region.

Since the White House's forces being broken down over the Mujahideen's rock in Afghanistan and drowning in quagmires of Iraq, this is why the Israelis are in a hurry to defeat their enemies in Gaza to replace them by Mahmoud Abbas and his authority for protecting their backs. So they carried out this terrible genocide before the end of the Bush's period of rule and before more appearance of the American weakness, so that the Veto will collapse because the world started revolting against it and voices started rising high to annul it, it (Veto) is an unconcealed and flagrant call for oppression and arrogance.

O my Muslim Ummah:

This talk about weakness and recession of the American ascendancy as well as the collapse of its economy, is not a talk of hopes, but testimonies given by leaders themselves which they couldn't conceal any longer:

* Biden the US vice president says: "the crisis is more difficult than we expected, the whole American economy is exposed to collapse".

* The former chairman of American Reserve Bank (Alan Greenspan) says: "the big recession will appear as a nice promenade in comparison with the economic crisis".

* As for the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, he described the crisis saying: "the crisis is very deep and the Global Financial System was about to fall in a catastrophe". And I say: it is really inside the catastrophe by the grace of Allah because of those oppressors.

* The German Finance Minister said: "the world will never return to the previous situation prevailing before this crisis, and the United States will lose its position as a great force in the Global Financial System".

Then, I present to you reports of the American intelligence which confirm the recession of the American influence in the coming years.

O my Muslim Ummah:

Indeed the Jihad of your sons against the Zionist-Crusader alliance is one of the main causes (after the grace of Allah) in all these results which destroyed our enemies, and which appeared after the "seven years" war, and I assure you O my Ummah -regarding the graces that Allah bestowed us-, we feel that Allah granted us patience which suffices us to continue on the way of Jihad for seven years again, and seven and seven again..Allah willing. The patience is the best weapon and Taqwa (piety) is the best provision. If we got martyrdom so we achieved what we were looking for, but the flag of Jihad will never fall down until the Day of the Judgment as we were informed by the prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

But the question is: Can America continue in fighting us for coming decades?

The reports and indicators suggest otherwise, and that 75% of the American people are pleased by the departure of the president who entangled them in wars that exceeded their power, and plunged his country into economic turmoil. His successor has inherited a heavy legacy and was left between two bitter choices, like the one who swallowed a double-edged dagger which hurts him with any small movement. It is a most difficult heritage, to inherit a long guerrilla war with a patient stubborn enemy, that is funded with usury loans. For if he (enemy) withdrew from the war, it will be a military defeat, and if he continued the war he will sink in the economic crisis, how then about inheriting two wars, in which he is not able to continue, and we are on our way to open other fronts Allah Willing.

O my Ummah, with greater reason you should put your hands on the hands of your sons "the Mujahedeen" to continue Jihad against Allah's enemies and to go through exhausting them on those two fronts and the other open fronts of the war with the Zionist-Crusader alliance and its agents in the region, in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Waziristan, Islamic Maghreb and Somalia…

It is your duty to support them with souls and money full supply, for I experienced Jihad by Allah's grace and I know its financial costs, the Zakat (charity money) of one of the rich Muslim dealers can cover the expenses of Jihad in all the current open fronts with our enemies, and Jihad has a share in the Zakat as you know. Hence, the happy one is the one who could participate in the victory of his religion and could defend his prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his nation.

How similar the hardship of the Mujahedeen today, to the hardship the Muslims passed by in al-Usrah (the hardship) army at the time of the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), till Uthman Ben Affan came and equipped most of the army, the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said then: "Nothing of Uthman's deeds will harm him after that".

Who is willing to be Uthman of this current hardship??

I know many of the Muslim dealers who can pay for the sake of Allah without meanness, but they are afraid of America and its agents in the region, and I say to them 'this is not an excuse, you are in a test in this dunya (worldly life), and remember what Allah says : [do you fear them? But Allah is most deserving that you should fear Him, if you are believers].(9:13).

There must be migration and endurance for the costs of the victory and implementation of the religion, the prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who is the best of the mankind was obligated to hide in a laurel and to leave his people, his family and homeland, to migrate from Mecca, the best place on earth.

Hurry up, seize the precious opportunity, and take the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) as your good example when he hid in the laurel. Can't anyone of you hide in a house in some place!? Isn't it too vast the earth of Allah, to hide in to do the financial Jihad worship?!

Allah Soubhanahu Wa Taala says: [O My servants who believe! surely My earth is vast, therefore Me alone should you serve] (29:56), and says: [Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls, they shall say: In what state were you? They shall say: We were weak in the earth. They shall say: Was not Allah's earth spacious, so that you should have migrated therein? So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort. Surely (as for) those whom the angels cause to die while they are unjust to their souls, they shall say: In what state were you? They shall say: We were weak in the earth. They shall say: Was not Allah's earth spacious, so that you should have migrated therein? So these it is whose abode is hell, and it is an evil resort] (4:97-98).

O my Muslim Ummah:

These wars, calamities and ordeals involve in them grants, and wise people are not to leave these grants to pass without benefiting from them, you have great opportunity to push away injustice and tyranny which is practiced upon you from in and outside since many decades, and snatch forcibly your rights. Him who tells you (O my Ummah) that the way to take back rights is the ballot boxes (giving you as example the Western peoples), those are deceiving you and lying to you! They say this out of either fear or greed of the rulers, because the Western people -whom they are giving as an example- got back their rights with rebellions and armed force.

After seven years of war between Britain and France for the acquisition of America, both of them suffered a huge economic crisis, which prompted the leaders to impose taxes on people, and this –with what preceded it of injustice and tyranny of the kings- was the incentive of the French Revolution.
For the King Louis XIV used to say: " I am the State and the State is but me", and this is what our leaders and kings are saying today, then the French people took the grants from among these ordeals and rebelled against the unjust kings who sucked their bloods and riches, and they dethroned Louis XIV, guillotined him and took their rights with the army force.

There is no place for the ballot boxes in our countries under the ruling of tyrants. And it is regrettable and should be noted that many of the great scholars and preachers market for this big trick!

And from that economic crisis, the Americans too rebelled against Britain to get back their rights, they didn’t follow the trick of democracy which they are deceiving us with today in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. However they took back their rights with army and force. Learn a lesson from it O you who have insight.

We as Muslims believe that it is the nation's right to elect its president and we believe in Shoura, however we believe that the Western democracy –beside being a big trick- it is an illegitimate heresy from the Islamic point of view, and Muslims do not agree to be ruled but with Allah's rulings not man-made laws.
In our religion, fighting for the sake of Allah against the invaders and the apostate rulers is for Allah's word to be the highest, till things are back to normalcy and till rights are back to their owners.

At the end I say to our people in Palestine:

May Allah make great your reward for what you endured..
May Allah accept your dead among martyrs..
May Allah cure your wounded sooner..
And I ask Him the Great and Almighty to comfort the families of the victims and to reward them the best.

O my brothers in Palestine, you suffered so much as your fathers did nine decades ago, and the Muslims are sympathizing with you for what they see and hear, and we "the Mujahideen" are also sympathizing with you more because they (Mujahideen) are living the same situation as yours, and their feeling toward you is bigger because of what you are suffering from. They live under bombardment like you by the same aircrafts, and they are losing their sons like you, praise be to Allah, and truly to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.

In this year Allah wills that the lineaments of the daybreak and the omens of relief appear, by the recession of the Zionist-Crusader expansion, for the relief is imminent and we are with you and we will never let you down, your fate is related to ours in fighting the Zionist-Crusader alliance, so either we fight until victory is achieved or we get martyrdom for the sake of Allah.

Endure and be more patient, and guard your territory by stationing army units permanently at the places from where the enemy can attack you, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful.

At last we say All praise be to Allah. Peace and Blessing be upon our prophet, and upon his family and companions

al-Canine

01-18-2009, 11:31 AM

Examination of Tape Raises Questions about Osama bin Laden's Health
Outlaw Lifestyle Catching Up with Al Qaeda Leader?

By BRIAN ROSS | January 15, 2009

In the years following the September 11th 2001 attacks, Osama bin Laden seemed very eager to appear on camera releasing numerous Al Qaeda propaganda videos. For the last 18 months, however, his public messages have been audio only, like the tape posted on the internet Wednesday. Between the threats and the rhetoric on this tape, however, one can also hear that bin Laden is quite short of breath for a man who is just 52 years old, suggesting a possible health issue.

"This is the first real indication that we've had of a bin Laden health problem," said John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer and ABC News consultant. "There have been rumors for years, but this is really the first solid evidence that there's some sort of problem with his health."

In 2002, there were widespread rumors and reports that bin Laden had serious kidney problems, but U.S. officials never confirmed his diagnosis. The new audio is an exciting development for analysts that pore over the various messages from the al Qaeda leader looking for some sort of clues as to his whereabouts and condition.

"This indicates to me that something is amiss. Perhaps it is a result of all these years living wherever it is he's living in a cave, in a series of tunnels, in a mud fort somewhere. Perhaps, his body just can't take the strain of all these years living in the rough," said Kiriakou.

Ill or not, the latest audio release put an end to speculation that bin Laden could be dead. The timing of the release also raises questions for analysts.

"I can guarantee you that there is a team of people listening to the tape and trying to come up with a plausible explanations for why he is wheezing," said Kiriakou. "Second, of all why did he release the tape with the wheezing in it? Is it a chronic condition and he had to release the tape now because he's not going to get any better? Or, was there some other reason for releasing the tape now?"

The last time bin Laden appeared on camera was September 2007, when he seemed to have dyed his hair and beard a dark black.

The Latest Message from Bin Laden

On Wednesday's tape, in a direct challenge to President-elect Barack Obama, bin Laden questions whether America "is capable to keep fighting us for more years."

A senior U.S. official told ABCNews.com, "There is no reason to doubt the authenticity of the tape."

"This is part of their ongoing propaganda effort to appear relevant by commenting on current events," the senior US official said in dismissing the significance of the new tape.

National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the tape demonstrates bin Laden's isolation and "continued attempts to remain relevant at a time when Al Qaeda's ideology, mission, and agenda are being questioned and challenged throughout the world." He said it appeared to be a fundraising effort for al Qaeda's propaganda campaign.

Obama's Task of Capturing Osama bin Laden

During the campaign, Obama said the capture or death of bin Laden, and the defeat of al Qaeda, would be one of his administration's highest priorities.

On Tuesday incoming Obama officials participated with their counterparts in the Bush administration in a table-top exercise to prepare for a possible terror attack during the Presidential transition.

U.S. officials say they are evaluating threat value of the new audio message, but no change to the threat level is anticipated. They said a conversation will be had given the upcoming inauguration.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=6653678&page=1

Vancouver

01-18-2009, 06:38 PM

UBL's mental state is a matter of some conjecture too, not just his physical state. What goes through his head every day, in that cave or hut, year in and year out? Does he reflect on all the people whom he has personally known who are now dead after accomplishing none of his objectives? Does he think about the big part that he personally has played in making the very word Islam into an object of worldwide contempt and revulsion? How many people have been killed by al-Qa'ida for no reason except that Usama suspects that they might betray him for US$25 million? Does he think about those? When the Taliban beheads someone for teaching a girl how to read, does he remember Aafia Siddiqui who was educated to the doctorate level in the United States?

The 801

02-18-2009, 07:10 AM

Bin Laden's Hide-out? Geographers Urge US To Search Three Structures In Pakistan For Bin Laden

ScienceDaily (Feb. 18, 2009) — While U.S. intelligence officials have spent more than seven years searching fruitlessly for Osama bin Laden, UCLA geographers say they have a good idea of where the terrorist leader was at the end of 2001 — and perhaps where he has been in the years since.

In a new study published online February 17 by the MIT International Review, the geographers report that simple facts, publicly available satellite imagery and fundamental principles of geography place the mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks against the U.S. in one of three buildings in the northwest Pakistan town of Parachinar, in the Kurram tribal region near the border with Afghanistan.

"If he's still alive, he honestly could be sitting there right now," said Thomas W. Gillespie, the study's lead author and an associate professor of geography at UCLA. "It is still the safest tribal area and city in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of northwest Pakistan and one of the only tribal areas that the U.S. has not bombed with its unmanned Predators."

Despite keen interest in the terrorist recluse and a $25 million reward for information leading to his capture, academics have shied away from getting involved in the quest to find him, the researchers contend. Meanwhile, dramatic improvements in remote-sensing imagery have improved the odds of civilians doing so.

"We believe our work represents the first scientific approach to establishing bin Laden's current location," said John A. Agnew, study co-author and UCLA geography professor. "The methods are repeatable and could easily be updated with new information obtained by the U.S. intelligence community."

The researchers advocate that the U.S. investigate — but not bomb — the three buildings. They warn that if bin Laden indeed remains to this day in the tiny city of Parachinar, or even elsewhere in the relatively thinly populated tribal area of Kurram, he may move to the city of Peshawar (population 1.4 million) in the neighboring tribal area of North-West Frontier Province if Peshawar falls to the Taliban. News reports have warned of that possibility since last summer.

"If bin Laden were to move to Peshawar, which would become an option if the Taliban were in control there, the search would become much more complicated," Gillespie said. "It's the difference between looking for someone in L.A. versus in Big Bear," he added, referring to a mountain resort town 90 miles east of Los Angeles.

The findings are based on the last information on bin Laden's whereabouts to be made public by U.S. intelligence sources, which have closely guarded the details of any efforts to locate him. One and a half months after the coordinated attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people, a walkie-talkie radio broadcast placed bin Laden in Tora Bora, a cave complex in eastern Afghanistan. In an unsuccessful attempt to capture bin Laden, U.S. forces attacked the caves the following month.

The UCLA findings rely on two principles used in geography to predict the distribution of wildlife, primarily for the purposes of designing approaches to conservation. The first, known as distance-decay theory, holds that as one travels farther away from a precise location with a specific composition of species — or, in this case, a specific composition of cultural and physical factors —the probability of finding spots with that same specific composition decreases exponentially. The second, island biogeographic theory, holds that large and close islands have larger immigration rates and will support more species than smaller, more isolated islands.

Inspired by distance-decay theory, the seven-member team started by drawing concentric circles around Tora Bora on a satellite map of the area at a distance of 10 kilometers — or 6.1 miles — apart.

"The farther bin Laden moves from his last reported location into the more secular parts of Pakistan or into India, the greater the probability that he will be in an area with a different cultural composition, thereby increasing the probability of his being captured or eliminated," Gillespie said.

Then, informed by island biogeographic theory, the researchers scoured the rings for "city islands" — or distinctly separate settlements of considerable size.

"Island biology theory predicts that he would find his way to the largest but least isolated city of that area," said Gillespie, an authority on measuring and modeling biodiversity on Earth from space. "If you get stuck on an island, you would want it to be Hawaii rather than one with a single palm tree. It's a matter of resources."

The approach netted 26 cities within a 12.4-mile radius of Tora Bora on imagery from Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+), a global archive of satellite photos managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. With a 2.7-square-mile footprint, Parachinar turned out to be the largest and fourth-least isolated city, the team determined.

"Based on bin Laden's last known location in Tora Bora, we estimate that he must have traveled 1.9 miles over a 13,000-foot-high pass into Kurram and then headed for the largest city, which turns out to be Parachinar," said Agnew, who is the current president of the Association of American Geographers, the field's leading scholarly organization.

The researchers ruled out cities on the Afghanistan side of the border because the country was occupied at the time by U.S. and international forces and has been particularly unstable ever since.

"The Pakistan side of the border is much better for hiding because of its ambiguous political status within the country and the formal absence of U.S. or NATO troops," Agnew said.

Faced with the prospect of picking from more than 1,000 structures clearly portrayed in the satellite imagery of Parachinar, the team decided to come up with a short list of the criteria that bin Laden would need for housing, based on well-known information about him, including his height (between 6'4" and 6'6", depending on the source), his medical condition (apparently in need of regular dialysis and, therefore, electricity to run the machine) and several basic assumptions, such as a need for security, protection, privacy and overhead cover to shield him from being spotted by planes, helicopters and satellites.

So they looked for buildings that could house someone taller than 6'4" and were surrounded by walls more than 9 feet tall (both as judged by mid-afternoon shadows depicted on the satellite imagery), and that had more than three rooms, space separating them from nearby structures, electricity and a thick tree canopy.

Only three structures fit the criteria. The buildings also appeared to be the best fortified and among the largest in Parachinar. Two are clearly residences, the study states. The third may be a prison. But whatever the third structure is, it has "one of the best maintained gardens in all of Parachinar," the study says.

While the three structures meet all six of the criteria that the researchers believe would be required for lodging bin Laden, an additional 16 structures in Parachinar appear to meet five of the six criteria. If bin Laden is not in the first three structures, the U.S. military should investigate these other buildings, the study urges.

The outgrowth of an undergraduate geography course in remote sensing, the study lists five 2008 UCLA graduates as co-authors. The students have since gone on to a range of endeavors, from selling real estate and attending law school to earning a master's degree from Oxford University. One now works for a remote-sensing company.

Undergraduates had attempted to take on the same study in 2006, but at 30 x 30 meters — or nearly 100 x 100 feet — the resolution of publicly available satellite images of the area at the time was insufficient. In contrast, today's resolution is 0.6 meters, or just under 2 feet, Gillespie said. The remote-sensing company that employs one of the alumni authors plans soon to unveil a 0.4-meter resolution of the entire world.

"Technology has caught up to the question," said Gillespie, who serves as the director of the Spatial Demography Group for the UCLA-based California Center for Population Research.

"Finding Osama bin Laden: An Application of Biogeographic Theories and Satellite Imagery" is not the first attempt by Gillespie and Agnew to bring scientific analysis to nettlesome political issues. In September 2008, they received widespread attention for a satellite study of the density of lights in the night sky of Baghdad in the time leading up to, during and immediately following the U.S. military surge of 2007. The findings cast doubt on the role claimed by the U.S. military in quelling violence during that time and suggest instead that intra-sectarian conflict was responsible for clearing whole portions of the city, leaving them both dark and devoid of the objects of Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence.

Due to the low cost of conducting the study, it received no outside funding. However, past research by Gillespie has received funding from the National Institute on Aging, the MacArthur Foundation and the National Science Foundation

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090217141536.htm

Klaus

02-18-2009, 09:11 PM

The US does not want to find or kill bin Laden.
Then there would be no boogey man.

The 801

02-19-2009, 05:23 PM

An interesting thought:

Tribes could be bin Laden's downfall-ex-spy
Thu Feb 19, 2009 11:58pm IST

By William Maclean

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden will probably be killed or captured when some "brave souls" in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area decide to betray him, a former senior CIA official said on Thursday.

Henry Crumpton, who led the CIA's operations in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, said local chiefs sheltering the militant leader were likely to abandon him one day due to disenchantment with his agenda and its perceived failure to bring a better life.

"I think Osama bin Laden will be captured or killed, and that mostly likely will be because of a decision by local authorities," said Crumpton, now a private security consultant.

"Local tribal authorities I believe either will generate the intelligence, and/or will participate directly in his demise," he said on the sidelines of a conference held by the EastWest Institute global security think tank.

The al Qaeda leader has been hiding out since the Sept. 11 attacks against U.S. cities. U.S. officials believe he is probably not far from his last reported whereabouts, the mountains of Tora Bora, Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.

He has defied all efforts to find him despite a $25 million U.S. reward offer.

The possibility of betrayal has been dismissed at times by commentators who say Pashtuns, whose lands straddle both sides of the border between the two countries, live to a code of honour that demands unfailing hospitality towards guests.

But Crumpton said bin Laden would eventually become vulnerable to disappointment among his hosts at his perceived failure to bring concrete improvements in daily life.

"If you look at bin Laden or al Qaeda all they offer is a tactic of terrorism -- they are not offering the local population economic development or education. In fact they are destroying it."

"They're just not offering any hope, and I think that people understand that and, although intimated and fearful, there will be brave souls (who will act against bin Laden) and my guess it that's how he will end."

MISSILE STRIKES

Crumpton, who worked for the CIA as a clandestine officer for more than two decades, said the key to persuading local people to deny safe haven to bin Laden and his associates was to help them gain a capacity to shape their own development.

"Once you have some modicum of security then development must be based on the needs of the people. You address issues that the enemy is exploiting, whether it is poverty, whether it's lack of education, there's always some unmet expectation.

"They won't do development the way America might or the way some of our NATO alllies might, they'll have their own way and they'll have a more important stake than anyone else. "

Pakistan says one important impediment to the counter-terror effort in the lawless tribal regions along the Afghan border is a controversial policy of U.S. missile strikes, saying they are a violation of sovereignty.

Pakistan's civilian government and the army have complained that the U.S. strikes from Predator drones are counterproductive and have fanned an Islamist insurgency across northwest Pakistan.

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-38107420090219?sp=true

The 801

02-19-2009, 06:49 PM

Those 3 locations:
http://i.zdnet.com/gallery/270924.jpg
After identifying Parchinar as the most like city, the research team did a house-to-house search of satellite images. They looked for buildings that could satisfy his special circumstances: At 6 foot 4 inches bin Laden needed a tall building. He uses a dialysis machine that requires electricity so his location needs an electric grid hook-up or generator. He enjoys physical protection and personal privacy which could mean high walls and space between structures. He needs body guards so there has to be at least three rooms. He also would want to remain protected from aerial views which means nearby trees.

This first structure is located at N33.901955, 70.093746.

http://i.zdnet.com/gallery/270925.jpg
The second structure, located at 33.922694, E70.0959, is thought by the UCLA team to be a prison. But the team points out that it has one of the best maintained gardens in the city.

Credit: Google Earth

http://i.zdnet.com/gallery/270926-480-408.jpg

The third structure that met all of the team's bin Laden criteria is a private residence located at N33.888207, E70.113308. In addition to the three structures that met all six of bin Laden's life history characteristics, there were 16 additional structures that met five of the six needs.

Credit: Google Earth

In case you want to look around for yourself, here is the google map URL

http://maps.google.com/maps?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hl=en&tab=wl

Casey

03-07-2009, 09:49 PM

Casey

03-14-2009, 12:10 PM

There is talk of a new bin Laden message in the works.

It then goes on to say it may in fact be from al-Zawahiri.

Either way many of the forums that carry these messages are not functioning as of yesterday so the message may have to take the long way around to becoming available.

Sure enough...

03.14.2009 Osama bin Laden: Practical Steps to Liberate Palestine - English subtitles
http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1430772#post1430772

Casey

04-02-2009, 07:25 AM

Looks like we have come full circle since August 2006 when it was said, "Osama is in Chitral...."
http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=786194&highlight=Chitral#post786194

Osama in Chitral, Pakistan
Another US Expert Guess or calculated tactical move?
Thursday April 02, 2009 (0911 PST)

“The mastermind of 9/11 Osama Bin Laden is hiding in northern Pakistan i.e Chitral valley taking advantage of high altitude to avoid spotting by radar,” so say US experts.

After their intelligence failure in Iraq about WMD and the Taliban strength in Afghanistan now the US experts and CIA have discovered that Osama Bin Laden is in Chitral Valley, a scenic area in the NWFP province in Pakistan. On what basis these claims are made is still unknown but one thing is sure like drone attacks in FATA and NWFP this new “secretly known hide out” of Osama Bin Laden and possible action against it by CIA has rung bells in intellectual and security circles. Here is why Chitral is critical in current geo political scenario for Pakistan and for the US and NATO.

Osama hunt has been going on even before 9/11, starting from Saudia to Sudan and then into Afghanistan. He was reported to be in FATA as claimed by a previous “security assessment” by CIA. However, now after 8 years, the CIA has made a “fabulous breakthrough” in finding his hideout. The breakthrough was made public by leaking the information through Daily News Washington on March 14th claiming that he is hiding in Chitral valley, which is part of mainland Pakistan.

This is not the first time that CIA or US has made this claim. In September 2007 too a similar story was circulated in the media about OBL’s hideout being in Chitral valley.

The most note worthy point of this discovery is that it surfaced just before Mr. Leon Panetta, CIA director’s visit to Pakistan which is quite indicative of the CIA including it in the list of priority security issues for its director to discuss with Pakistani officials. This matter will be accorded top priority as there is “new evidence” mentioned in the Daily News breaking story in these words:

snip...long, long article.

http://www.paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=213205

Casey

04-02-2009, 07:27 AM

???

http://www.wincoast.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=11518&d=1156573296

al-Canine

04-02-2009, 08:21 AM

Has anyone checked the Starbucks in Chitral? :food_01:

uchiuke123

04-02-2009, 07:03 PM

His chai....with cream or without?...lol

The 801

04-02-2009, 07:10 PM

Does Iran Harbor Osama bin Laden?

Osama Bin Laden is in Iran, asserts Alan Howell Parrot, the director of The Union for the Conservation of Raptors (UCR), who for many years served as a Falconer for the rulers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and members of Saudi Royal family. In that capacity he was a regular guest in the seasonal Falconry-hunting camps and had access to all participants. Parrot has been offering evidence of Bin Laden's sighting in Iran since November 2004 to a great number of U.S. government officials at the Department of Defense, the FBI, Senators and even to the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Gen. Michael V. Hayden. Government officials who asked to remain nameless confirmed Parrot's contact with the government. Still, no one responded.

Parrot's passion to save the falcons led him and his expert team to bin Laden.

In November 2004 a UCR field operator in Iran happened to meet bin Laden. Parrot brought the very detailed and seemingly convincing evidence to my attention. I then introduced him to former senior US military officials. Between November 2004 and January 2009 Parrot says he has "diligently reported UCR meetings with Bin Laden in Iran, to U.S. government agencies. At no time did the Bush Administration request interviews with any of the UCR field operators who tracked and met bin Laden in Iran." Parrot provided accounts of bin Laden's movement and details of six meetings UCR's operators had with bin Laden in Iran; some were held near Zehedan, in Southern Iran, others in a safe house North of Tehran and in Mashhad. This information was confirmed during a debriefing by an expert interrogator on march 2008.

Falconry is so popular in the Middle East, that the founder of the Saudi kingdom, Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, was known as "the Falcon of the Peninsula" (Al Saqr al Jazira). Saudi Prince Fahd bin Sultan, described Falconry as the Arabs' "form of golf, a place to relax and conduct business.''

Falconry is a 2,000-year-old tradition among Arabs, especially princes and shaikhs. They gather several times a year in well- equipped hunting camps in the Arabian deserts, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran, among other places, to hunt with falcons that cost $100,000, and in some cases more than $2 million. Not surprisingly, the illegal trade in falcons is valued at more than $300 million annually.

Bin Laden is also known as an avid Falconer. Former White House counterterrorism advisor Richard Clarke told the 9/11 Commission, that in 1999 the U.S. "planned to bomb a Falconry camp in Pakistan when Osama bin Laden was present." That raid, however, "was scrubbed because a minister from the United Arab Emirates was a member of the hunting party."

Parrot's story is as unconventional as he is. A Falconer, who in 1974, just 18 years old, began his career training hunting falcons for the Shah of Iran. He excelled in his work and was retained by wealthy Arabs in Kuwait and the Gulf States, who flew him regularly from Ithaca, NY -- he studied biology at Cornell University -- to the Middle East. He left school after 3 years in favor of trapping and training falcons for UAE president and Abu Dhabi's ruler Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayyan. From 1981- 1991 he continued to work for Zayed, who hosted him in his many palaces, where Parrot met and befriended many of the ruler's guests. Sheikh Zayed's recommendation opened doors to employment with other Arab leaders. Parrot also worked for Saudi Crown Prince -- now King -- Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

A true bird lover, Parrot could not tolerate the illegal smuggling and abuse of falcons he witnessed the world over. Thus, from 1978 -1984 he volunteered to participated as a civilian undercover agent in "Operation Falcon," conducted by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) to stop the multi-million dollar international smuggling of North American falcons to the Middle East. That operation resulted in the arrest of 300+ falcon smugglers the world over. Parrot also helped stop Prince Bandar, the former Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., from smuggling falcons from the U.S. on board a Royal Saudi Airlines charted plane. Bandar paid his $150,000 fine to the Department of Justice, from his Washington DC Riggs Bank account. It was the same account, which Bandar's wife used to pay two of the 9/11 hijackers. True to form, Bandar threatened the U.S. government with oil sanctions if the story leaked; not surprisingly, the public remained in the dark.

In praise of his work in Operation Falcon, Parrot received two letters of commendation from the Canadian government. Together with a dedicated team of like-minded falcon lovers, Parrot continued to collect evidence on falcon smuggling throughout Central Asia, Russia, China, and the Middle East. In 2001 he established The Union for the Conservation of Raptors (UCR), a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization. Its mandate pertains "to the conservation and sustainable management of raptors, with specialized expertise on Middle East falconry practices and smuggling cartels with operational linkage to al-Qaeda.

Over the years, Parrot witnessed how the Secretariat for the U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has violated its own mandate to protect the birds, by licensing illegal trade in sport-falcons to Arab rulers and sheikhs. This led to the creation of 'five star' tented cities erected throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, and Afghanistan, like the royal falconry camp that served as Al Qaeda's de-facto 'Board room,' referenced in the 9/11 Commission Report .

Encouraged by president-elect Barack Obama's statement on January 14, in an interview with CBS News anchor Katie Couric, that his "preference preference obviously would be to capture or kill him [Bin Laden]", Parrot sent a letter to the Rewards for Justice program at the State Department detailing his efforts to track Bin Laden, and providing information of bin Laden's whereabouts. Parrot also noted that he had discussed the matter with Iranian officials and that "a negotiated and political (i.e. not-military) solution is available" with the Iranian leadership. The letter was sent on January 20, but Parrot has yet to hear from Washington.

Parrot claims that he has negotiated with Iranian officials the transfer of bin Laden from Iran "to the custody of the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al Faisal, whom I know personally" he said.

Since no one seems to know where bin Laden is located, why not explore Mr. Perrot's claims?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-rachel-ehrenfeld/does-iran-harbor-osama-bi_b_182026.html

I always figured that if somebody actually saw bin laden and told the feds, they would ignore it.

The 801

04-10-2009, 11:10 AM

TV show exonerates Osama bin Laden
Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:17am EDT

By Scott Roxborough

BERLIN (Hollywood Reporter) - A Dutch TV jury has found Osama bin Laden not guilty of the September 11 attacks.

In the conclusion Wednesday night to the show "Devil's Advocate" on Dutch public broadcaster Nederland 2, the jury of two men and three women, along with the studio audience, ruled that there was no proof bin Laden was the mastermind behind the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in 2001.

The Netherlands, home to "Big Brother" creator Endemol, is known for being on the cutting edge of format-based television. But even for Dutch standards, "Devil's Advocate," from Amsterdam production house AVRO, pushes the envelope.

The show features star defense attorney Gerard Spong standing up for some of the world's worst criminals.

In the latest show, Spong was able to convince the jury that bin Laden's connection to September 11 was a product of "Western propaganda." The jury also ruled there was insufficient evidence to prove bin Laden was the real head of terrorist network al-Qaida. The jury did rule, however, that bin Laden is a "terrorist who has misused Islam."

The show is certain to provide further ammunition in the already heated Dutch debate over immigration and the country's large Muslim minority. The Netherlands saw a sharp rise in anti-immigration and anti-Islamic sentiment after the 2004 murder of Dutch director Theo Van Gogh by a Muslim extremist.

Spong has been at the center of the debate, supporting legal action against anti-immigrant politician Geert Wilders.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

Those lovable Dutch....

NYer

04-10-2009, 04:39 PM

Spong, you may remember, lobbied hard and long for the prosecution of Wilders for incitement over his film, Fitna. You don't think he has his own agenda?

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7050/620/320/9-11.jpg

From Gateway Pundit: (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/04/dutch-tv-finds-bin-laden-not-guilty-of.html)

Aljazeera aired a never before seen tape of Osama Bin Laden with the 9-11 hijackers 5 years after the attacks in September 2006.

Al Qaeda released the tape showing Osama bin Laden with 9-11 hijackers AND with the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq.

And still there are people who believe that Bin Laden is innocent?
It's hard to believe.

The 801

04-14-2009, 08:03 AM

Afghanistan: Taliban leader says Osama bin Laden still 'alive'

Kabul, 14 April (AKI) - A top Taliban leader has said that fugitive Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is alive and leading operations against foreign forces in Afghanistan. "Osama bin Laden is still alive and is directing the Jihad (holy war) against American and western forces in Afghanistan," said Taliban commander and Pashtun warlord Sirajuddin Haqqani, quoted by Saudi daily Al-Watan.

However, Haqqani, who leads Taliban militants in the Afghan provinces of Baktika and Khost, said he had not had any contact with bin Laden for a long time.

"It has been a long time since I lost contact with Al-Qaeda's leader, but I know he is still alive and leading Al-Qaeda combatants against foreign forces."

Haqqani, who is wanted by the United States and has a five-million dollar bounty on his head, did not rule out cooperating with Al-Qaeda in fighting foreign forces.

"The doors are open for all mujahadeen who fight to apply Allah's will, just like the government in Kabul has opened the doors to foreign troops. We are ready to receive all foreigners, including Arabs, who want to fight alongside us."

Sirajuddin is the son of Jalaluddin Haqqani a veteran of the 1978-1989 Afghanistan war against the former Soviet Union and one of the most respected tribal figures and mujahadeen in southeastern Afghanistan.

He has built up a well-organised group in Afghanistan, known as the Haqqani network which has its roots in Pakistan's tribal areas.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.3213639580

NYer

04-27-2009, 04:13 PM

Osama bin Elvis, Part Deux? (http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2009/04/pakistani-intelligence-osama-is-dead.html)

SmokedYourDSM

06-03-2009, 09:21 AM

Joy.

Reported Bin Laden Tape Blasts Obama

Al Qaeda Chief Says U.S. President Has Planted Seeds Of "Hatred And Vengeance"; Warns Americans Of "Consequences"

Osama bin Laden has reportedly issued a new audio message criticizing U.S. president Barack Obama. (As Sahab)

(CBS) A new audio tape believed to be from Osama bin Laden criticizes President Barack Obama for planting seeds of "hatred and vengeance toward Americans" and threatens "consequences."

The tape, aired on Arabic news network Al Jazeera Wednesday, blasts the U.S. president for his role in Pakistan's military operation against Taliban forces in the Swat Valley. The message comes as Mr. Obama prepares to visit the Middle East to shore up diplomatic relations in the region.

"Obama and his administration have planted new seeds that fuels more hatred and vengeance toward Americans," the translated message says. "The number of these seeds equates that of those suffering in Swat and in the tribal areas in South Waziristan. Obama has thus walked in the footsteps of his predecessor. Let the American people prepare themselves to harvest the consequences of their leadership's actions."

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/...n5058482.shtml (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/06/03/world/main5058482.shtml)

Windy

06-03-2009, 09:28 AM

NYer

06-03-2009, 05:01 PM

Does anyone else find it odd that this tape was released to Jazzy News and not the internet?

The 801

06-11-2009, 04:51 PM

This month's guess....

CIA chief says bin Laden in Pakistan
Thu Jun 11, 2009 1:56pm EDT

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - CIA Director Leon Panetta said on Thursday the U.S. intelligence agency believes al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan and hopes joint operations with Pakistani forces will find him.

Asked whether he was sure that bin Laden was in Pakistan, Panetta told reporters: "The last information we had, that's still the case."

Bin Laden, who has eluded a U.S. manhunt since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has issued audio and videotapes over the years demonstrating that he is still alive.

Finding bin Laden is "one of our major priorities," Panetta said. "One of our hopes is that the Pakistanis move in militarily, combined with our operations, we may be able to have a better chance" to find the al Qaeda leader, he said.

Panetta said al Qaeda "remains the most serious security threat" to the United States and its leaders, particularly in Pakistan, continue to plot against America.

There are "a number of people" on the ground in Pakistan providing intelligence on al Qaeda targets to the United States, he said.

The intelligence agency also is focusing on countries where al Qaeda might find safe haven, like Somalia and Yemen, Panetta said.

(Reporting by Tabassum Zakaria

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN11512545

The 801

06-17-2009, 08:22 AM

This is an opinion piece. It is posted for your consideration only.

Osama bin Laden is a Dead Man

Almost exactly three years ago I predicted the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. And a month later he was dead. Sometimes you can see the handwriting on the wall. Zarqawi had gotten careless and had also turned the local population against him, which I figured would eventually catch up with him. And it did. Now, I see similar handwriting on the wall for Osama bin Laden.

Here are the clues that Osama's days are numbered:

1. In one of his latest tapes, he was asking for donations to his cause. This is not something that was part of the regular fare before. If they're desperate enough to attach that to a threat that was otherwise bragging about how they're going to rip us apart, then they might be running low on cash. It doesn't sound very menacing to beg for a handout. If they're running low on funds, then they could be in a world of trouble.

2. The Pakistani army is moving into South Waziristan as we speak. They've already cleared out the Swat valley. Bin Laden was so nervous about that, that he did a tape on the intricacies of Pakistani politics, railing against specific politicians and their strategic goals. Gee, I wonder why he knows so much about Pakistan and cares so much about the army's movement into these tribal areas. He hears footsteps.

3. The Taliban who have traditionally protected Al Qaeda leadership have alienated the local population in Pakistan by carrying out a series of terrorist attacks against respected tribal leaders and innocent civilians. When you lose the local population, you're living on borrowed time.

4. We have a smart president. In the seven years after 9/11, the Bush administration could not for the life of them get the Pakistani government to move against the Taliban or Al Qaeda, who had taken shelter in northern Pakistan. They got almost no results in rooting out those forces from the Swat and Waziristan areas. I don't know if it's because they didn't know what they were doing or it was because they didn't really care to try.

But now we have a president who actually cares to get the job done and apparently knows how to do it. I say that because of the facts on the ground. A Pakistani government that was considered weak and ineffectual in the five months since Obama's inauguration has somehow been able to muster up a massive campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the north. I don't know what the Obama administration did behind the scenes to get this done, but they did it. They got results.

So, now Al Qaeda is being squeezed from the north in Afghanistan and from the south in Pakistan. They might be running out of money and out of options. They have lost the good will of their hosts and might be in some serious trouble here. So, given these circumstances, I'm willing to go out on a limb again and say I think Osama bin Laden will be killed or captured within the year (killed is far more likely; he might even die of natural causes as he attempts to flee the area in deteriorating health). If the Pakistani army blazes through South Waziristan the way they did in Swat, it might be quicker than that.

One final prediction -- if this does come to fruition, the right-wing in America will fervently claim that Barack Obama had nothing to do with it and that any Republican president could have done the same, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

(That last prediction was of no value here, sorry -801)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/osama-bin-laden-is-a-dead_b_216608.html

Klaus

06-19-2009, 12:41 AM

Leon Panetta is the head of the CIA.
Anyone who thinks that somehow makes us safe from anything is a dumbass.
We are so fucked.

The 801

07-01-2009, 04:30 PM

June 30, 2009
Osama in America: The Final Answer

The question of whether Osama bin Laden has ever visited the United States, a subject on which I have expended an unhealthy amount of energy in the course of various journalistic and biographical research, has now seemingly been settled. Osama was here for two weeks in 1979, it seems, and he visited Indiana and Los Angeles, among other places. He had a favorable encounter with an American medical doctor; he also reportedly met in Los Angeles with his spiritual mentor of the time, the Palestinian radical Abdullah Azzam. All this is according to a forthcoming book by Osama’s first wife, Najwa Bin Laden, and his son Omar Bin Laden, to be published in the autumn by St. Martin’s Press.

First, some context for the book’s disclosures:

In the autumn of 2005, while conducting research in Saudi Arabia for the book that became “The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century,” I met a Saudi journalist named Khaled Batarfi, who had been a neighbor and friend of Osama Bin Laden in their teenage years. During one of our interviews, Batarfi offered an account of Osama’s early travels—to London, to Africa on Safari, and to the United States—that was suggestive of a young man who had more direct experience of the West than was generally understood. Batarfi’s account of Osama’s American trip was particularly striking. In December of that year, I wrote a story for this magazine about the private high school Osama had attended in Jedda, and how he was first introduced to the tenets of radical Islamic politics. In that story, I also reported Batarfi’s on-the-record but unconfirmed account of Osama’s visit to America; Batarfi believed the travel had occurred not long before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, in 1979. U.S. customs and immigration records from the relevant period had been routinely destroyed—and so the question of whether Osama had personal experience of America, and what that experience might have been, remained elusive. (Bin Laden has never referred to any trip to this country in his writings or statements.) While I found Batarfi to be credible, a single-source account, based on hearsay, could hardly be regarded as satisfactory.

Over the next several years, I came across several other fragments suggesting that Batarfi was essentially correct—these bits of evidence included a published account by one of Osama’s workplace supervisors in Saudi Arabia reporting that Osama had once traveled to the United States, and more recently, an interview with Yassin Kadi in the Times in which Kadi recalled meeting Osama during the nineteen seventies in Chicago.

After the original 2005 interviews with Batarfi, I reported that

only one aspect of the journey made a particularly strong impression on bin Laden: On the way home, Osama and his wife were sitting in an airport lounge, waiting for their connecting flight. In keeping with their strict religious observance, his wife was dressed in a black abaya, a draping gown, as well as the full head covering often referred to as hijab. Other passengers in the airport “were staring at them,” Batarfi said, “and taking pictures.” When bin Laden returned to Jedda, he told people that the experience was like “being in a show.” By Batarfi’s account, bin Laden was not particularly bitter about all the stares and the photographs; rather, “he was joking about it.”

Batarfi had it right, it now seems. Here is Najwa’s forthcoming account of their journey, according to a bound galley of “Growing Up Bin Laden” provided by St. Martin’s Press.

One evening he [Osama] arrived home with a surprise announcement: ’Najwa, We are going to travel to the United States. Our boys are going with us.’

I was shocked, to tell you the truth…Pregnant, and busy with two babies, I remember few details of our travel, other than we passed through London before flying to a place I had never heard of, a state in America called Indiana. Osama told me that he was meeting with a man by the name of Abdullah Azzam. Since my husband’s business was not my business, I did not ask questions.

I was worried about Abdul Rahman because he had become quite ill on the trip and was even suffering with a high fever. Osama arranged for us to see a doctor in Indianapolis. I relaxed after that kindly physician assured us that Abdul Rahman would soon be fine.

…I am sometimes questioned about my personal opinion of the country and its people. This is surprisingly difficult to answer. We were there for only two weeks, and for one of those weeks, Osama was away in Los Angeles to meet with some men in that city. The boys and I were left behind in Indiana with a girlfriend whom I would rather not name…

My girlfriend was gracious and guided me on short trips…We even went into a big shopping mall in Indianapolis…

I came to believe that Americans were gentle and nice, people easy to deal with. As far as the country itself goes, my husband and I did not hate America, yet we did not love it.

There was one incident that reminded me that some Americans are unaware of other cultures. When the time came for us to leave America, Osama and I, along with our two boys, waited for our departure at the airport in Indiana. I was sitting quietly in my chair, relaxing, grateful that our boys were quiet….

I saw an American man gawking at me. I knew without asking that his unwelcome attention had been snagged by my black Saudi costume…

I took a side glance at Osama and saw that he was intently studying the curious man. I knew that my husband would never allow the man to approach me…

When my husband and I discussed the incident, we were both more amused than offended. That man gave us a good laugh, as it was clear he had no knowledge of veiled women…

We returned to Saudi Arabia none the worse for our experiences.

Not a particularly consequential experience, perhaps, but surely one that has a life in Osama’s memory and imagination—and another indication, among many available in his life, that he should be understood not only as a self-isolating radical imbued with millenarian religious narratives, but also as a modern and globalized figure whose experiences and outlook belong very much to our age.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/stevecoll/2009/06/osama-in-america-the-final-answer.html

Casey

07-10-2009, 09:13 AM

Osama Bin Laden's son, Omar, says dad is evil in new memoir
BY James Gordon Meek
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Friday, July 10th 2009, 4:00 AM
Nasser/AP

Omar Osama bin Laden says father gassed his dogs in chemical warfare experiments.
OSAMA BIN LADEN'S son Omar first realized the depth of his father's evil when his beloved dogs were taken away and gassed in a chemical warfare experiment, he says in a new memoir.

Omar also confirms what U.S. officials have long believed - that his father was tipped off to a 1998 U.S. attempt to kill him.

He writes that Bin Laden got a secret communication and fled his Afghan camp two hours before cruise missiles struck it.

He does not identify the source of the tip, which the U.S. suspects was Pakistani intelligence.

Omar's book, "Growing Up Bin Laden," written with his mother, Najwa - the Al Qaeda leader's first wife - describes the ultimate dysfunctional family.

The Bin Ladens lived austerely as their father staked his horrific claim as the world's most wanted man. His son eventually concluded Bin Laden hated his enemies more than he loved his family.

Omar, 28, describes weeping as a teenager when told that Al Qaeda needed his pets to conduct chemical warfare tests.

"After I learned the truth about the puppies, I turned even further away from my father," whose jihad led only to death, Omar writes in the book set for release by St. Martin's Press later this year.

It has been widely reported that Bin Laden's goons tested nerve agents at the Derunta camp in Afghanistan. In 2002, CNN obtained and showed video of dogs - fully grown - being gassed by visible toxic fumes.

Bin Laden's fourth son admits he knew in advance of plots against targets like the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, where 224 perished.

He called the 9/11 attacks "horrific." They occurred after he was told by his best friend - Al Qaeda operative Abu al-Haadi - that a "new mission" would be much bigger than the embassy bombings. Omar mourned al-Haadi's death in the resulting U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/07/10/2009-07-10_osama_bin_ladens_son_omar_says_dad_is_evil_in_n ew_memoir.html#ixzz0KrUctSA4&D

The 801

07-22-2009, 09:06 PM

For those of you who still read this...
And for those who have been on this site for years, all I can say is
WOW

Bin Laden Son Reported Killed In Pakistan

by Mary Louise Kelly

NPR.org, July 22, 2009 · U.S. officials believe Saad bin Laden — a son of Osama bin Laden — has been killed by an American missile in Pakistan.

Saad bin Laden reportedly spent years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to Pakistan, according to former National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell.

It's believed he was killed by Hellfire missiles fired from a U.S. Predator drone sometime this year.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official tells NPR that without a body to conduct DNA tests on, it's hard to be completely sure. But he characterized U.S. spy agencies as being "80 to 85 percent" certain that Saad bin Laden is dead.

The U.S. counterterrorism official says Saad bin Laden wasn't important enough to target personally — that he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He was active in al-Qaida, but was not a major player, the official said. He was believed to be in his late 20s.

"We make a big deal out of him because of his last name," the official added.

It's not known whether Saad bin Laden was anywhere near his father when he died.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106903109

I for one am going to go have a beer. - 801

Casey

07-22-2009, 11:47 PM

Wow, indeed.

For those of you who still read this...
And for those who have been on this site for years, all I can say is
WOW

Bin Laden Son Reported Killed In Pakistan

by Mary Louise Kelly

NPR.org, July 22, 2009 · U.S. officials believe Saad bin Laden — a son of Osama bin Laden — has been killed by an American missile in Pakistan.

Saad bin Laden reportedly spent years under house arrest in Iran before traveling last year to Pakistan, according to former National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell.

It's believed he was killed by Hellfire missiles fired from a U.S. Predator drone sometime this year.

A senior U.S. counterterrorism official tells NPR that without a body to conduct DNA tests on, it's hard to be completely sure. But he characterized U.S. spy agencies as being "80 to 85 percent" certain that Saad bin Laden is dead.

The U.S. counterterrorism official says Saad bin Laden wasn't important enough to target personally — that he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time."

He was active in al-Qaida, but was not a major player, the official said. He was believed to be in his late 20s.

"We make a big deal out of him because of his last name," the official added.

It's not known whether Saad bin Laden was anywhere near his father when he died.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106903109

I for one am going to go have a beer. - 801

Casey

09-13-2009, 08:50 AM

Brother of Bin Laden dies in Saudi Arabia
(AP)

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The family of Osama bin Laden has announced the death of one of the terror mastermind's brothers.

In a full-page notice on Sunday in Al-Riyadh newspaper, the family said Thabet bin Laden passed away and the funeral is scheduled that afternoon in the holy city of Mecca.

The notice said he died Saturday but did not give the cause of death or his age.

Thabet bin Laden was one of 54 children born to Mohammed bin Laden, a poor Yemeni immigrant who started the family contracting business in the 1930s that grew into a multimillion dollar construction empire.

The bin Laden family disavowed any links with Osama bin Laden in 1994, when Saudi Arabia stripped him of his citizenship after he called for the overthrow of the royal family.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hu7kxiFWMpkYpPKOPi9Df_JldlbwD9AMDR3G0

The 801

10-13-2009, 07:20 AM

Living with Osama bin Laden: First wife tells of husband's bid to train his sons as suicide bombers

By Niall Firth

Osama bin Laden was a tyrant who trained his own children to be suicide bombers and murdered their pets, his first wife has revealed.

In a new book about her time living with bin Laden, Najwa Ghanem has told how she gave birth to 11 of his 14 children because bin Laden said that Islam needed many warriors.

And millionaire bin Laden would not allow any modern appliances in his home, even refusing his son medicine to treat his chronic asthma, she reveals.

The shocking stories of life with the world’s most wanted man have been co-written between Najwa and her fourth son, Omar in their memoirs 'Growing up bin Laden' which is released next month.

On one occasion Najwa remembers how, in the 1990s, bin Laden took his family of four wives and 14 children on a camping trip to the desert of Sudan.

After finding an isolated spot, bin Laden ordered his sons to dig a ditches in the sand and all of the children, even one and two-year-olds, were forced to climb in.

The ordeal was supposed to be training for a future war between the West and Muslims.

‘You must be gallant,’ he warned his frightened children. ‘Do not think about foxes or snakes. Challenging trials are coming to us.’

When the children complained that they were cold bin Laden simply told them to cover themselves with dirt and said that they would be ‘warm under what nature provides.’

Najwa refused to protest at his treatment of her children.

'I reminded myself that my husband knew much more about the big world than any of us. We were all pearls to my husband, and he wanted to protect us,' she said.

Omar applied to enter Britain last year but was refused entry amid speculation that he still remained loyal to his father.
laden

He has previously admitted he went through terror training with the Al Qaeda leader in Afghanistan, but left after he rejected his father's beliefs.

He had planned to settle in the Cheshire village of Moulton with wife Jane Felix-Browne, but his visa application was rejected.

Najwa is bin Laden’s first cousin and they were married when she was 15 and he was 17.

When she first met Osama bin Laden she saw him as a 'serious, conscientious boy.'

She writes: 'He was proud, but not arrogant. He was delicate, but not weak.

'He was grave, but not severe.'

Dancing, joking and laughing were all forbidden at the wedding between her and bin Laden.

For more than 30 years she lived in purdah, where she was only allowed to meet other members of her family.

In the bin Laden household all air conditioning, televisions and phones were banned.

Toys given to the children were destroyed.

Even the children’s pets were not safe from bin Laden’s particular brand of total religious fanaticism.

He ordered a much-loved pet monkey to be run over because it ‘was not a monkey at all, but was a Jewish person turned into a monkey by the hand of God.’

And a litter of puppies the boys adopted was gassed by al Qaeda fighters to see how long it would take them to die.
Osama bin Laden with his son Mohammed

Strict: A Al-Jazeera broadcast in 2001 said to show Mohammed bin Laden, centre, at his wedding sat alongside his father Osama in Kandahar

Bin Laden did not hesitate in training his sons to be suicide bombers as they grew older.

‘Listen, my sons, there is a paper on the wall of the mosque. This paper is for men who are good Muslims, men who volunteer to be suicide bombers,’ Omar recalls his father telling him repeatedly.

One of Osama's youngest sons ran to the mosque to sign up; his father did nothing to stop him.

When Omar reacted angrily to his father’s plans, bin Laden told him with cold detachment: ‘You hold no more a place in my heart than any other man or boy in the entire country.’

Omar once asked his father: 'My father, when is this killing and war going to stop?'

Bin Laden responded: 'Would you ask a Muslim when he was going to stop praying to God? I will fight until my dying day!

'I will fight until I breathe my last breath! I will never stop my fight for justice! I will never stop this jihad!'

While she remains married to him Najwa says she has not spoken to Osama since the 9/11 attacks and does not know where he is.

She now lives in a secret location in the Middle East with her son Omar.

Bin Laden took three more wives - one picked by Najwa herself.

She admits that 'few women dance with joy when they contemplate sharing their husband with other women'.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1219865/Living-Osama-bin-Laden-First-wife-tells-ultra-conservative-household-husbands-bid-train-sons-suicide-bombers.html

Umm, anyone interested in a healthy dose of Mental Illness?

The 801

11-23-2009, 09:04 PM

Osama Bin Laden alive and well in Pakistan with new wife
November 23, 9:49 At

According to a former member of the Pakistani Intelligence Service, Osama Bin Laden is in Pakistan, where he has been since the Tora Bora showdown.

The source said that Bin Laden has been an asset to the Pakistani government and has enabled Pakistan to get financial and military aid from the United States.

Elements in the Pakistani government have supported Taliban groups which are hosting Bin Laden in Pakistan.

For many years the Pakistani Intelligence Service has received hundreds of tips concerning Bin Laden's whereabouts and failed to take action to capture him. It's true that most of the time the information has been planted to confuse U.S. and Pakistani intelligence services.

But high ranking members of the Pakistani Intelligence Service have had clear information about where he was. The latest information is that Bin Laden is well protected and has a new wife from the Pakistani family that hosts and protects him.

Military officials and terror experts believe he is still alive and the figurehead for a global holy war.

Many experts think he is hiding in the tribal areas of Pakistan which border Afghanistan. The remote region of snow-capped mountains and plunging valleys is the perfect bolthole for the world's most wanted man. The wild territory in the North-West Frontier Province is ruled by fierce Pashtun tribesmen.

http://www.examiner.com/x-20010-NY-Economy-and-Politics-Examiner~y2009m11d23-Osama-Bin-Laden-alive-and-well-in-Pakistan-with-new-wife

Big Fuckin surprise all around.
This has been as plain as the nose on your face for how long now. Cheez. 801

The 801

12-12-2009, 08:11 AM

Details sketchy on bin Laden's whereabouts
Elusive al-Qaida leader remains a top target for the U.S.

Dec. 8: Gen. Stanley McChrystal says capturing Osama bin Laden is the key to defeating a-Qaida.

By Robert Windrem
Senior investigative producer
NBC News
updated 8:16 a.m. ET, Wed., Dec . 9, 2009

“We don't know for a fact where Osama bin Laden is. If we did, we'd go and get him." – Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Dec. 6.

Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaida, has evaded capture by the United States for more than a decade. And although his public utterances are few, his capture or death remains a top U.S. priority.

On Tuesday, General Stanley McChrystal acknowledged as much. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that while he doesn’t think it would help defeat al-Qaida if bin Laden were captured or killed, he doesn’t believe the United States can defeat the terrorist organization until he is captured or killed.

Over the past few years, there have been reports of sightings in locations in Pakistan as widespread as Chitral in the north to South Waziristan, a swath of territory equivalent in size to New England and Mid-Atlantic states.

Here’s what we know, based on information from U.S. intelligence sources.

* Bin Laden is believed to stay in one location for months, moving only when security requires. He is believed to stay not in caves but in the large-walled compounds typical of the region, the guest of friendly natives. Typical of an event that would cause him to move: the capture or killing of a high-ranking al-Qaida figure, like the organization’s director of international operations. There were reports in mid-2005 that the capture of Abu Faraj al-Libi in May 2005 caused him to move from a location where he had long stayed.
* Bin Laden is suspected of receiving some financial support from members of his large Saudi family. He has 53 siblings.
* It is known that other al-Qaida leaders have chosen locations near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In early 2005, for example, the CIA believed it had found the “winter headquarters” of al-Qaida in Pakistan’s Bajaur province. The location, again a walled compound, was eight kilometers from the border with access across the border via six mountain passes. Al-Qaida operatives were accompanied by their families. However, bin Laden was NOT at the headquarters, nor was Ayman al-Zawahiri, his No. 2. Surveillance of the camp led to the capture a few months later of Abu Faraj al Libni, the Libyan who is suspected of being al-Qaida’s operations chief.

* Bin Laden is not accompanied by a large security contingent but instead by a small group of loyalists. In addition to Arabs, the security contingent consists of Chechens and Uzbeks who would fight to the death and who reportedly have orders to kill the al-Qaida leader if the situation appears dire. There have also been reports that his security contingent has intermarried with local tribes to ensure a tighter familial bond.

* When traveling, bin Laden reportedly uses the lowest profile transportation: mopeds or even donkeys. The size of the traveling party varies. Sometimes, the group is large, other times, small, again to keep security forces guessing.

* Bin Laden and al-Zawahiri haven’t traveled together since mid-2003 because of security concerns. They communicate via courier networks. Each high-ranking al-Qaida official has his own separate network. Thus if one is taken down, the others do not have to fear their own network has been compromised. The United States has not targeted al-Zawahiri in a Predator attack since February 2006, when they missed him by about a half hour.

* The last bin Laden video surfaced in September 2007, and that was the first since October 2004. In both, bin Laden appeared to be wearing the same clothing and set against the same background. Some experts believe the two were actually taped back in 2004 in separate tapings. One proponent of a single taping noted that those sections of the message that could be dated to 2007 were delivered over a still, not moving video.

* There are many myths surrounding bin Laden’s health. He has not, contrary to popular belief, ever undergone kidney dialysis, but instead was treated for kidney stones back in 1998. It is unknown whether he still suffers from that condition. He does suffer from an enlarged heart and chronically low blood pressure, which is treated through medicine. He is also missing two toes from a war wound in Afghanistan. He was, according to credible reports, wounded at Tora Bora in December 2001.

* There is some speculation among the diplomatic community in Islamabad that Bin Laden may no longer be in the border areas. One likely location, according to Western diplomats, would be Yemen. U.S. officials, however, say they have no evidence that he has left the border area and believe he is still there.

* Bin Laden no longer has operational control of al-Qaida, but instead has delegated much of his authority to Zawahiri and whoever is the director of international operations. His role now is largely symbolic, with his video and audio messages now more commentary than calls to action.

* Should he be killed, the United States is prepared to get samples of his DNA. Saudi Arabia has long held matching samples at the Ministry of Interior’s forensic lab in Riyadh to help with verification.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34342417/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

Go for the family first.

The 801

12-14-2009, 08:44 PM

Here, for the two of us who still read this thread, is an example of the clap trap that substitutes for news in Pakistan. The only good thing about the printing of this crap is that the illiteracy rate in Pakistan is about 50%, so only half the population can be directly influenced by this.

Whereabouts of Osama detected

Sajjad Shaukat

So far Osama bin Laden has continuously been used by the US and some western countries as a scapegoat to malign Pakistan which is their target for ‘de-nuclearisation.’ Sometimes, bogey of Bin Laden is raised by their rulers to achieve their goals of external policy, and sometimes to pacify their public including the opposition. In this regard, in its latest report, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee admitted that in December 2001 Osama bin Laden was within the reach of US troops in Tora Bora when American military leaders did not pursue him, and opened the door for his escape to Pakistan. In fact, the main aim of the report, after eight years was to get favour for President Obama’s decision who has recently announced an increase of additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan in wake of severe domestic pressure.

As regards Osama, on November 13, 2009 a Reuters report quoting Labeviere’s book “Corridors of Terror” points to negotiations between Osama bin Laden and the CIA, which took place two months prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks-at the American Hospital in Dubai, UAE, while Bin Laden was under a kidney dialysis treatment. The Christian Science Monitor in its February 06, 2002 edition, while describing the battle at Tora Bora, concluded that Bin Laden escaped to Iran. It had coincided with the US concerns that Iran is harboring Al Qaeda refugees. Most of the political experts agree that the US had deliberately provided Osama a chance to flee.

Bin Laden’s last genuine video appeared in the late 2001 when the CNN in February1, 2009 indicated that he was aged 97-he got diabetes and kidney problems. On December 26, 20001, Egyptian newspaper, Al-Wafd disclosed that a prominent official of the Afghan Taliban movement announced that Osama bin Laden died a natural death. He was buried in Tora Bora. Meanwhile, while making Osama as a scapegoat, a number of fake video messages were telecast on various TV channels and websites by some elements in order to achieve their political aims. For example, during the November 2004 elections in the United States, a fake video tape helped the ex-president Bush to get lead over John Kerry.

It is well-known that in a tape released on December 27, 2001, the authenticity of which is not in question, Osama denied any involvement in the September 11 tragedy. However, later, two video tapes appeared to validate his guilt in relation to 9/11 because the main aims of the Bush administration were to provoke American public against the Muslims and Arabs to justify the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in order to possess energy resources of Central Asia and Iraq—and to get their support for a propaganda campaign against a ‘nuclearised’ Pakistan, and a prospective atomic power, Iran. Besides other actions of Bush era such as persecution of Muslims through torture, detentions and arrests, CIA and FBI-operated facilities, radicalising the Americans against Muslims protected the real architects of the 911 attacks, while still there is no evidence that Al Qaeda was behind that catastrophe, though this organisation is responsible for a number of terror-attacks.

To what extent Osama could be used to gain political purposes can be judged from the statement of British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown who revealed on November 29, 2009, “We believe, he is in Pakistan.” As a matter of fact, in line of Obama’s new Afghan strategy, Brown wanted to justify 500 additional troops for Afghanistan in face of demestic pressure. Meanwhile, the US National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones has also expressed similar view. In the past, some foreign sources had pointed out that Osama bin Laden is in Chitral area of Pakistan. Recently, American and British high officials have been blaming that Osama and top leadership of Al Qaeda have taken shelter in Pakistan’s tribal areas and Balochistan.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit while refuting these allegations, remarked that the US and UK should share evidence with Islamabad regarding bin Laden’s presence in Pakistan, but they did not provide any proof in this respect. Now, again Osama has become a scapegoat of the foreign elements to implicate Islamabad. But Bin Laden cannot take shelter in Pakistan where CIA-operated drone strikes have killed many top commanders of the Taliban, especially Naik Muhammad and Baitullah Mehsood. Moreover, since 9/11, Pakistan’s security agencies also captured many masterminds of Al-Qaeda, namely Khalid Sheikh, Abu Faraj and a computer engineer Naeem Noor Khan including other militants. Owing to these ground realities, Taliban leaders had already fled to Afghanistan where they have control over more than 70 percent of the territory. Especially, during the successful Swat-Malakand military operations, the Taliban commander, Maulana Fazalullah escaped to Afghanistan who was recently seen in a video-tape, telecasted by some TV channels. Since the recent military action started in South Waziristan, remaining leaders of the insurgents have also gone to Afghanistan. In this respect, question arises as to how Osama could be hiding in Pakistan, while Al Qaeda or Taliban commanders prefer to live in Afghanistan where they are more safe, and where they have been fighting against the US-led NATO forces, and where level of militancy has increased in 2009 as admitted by western high officials and military commanders. On July 12, 2009, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Rehman Malik clarified that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and its other top operatives were hiding in Afghanistan, probably in Kunar area. Even if Osama is alive, and is in Afghanistan, he cannot hide himself from Indian secret agency, RAW which has expanded its clandestine networks everywhere in connivance with the Indian army and additional consulates which are also working covertly. India has spent millions of dollars in Afghanistan to strengthen its grip. New Delhi which wants to get strategic depth against Pakistan, and has also been acting upon anti-China policy—is determined to keep its security agencies there permanently under the cover of the US-led allied forces.

Under the pretext of Talibinisation of Afghanistan and Pakistan, India has already been fulfilling its secret stragic goals by supporting insurgency in Pakistan’s Frontier Province and Balochistan. RAW has been sending militants along with arms to Pakistan so as to attack the security personnel including western nationals. During the Swat-Malakand and South Waziristan operations, ISPR spokesman, Maj-General Athar Abbas has shown to the media, huge cache of arms and ammuniton, entering Pakistan from Afghanistan. Recently, Pakistan’s prime minister and foreign minister have disclosed that India is backing the militancy in our country.

In this connection, India is determined to obtain its inter-related aims to dominate other regional countries. Particularly, it considers Pakistan an obstacle in its way. So New Delhi might have decided to use Bin Laden a scapegoat to fulfill its all designs. If Osama is alive, he could definitely be under the custody of Indian RAW because New Delhi knows that western countries can never suspect it regarding his whereabouts.

http://pakobserver.net/200912/15/Articles02.asp

Yikes. You gotta read the rest of the stuff written by this guy. google him fpr a good old fashion head scratching.

Casey

12-15-2009, 09:14 AM

Another interesting article.

Tribal areas: still a long way to go

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

By Rahimullah Yusufzai

There was an element of disbelief everywhere when Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said on December 12 that the military offensive in South Waziristan was almost over and now the government was considering a similar operation in Orakzai Agency. His statement was given importance in Western capitals and media and soon analysts were contacted to explain its implications. Many found it unbelievable that the action was going to shift soon from the Waziristan battlefield where the 'mother of all battles' was supposed to take place.

It later dawned on Prime Minister Gilani that his statement had caused confusion and needed to be clarified. He had gone beyond his brief and said something that was premature and gave wrong description of the situation in both South Waziristan and Orakzai tribal regions. The statement was promptly retracted and a new one issued in which he said the military operation in South Waziristan was continuing successfully but no timeline could be given about its conclusion. He added that military action in Orakzai and other tribal areas where militants had fled from South Waziristan would be undertaken if there was a need.

The incident showed the inability of our ruling politicians to grasp the importance the world, in particular the west, is attaching to the situation in our tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and the keenness with which Pakistan armed forces' operations in South Waziristan and elsewhere are being followed. Apparently Mr Gilani wanted to portray the advance of the security forces in South Waziristan as a success of his government's policy to tackle militancy. The urge to convey this message prompted the prime minister to make the statement while talking to journalists in Lahore. By the way, the temptation to talk to waiting reporters after an event and pass casual remarks about serious issues sometimes lands rulers and celebrities in trouble. And like Mr Gilani, they are subsequently found complaining about being quoted out of context.

The prime minister has been reminded that the military action in South Waziristan is by no means over. The Pakistan Army is saying that the first phase is over, but then there are supposed to be three phases of this operation. The military would need to keep most of its troops in South Waziristan until the threat from the militants is adequately overcome, the displaced people are repatriated to their villages and the civil administration is revived. This is a classic counter-insurgency mission requiring a long time to accomplish. Offering a timeline for achieving such difficult goals is risky. If the Swat and Malakand mission is any guide where the post-conflict stage hasn't been fully reached and the revival of the civil administration has been slow, the task in the harsh and hostile terrain of South Waziristan would be even more challenging.

Before Mr Gilani, President Asif Ali Zardari also spoke before time when he announced last summer that military action in South Waziristan was on the cards. His statement triggered an exodus from parts of South Waziristan as tribal people started abandoning their homes to shift to Tank, Dera Ismail Khan and other places before the army offensive. Prior to the president, the NWFP governor Owais Ahmad Ghani declared in June that military operation against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) head Baitullah Mehsud had been ordered after his men kidnapped students of Cadet College Razmak. There was no offensive in South Waziristan for months as the military was busy fighting in Swat and rest of Malakand region and it didn't want to open a new and more dangerous front. Baitullah Mehsud was meanwhile killed in a US drone attack on August 5. Despite President Zardari's announcement and Governor Owais Ghani's orders, the ground offensive by the army in South Waziristan didn't begin until October 16. It was obvious that the military took the decision about timing of the offensive and it would decide when to conclude.

Prime Minister Gilani also appears to be poorly informed about the situation in Orakzai, the only tribal agency that doesn't have a border with Afghanistan. He is unaware that a limited military action in already underway in Orakzai and it involves air raids by jet-fighters and gunship helicopters against suspected militants' hideouts and the use of ground forces in the Ferozkhel area on the boundary of Khyber and Orakzai agencies. Bombardment of the TTP positions in Orakzai Agency had taken place even before the military action in South Waziristan and on at least one occasion a US drone fired missiles at a target in the area after flying unchallenged deep into Pakistani territory far away from the Pak-Afghan border.

The prime minister also needs to know that the military has started action against the militants in the Kurram Agency, which adjoins Orakzai Agency and also Afghanistan's Paktia, Khost and Nangarhar provinces. Tora Bora, where the US last heard of Osama bin Laden in December 2001 and bombed every cave, mountain pass and forest there in a failed bid to kill him and his Al Qaeda colleagues, is located in Nangarhar province in the foothills of the Spinghar, the majestic snow-covered mountain range that also overlooks the Kurram valley. Most of the Al Qaeda fighters and Afghan Taliban had walked over from Tora Bora to Kurram Agency and then vanished while the US aircraft kept bombing the place for days on end.

The military action now underway in central and lower parts of Kurram Agency is directed both against the already entrenched Taliban militants and those seeking refuge there after escaping from South Waziristan. A ground offensive has also been launched to hunt down the militants and reopen and secure the Thall-Sadda-Parachinar road that has remain closed to traffic for more than two years and has added to the sufferings of the people, mostly Shias, inhabiting upper Kurram valley. In case of Kurram and Orakzai agencies, there is this widespread belief that the military action is being undertaken against the militants who fled the army operation in South Waziristan. This is partly true because the militants since the last few years were well-entrenched in Kurram and Orakzai and were using the two centrally and strategically sited tribal agencies to serve as their nerve-centre, supply route and regional command headquarters. The TTP head Hakimullah Mehsud was for quite sometime based in Orakzai as the commander of three tribal agencies – Khyber, Orakzai and Kurram, before he was chosen to replace his slain leader Baitullah Mehsud.

It is wrong to say that all militants or their top commanders Hakimullah Mehsud, Waliur Rahman and Qari Hussain who fled South Waziristan are now hiding in Orakzai and Kurram agencies. Other places where the TTP fighters could find refuge are the neighbouring North Waziristan, parts of Wana area and even the districts adjoining the tribal areas and in major cities. Many could still be in the remote valleys, villages and forests in the Mehsud tribal territory in South Waziristan where the security forces haven't reached. As the military outposts in the captured territory are now being attacked with rockets and light arms, it is evidence that some militants are present in the area and able to launch guerilla attacks.

Hakimullah Mehsud has threatened to strike back in January when the mountainous South Waziristan starts receiving heavy snowfall and his fighters have regrouped. The snowfall in parts of South Waziristan began on December 9, but it seems the TTP leader and his men aren't ready yet to stage bigger and more frequent attacks. It will not be easy for him to come back into battle after having lost his strongholds and left behind arms and ammunition.

His TTP will never give up and will retaliate with bombings in urban centres but it is clear that its strength has been significantly degraded after having lost their strongholds in Swat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber and South Waziristan. Public opinion has turned against the TTP and the people living in areas controlled by the militants are waiting for the government to offer them protection, compensation and basic needs of life. Carrying out military action in every tribal area and bombing all those places where the militants once had their hideouts shouldn't be the standard government policy. Each place has its own dynamics and much of the 'collateral damage' including civilian casualties, destruction of properties and large-scale displacement of the population could be avoided by improving intelligence, undertaking political work and isolating the militants.

The writer is resident editor of The News in Peshawar. Email: rahim yusufzai@yahoo.com

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=213312

Chuckles

12-16-2009, 04:11 PM

"Hakimullah Mehsud has threatened to strike back in January when the mountainous South Waziristan starts receiving heavy snowfall and his fighters have regrouped."

Meanwhile he drives around in his hummer (http://www.archive.org/details/ghazali_625).

The 801

12-16-2009, 06:49 PM

Glad to hear about that Hummer. Predators eat Hummers for breakfast. - 801

The 801

12-22-2009, 09:10 AM

Iran 'holding bin Laden relatives'
The bin Laden relatives said to be held by Iran are from the al-Qaeda leader's first marriage

Iranian authorities are holding several family members of Osama bin Laden, according to Abdul Rahman bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader's second son.

In an interview published on Al Jazeera Arabic's website on Monday, Abdul Rahman bin Laden said that Eman, his sister, one of his stepmothers and five of his brothers have been detained in Tehran since 1997.

He alleged that his sister had managed to escape several weeks ago while on a shopping tour permitted by authorities every six months.

She has since taken refuge in the Saudi Arabian embassy.

Abdul Rahman bin Laden said that he had been unaware whether his relatives were alive until Eman contacted him a month ago. He then told her to go to the Saudi embassy.

'Other people's disputes'

He told Al Jazeera that he was concerned for his sister's health and he called on Tehran to release his relatives.

He also called for the Saudi government to ensure his sister's departure from the country.

Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist for the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Alawsat, told Al Jazeera that the discovery Iran was holding members of bin Laden's family was consistent with reports "that Iran has been able to infiltrate al-Qaeda operations".

"They have been hosting key figures in the leadership structure of al-Qaeda for some time and they have been co-operating visibly with them in Iraq, Yemen and Somalia amongst other places," he said.

But Abdul Rahman bin Laden cited poor relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran for the reason no agreement had been reached over freeing his relatives.

"My siblings are innocent and have nothing to do with other people's disputes with our father," he said.

Abdul Rahman bin Laden and his siblings are the children of the al-Qaeda leader's first wife.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/200912211090437357.html

al-Canine

01-24-2010, 07:09 AM

He's baaaaack.... for another 15 minutes of fame.....

UPDATED ON: SUNDAY, JANUARY 24, 2010
14:29 MECCA TIME, 11:29 GMT

Bin Laden claims plane bombing bid

Osama Bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the failed attack on a US airliner on December 25 in a new audio tape.

In the tape obtained by Al Jazeera, the world's most wanted man warns Barack Obama, the US president, that there will be more attacks unless he finds a solution to the Palestinian crisis.

The audio tape is believed to have been recorded last month.

"The message I want to convey to you through the plane of the hero Omar Farouk [Abdulmutallab], reaffirms a previous message that the heroes of 9/11 conveyed to you.

"America will never dream of living in peace unless we live it in Palestine. It is unfair that you enjoy a safe life while our brothers in Gaza suffer greatly.

"Therefore, with God's will, our attacks on you will continue as long as you continue to support Israel," bin Laden said.

Al-Qaeda's leader concluded: "If it was possible to carry our messages to you by words we wouldn't have carried them to you by planes."

Attempted attack

Abdulmutallab, who is now in US police custody, allegedly attempted to ignite explosives sewn into his underwear as Northwest Airlines Flight 253 made its final descent to Detroit on Christmas Day.

He had boarded the flight in Amsterdam, but purchased his tickets in Ghana on December 16.

Passengers on the flight were able to overpower the would-be bomber as he attempted to ignite the explosive's fuse.

After being taken into custody, Abdulmuttalab told police he had been directed by al-Qaeda and had obtained his explosive device in Yemen.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the organisation's affiliate in Yemen, has also claimed responsibility for the attack, describing it as a revenge for the US role in a Yemeni military offensive against al-Qaeda.

Obama has criticised his own intelligence agencies for failing to piece together information about the suspect which should have stopped him boarding the flight.

Palestinian cause

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Imtiaz Gul, the chairman of the Centre for Research and Security Studies in Islamabad, said that the al-Qaeda leader in his new message was possibly emphasising his commitment to the cause of the Palestinians.

"Probably this was to remind the Palestinians of al-Qaeda's commitment to the cause and perhaps coinciding it with the first year of Obama's presidential office," he said.

"One thing is very clear, Osama still has followers spread all over the world and such messages do reinvigorate the spirit in these people about their mission.

"These kind of public relations exercise do help on the one hand in propagating the organisation's ideology and on the other hand in stemming a new confidence, new vigour into the ranks of the followers.

"I think the validity of this tape should be subjected to scrutiny because we haven't heard from Mr Bin Laden for quite some time."

Phil Rees, the author of Dining with Terrorists, told Al Jazeera: "Bin Laden has a great sense of timing; it's a complete poke in the eye to President Obama at a time when Obama is domestically suffering.

"The reference to Palestine is possibly the most interesting part of this because he almost now becomes the al-Qaeda leader that speaks about Palestine.

"What you've now got in Gaza is bin Laden looking at the situation where there's a peace process which is going nowhere, and in an ironic way, Hamas is at the frontline of the battle with al-Qaeda there."

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/01/2010124971892982.html

freeman

01-24-2010, 09:24 AM

(........................................../) BS METER

"total"

The fucker is dead..It's laughable that the guy that was a CIA asset that supposedly caused the stand down of Norad and the attacks on the WTC can only muster a panty firecracker attack.

And the sheeples run in fear of a dead nemesis..damn people ae stupid

The 801

03-12-2010, 03:45 PM

Attorney: Belgian terror suspect says spouse met bin Laden in 2008
By Nic Robertson and Paul Cruickshank, CNN
March 12, 2010 2:39 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- A Belgian woman on trial in Belgium for involvement in terrorism says her husband -- himself wanted on terror charges -- met al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the summer of 2008.

Christophe Marchand, a defense attorney at the trial, told CNN that Malika el Aroud made the claim during testimony Thursday. Marchand said el Aroud was questioned about an e-mail exchange in summer 2008 she had with an alleged jihadist now in French custody.

In that exchange, el Aroud said that her husband, Moez Garsallaoui, had sent her an e-mail in which he said he met with "the chief" in a mountainous region.

The judge at her trial asked whether she meant bin Laden -- to which el Aroud replied, "Yes." Marchand said el Aroud gave no other details about the reported meeting, and the e-mail was not produced in court.

Belgian intelligence sources said Garsallaoui, a Tunisian citizen, is believed to be at large somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Garsallaoui is alleged to have acted in tandem with his wife to recruit six individuals from Belgium and France to make the journey to al Qaeda's camps in Pakistan's Waziristan. Several of them are now on trial with Malika el Aroud.

There have been no confirmed sightings of bin Laden since he escaped from Tora Bora in Afghanistan in December 2001. While the working assumption of Western intelligence agencies is that he is somewhere in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, it is thought few al Qaeda members know his location.

One alleged member of the Belgian-French group that traveled to the region, Walid Othmani, reportedly told French interrogators that no recruits were allowed to meet al Qaeda's leader because of security concerns.

In June 2008, around the time el Aroud said he met bin Laden, Garsallaoui wrote to his wife, claiming to have killed several Americans in Afghanistan, according to Belgian legal documents. U.S. counterintelligence intercepted that e-mail.

El Aroud's first husband was Abdessattar Dahmane, also a Tunisian citizen. Two days before the September 11, 2001, attacks, he assassinated Ahmad Shah Massoud, the head of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance, in a suicide bombing that bin Laden ordered.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/12/belgium.osama.visit/

The old man is full of soup.

Casey

03-12-2010, 04:11 PM

OBL has a letter for us...

http://worldanalysis.net/uploads/45aba633-608a-2ba8.gif

Chaos

03-12-2010, 06:15 PM

"Khalid b. Usama b. Ladin" ??

One of his sons perhaps?

Windy

03-12-2010, 06:53 PM

OBL has a letter for us...

http://worldanalysis.net/uploads/45aba633-608a-2ba8.gif

Oh look...the mail is here...the mail is here.

I think the US/Pakistan is getting close... I am actually curious to see what he has to say at this point.

Casey

03-12-2010, 06:55 PM

"Khalid b. Usama b. Ladin" ??

One of his sons perhaps?

You are correct, Osama does have a son named Khalid.

The thread announcing this letter appears to be mentioning a "little lion" and "lion cub" which would agree with a son.

This lion cub from that
حفظ الله الشيخ ونجله

God Save the Sheikh and his son

Casey

03-12-2010, 06:57 PM

more,

Allah Akbar and Glory to God, God Bcrkm Ginans

جزى الله الاخوة القائمين على الجبهة خير الجزاء

May God reward the brothers who front the best of rewards

اللهم أحفظ الأمير أسامه بن لادن ومن معه من الاهل والانصار والمجاهدين

God save the Prince Osama bin Laden and his family, supporters and the Mujahideen

اللهم أحفظ الشيخ خالد بن أسامة بن لادن

God Save the Sheikh Khalid bin Osama bin Laden

اللهمّ أحفظ إخواننا المؤمنين من كيد أعداء الدين

God save our faithful from the shackles of the enemies of religion

اللهم أحفظ المسلمين أينما كانوا وكنّا

God save the Muslims wherever they are and we

The 801

03-12-2010, 11:39 PM

His Heir apparent?

Casey

03-12-2010, 11:48 PM

His Heir apparent?
The thought crossed my mind.

Or, there appears to be some leadership vacancies in the Maghreb areas, possibly an announcement that he is taking over one of those..??

Casey

03-14-2010, 10:40 PM

Khalid bin Laden's letter is out.

GIMF presents Now A Very Important Letter From Sheikh Khalid b. Usama b. Ladin Regarding the Imprisonment of Some Members of the Family in Iran

http://www.wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1571192#post1571192

Casey

03-19-2010, 05:50 PM

Iman Bin Laden Arrives in Damascus

19/03/2010

By Mohamed al Shafey

London, Asharq Al-Awsat - Iman Bin Laden, daughter of Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus on Thursday morning after leaving Tehran on a commercial flight accompanied by her mother, Najwa Ghanem, Osama Bin Laden’s first wife.

Asharq Al-Awsat exclusively revealed on December 23, 2009 that Iman Bin Laden had sought refuge in the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran and spent over three and a half months there.

Omar Bin Laden, 19, Osama Bin Laden’s fourth son, who first revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that six of his siblings, his father’s wife Umm Hamza, and eleven of Bin Laden’s grandchildren had been present in the Iranian capital since the end of 2001, said that he did not know how to repay Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal al Saud [for his kindness] who exerted great efforts to ensure Iman Bin Laden’s departure from Tehran. In reference to Prince Saud al Faisal, Omar Bin Laden said, “He has the worth of a thousand princes.”

“I spoke to Prince Saud al Faisal a number of times about my sister Iman, and he would always answer me straight away and would reassure and support me. He would say to me she was confined and God willing she will be released. I felt the compassion of a father or big brother and he would take away our concerns with his calm words, like healing balm, and he would tell us to be patient, affirming that relief would come from God soon and His mercy reaches everywhere and that God willing after difficulty comes ease, and Iman will return to her mother very soon,” said Omar Bin Laden.

Omar added, “Prince Saud al Faisal would answer our queries in a fine way and with kind, sublime words. He has the worth of a thousand ministers.”

Omar Bin Laden also praised Saud al Faisal’s aides and the mission at the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. He said, “We would like to thank them for their generosity and their Arab nobility in hosting my sister Iman for over 100 days.”

http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=1&id=20288

Casey

03-25-2010, 10:53 AM

الخميس 9/4/1431 هـ - الموافق 25/3/2010 م (آخر تحديث) الساعة 15:14 (مكة المكرمة)، 12:14 (غرينتش)

بن لادن يحذر من إعدام خالد شيخ
هدد زعيم القاعدة أسامة بن لادن في تسجيل صوتي منسوب بقتل كل من يقع في أسر التنظيم من الأميركيين إذا ما أقدمت إدارة الرئيس باراك أوباما على إعدام من وصفه بالمجاهد البطل خالد شيخ محمد وآخرين من القاعدة يحاكمون بالولايات المتحدة بتهمة ارتكاب هجمات 11 سبتمبر/ أيلول 2001.
وقال بن لادن في رسالة للشعب الأميركي إن إدارة أوباما ستكون بهذه الحالة "قد اتخذت قرارا بإعدام كل من يقع منكم لدينا". وأشار إلى أن الرئيس الأميركي لا يزال يسير على خطى سلفه جورج بوش "كتصعيد الحرب في أفغانستان وظلم الأسرى".
وأوضح زعيم القاعدة أن السعيد من اتعظ بغيره، في إشارة إلى هجمات سبتمبر، وأكد أن "من العدل المعاملة بالمثل، والحرب سجال، والأيام دول".
المصدر: الجزيرة

Thursday, 9/4/1431 AH - approved 25/3/2010 (Last updated) at 15:14 (Mecca), 12:14 (GMT)

Bin Laden Warns of execution of Khalid Sheikh

Threatened the al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in an audiotape attributed to kill all of the families located in the organization of Americans would follow if the administration of President Barack Obama on the execution of the called mujahedeen hero Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other al-Qaeda on trial in the United States on charges of committing the attacks of 11 September 2001.
He said bin Laden in a message to the American people that the Obama administration would be in this case "has taken the decision to execute each of you is to us." He pointed out that the U.S. President is still walking in the footsteps of his predecessor George W. Bush as "an escalation of the war in Afghanistan and the injustice of prisoners."
He pointed out that Al-Qaeda leader from Pay attention to other, in reference to the September attacks, and stressed that "It is fair reciprocity, and the war debate, and the days of state."
Source: Al Jazeera
http://www.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A7E6F79E-89B6-4FDE-9E46-B118F9F2D54C.htm

The 801

05-04-2010, 09:15 PM

Bin Laden living in lap of luxury in Iran?

Al-Qaeda chief residing in comfortable complex with family, practicing falconry, documentary says

Ynet
Published: 05.05.10, 00:20 / Israel News

A new documentary on the world of falconry claims that Osama Bin Laden is living in a comfortable, private compound north of Tehran, surrounded by his family and under the watchful eye of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The story was reported by Fox News.

Alan Parrot's film, Feathered Cocaine, describes the secret world of falconers and falconry, which he says Bin Laden pursues freely.

Parrot was himself the chief falconer of the Shah regime in Iran, and also worked for the Saudi and United Arab Emirates' royal families.

The documentary shows a testimony by his acquaintance, a weapons' dealer in northern Iran who says he personally met bin-Laden six times on hunting retreats since 2003.

Parrot told the Fox network that he had been able to obtain the rare testimony only because one of his employees had saved the man's life.

“One of my men saved his life and this was the repayment," he said. "He was asked to talk. He wasn’t happy about it.”

He added that he had tried to get the US Administration involved by providing them with the telemetry setting for the falcons Bin Laden was flying, but that they had never called him to follow up on the information. They could locate him to a one-square-mile area using those unique signals” he said.

A Pentagon spokesman refused comment.

Another documentary that supports Parrot's claim is that by Robert Baer, a harsh critic of US policy in the Middle East. Baer, whom the movie Syriana was based on, says that while serving in the CIA he learned that falconry was one of the key ways terror organizations were funded.

It was not the first time claims were made regarding the al-Qaeda leader living in Iran. Tehran agreed to take in 35 of the organization's leaders after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and the US has previously accused the regime of supporting it.

Last year, reports said one of Osama's wives was living in Tehran along with six of his children and 11 of his grandchildren. The press got word of this when one of the girls living in the complex which Parrot claims houses Bin Laden ran away and asked for sanctuary at the Saudi Embassy.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3885076,00.html

Old news here for those of you who follow this thread...... 801

The 801

05-06-2010, 09:34 PM

Ahmadinejad: Osama bin Laden is not in Iran - but is in Washington, D.C.

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
C
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told George Stephanopoulos on ABC's 'Good Morning, America' that he believes Osama bin Laden is in Washington, D.C.
Take our Poll
Osama in D.C.

Is Osama Bin Laden hiding out in Iran? The nation's controversial leader says he doesn't know - maybe he's in D.C.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deflected the question during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning, America."

"Is Osama Bin Laden in Tehran?" the former "This Week" host asked on Wednesday.

"Your question is laughable," Ahmadinejad replied.

When pressed, the Iranian president said, "Our position is quite clear. Some journalists have said Bin Laden is in Iran. These words don't have legal value. Our position towards Afghanistan and against terrorism is quite clear."

The 53-year-old then suggested he may be in the United States.

"I heard that Osama Bin Laden is in ... Washington, D.C.," he told Stephanopoulos.

"No, you didn't," the former Clinton adviser retorted.

Ahmadinejad kept going with the accusation.

"Rest assured that he's in Washington. I think there's a high chance he's there," he said.

The question of Bin Laden's location was sparked by a recent documentary that claimed he was living comfortably in Tehran.

A famed falconer named Alan Parrot argues in "Feathered Cocaine" that the terrorist leader - an avid falcon hunter - has been living in Iran since around 2003.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_ahmadinejad_osama_bin_laden_is_not_in_iran__but _could_be_in_washington_dc.html#ixzz0nCe556vx

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_ahmadinejad_osama_bin_laden_is_not_in_iran__but _could_be_in_washington_dc.html

Bingo.
No one disturbe your cards....

If anyone, besides me, follows this thread.....

Please consider this an omission.
801

The 801

05-06-2010, 09:34 PM

Ahmadinejad: Osama bin Laden is not in Iran - but is in Washington, D.C.

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
C
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told George Stephanopoulos on ABC's 'Good Morning, America' that he believes Osama bin Laden is in Washington, D.C.
Take our Poll
Osama in D.C.

Is Osama Bin Laden hiding out in Iran? The nation's controversial leader says he doesn't know - maybe he's in D.C.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad deflected the question during an interview with George Stephanopoulos on "Good Morning, America."

"Is Osama Bin Laden in Tehran?" the former "This Week" host asked on Wednesday.

"Your question is laughable," Ahmadinejad replied.

When pressed, the Iranian president said, "Our position is quite clear. Some journalists have said Bin Laden is in Iran. These words don't have legal value. Our position towards Afghanistan and against terrorism is quite clear."

The 53-year-old then suggested he may be in the United States.

"I heard that Osama Bin Laden is in ... Washington, D.C.," he told Stephanopoulos.

"No, you didn't," the former Clinton adviser retorted.

Ahmadinejad kept going with the accusation.

"Rest assured that he's in Washington. I think there's a high chance he's there," he said.

The question of Bin Laden's location was sparked by a recent documentary that claimed he was living comfortably in Tehran.

A famed falconer named Alan Parrot argues in "Feathered Cocaine" that the terrorist leader - an avid falcon hunter - has been living in Iran since around 2003.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_ahmadinejad_osama_bin_laden_is_not_in_iran__but _could_be_in_washington_dc.html#ixzz0nCe556vx

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_ahmadinejad_osama_bin_laden_is_not_in_iran__but _could_be_in_washington_dc.html

Bingo.
No one disturb your cards....

If anyone, besides me, follows this thread.....

Please consider this an omission.
801

The 801

07-27-2010, 10:29 PM

This part of the planet has a very high illiteracy rate. Hearsay becomes fact without a way to check actual sources. That's part of the problem with these wikileaks.......801

Wikileaks Afghanistan: Osama bin Laden alive
Osama bin Laden is alive and playing a key role in directing the war in Afghanistan, leaked US military files suggest.

By John Bingham
Published: 9:00PM BST 27 Jul 2010

Multiple intelligence reports on the whereabouts of the al-Qaeda leader are contained among the documents.

They disclose publicly for the first time that bin Laden is thought to be personally overseeing the work of suicide bombers and the makers of Taliban roadside bombs which have had a devastating effect on British and US troops.

They undermine rumours bin Laden had died and also appear to contradict comments by Leon Panetta, the CIA director, as recently as last month that there had been no intelligence on the al-Qaeda leader since the “early 2000s”.

A secret “threat report” drafted by the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) in 2006 locates bin Laden as well as the Taliban leader Mullah Omar to the Pakistani city of Quetta as well as several villages on the Afghan border.

In 2008, he is reported to have presented an insurgent called Abdullah with an Arab bride as a reward for his work making improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in the northern Afghan province of Kunduz.

The previous year a newly developed poison, intended to kill coalition troops in Afghanistan, was named after Osama Kapa in recognition of bin Laden’s role in the Afghan war.

Isaf’s August 2006 threat report detailed a high-level meeting was held in Quetta where six suicide bombers had been given orders for a suicide bombing mission to Afghanistan.

“These meetings take place once every month, and there are usually about 20 people present,” the report adds.

“The place for the meeting alternates between Quetta and villages on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“The top four people in these meetings are [Taliban leader] Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden, Mullah Dadullah and Mullah [Baradar].”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7913050/Wikileaks-Afghanistan-Osama-bin-Laden-alive.html

The 801

07-27-2010, 10:32 PM

Wikileaks Afghanistan: Osama bin Laden timeline
Classified US documents leaked by the whisteblower website Wikileaks show multiple intelligence reports on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.

By Heidi Blake and Peter Hutchison
Published: 10:40AM BST 27 Jul 2010
Osama Bin Laden had requested a satellite dish to be installed in his hideout in Kandahar.

Here is a timeline of various references to the al-Qaeda chief in the war logs and of reported appearances elsewhere.

October 2001 – January 2004: Series of videotapes aired in which Osama bin Laden praises 9/11 attackers and warns of attacks against America

2004: An Isaf threat report states: "Three well-trained terrorists have been assigned by Osama bin Laden to conduct a suicidal attack against [Hamid] Karzai [the Afghan president]".

October 2004: Al-Jazeera airs tape in which Bin Laden justifies 9/11 attacks just days before US Presidential election.

December 2004: Bin Laden calls on Iraqis' to boycott January's election.

19 November 2005: Isaf reports that Bin Laden's security coordinator, Dr Amin al-Haq, and the leader of the XX group Hezb-e-Islami, flew to North Korea from Iran. While there, they reportedly struck a deal with the North Korean government for remote-controlled rockets to be used against American aircraft. They returned on December 3, 2005, according to the report. The intelligence was never followed up in the war logs.

January 2006: Bin Laden says new attacks are being planned on the US in audio tape.

June 2006: Bin Laden appears in fourth video message of the year and praises Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, who was killed earlier that year.

August 2006: A threat report from the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf), disclosed in the war logs, claims Bin Laden was attending regular Al Quaida recruitment meetings on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

2007: An intelligence report in the war logs claims Bin Laden has died at a ghospital in Peshawar.

2007: A report in the war logs claims an insurgent called Abdullah won favour for his skill in making improvised explosive devices and was presented with an Arab wife by Bin Laden as a reward.

September 2007: Bin Laden appears in a video, posted on an Islamist website, for the first time in three years. he calls for Americans to embrace Islam.

2008: Dr Amin al-Haq, Bin Laden's security coordinator, was picked up in Lahore by Pakistani security forces. Said initially to be "under interrogation" at an undisclosed location, he has since disappeared from view.

June 2009: Audio message claiming to be Bin Laden is aired by al-Jazeera. In it the al-Qaeda chief accuses Barack Obama of fuelling hatred of American in Pakistan.

November 2009: US Senate report concludes that American forces had Bin Laden "withing their grasp" in 2001 and should have caught him.

December 2009: Taliban detainee in Pakistan claims contact said he met Bin Laden earlier that year. Analysts say claim is possible and CIA follow new lead.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/7911870/Wikileaks-Afghanistan-sightings-of-Osama-bin-Laden.html

Casey

09-23-2010, 05:44 PM

Noman Benotman criticises al-Qaeda in bin Laden letter
2010-09-23

In his first-ever direct letter to Osama bin Laden, postmarked on the eve of September 11th, former jihadist Noman Benotman said that al-Qaeda damages the image of Islam.
Analysis by Camille Tawil for Al-Shorfa in London – 23/09/10

The recent call by Libyan Islamist Noman Benotman to his former "comrade-in-arms" Osama bin Laden to halt al-Qaeda's armed operations throughout the world represents a new step in the "jihad" by the former leader of the Islamic Fighting Group.

Benotman's "jihad" appears focused on responding to what he views as the distorted understanding of Islamic principles held by bin Laden's organisation. Al-Qaeda's operations, he believes, are a primary cause behind the tarnishing of Islam's image, even though al-Qaeda sees its actions as defending the religion.

Benotman – or, as he is known in Afghanistan, Abu Mohammad al-Libi – is no stranger to this subject. He was a former mujahid in Afghanistan who joined the war against the communist government in Kabul and its Soviet backers in the 1980s. There, he joined the newly established Fighting Group founded by Libyan Afghans to fight the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and replace him with an Islamic state governed by Sharia law. In the context of his work for the Fighting Group, Benotman had a close relationship with al-Qaeda leaders during their stay in Sudan in the 1990s. The relationship continued when they were asked to leave Khartoum in 1996 and moved to Afghanistan.

The "jihad" waged by the Fighting Group against the Libyan government between 1995 and 1998 soon collapsed. The group was forced to retreat to Afghanistan, where bin Laden was trying to recruit other active jihadist factions to join him in his war against what he called "Jews and Crusaders", as reflected in his establishment of the World Islamic Front in 1998.

But Benotman and the leaders of his organisation opposed joining bin Laden in such a global project to fight the United States. Their opposition was not based on support for American policy, but because they saw a proposed war as futile, an action that would bring calamities upon them and upon the rule of the Taliban movement, which was hosting al-Qaeda and other Arab jihadist factions.

In previous interviews with this writer, Benotman said he was fundamentally opposed to the war that bin Laden was planning to launch against the United States. He said he conveyed this stance when they met in bin Laden's home in Kandahar during the summer of 2000. But bin Laden did not listen to Benotman or to other jihadists in Afghanistan and decided to launch his attack on the United States on September 11th, 2001.

According to Benotman, what has transpired since that date confirms the extent of bin Laden's error in launching a global jihad. In late 2001 the Taliban government, which was sheltering jihadists, was destroyed by the US military response.

Moreover, in doing this, bin Laden, the Libyan Islamist said, went against Taliban leader Mullah Omar's instructions to refrain from attacking the United States from Afghanistan. This allegation is of utmost importance. If true, it confirms that bin Laden broke the pledge he made to Mullah Omar to "hear and obey". This is unless the latter knew of the al-Qaeda leader's plans to launch the "invasion of New York and Washington" and agreed in secret -- something only Mullah Omar and bin Laden can confirm or deny.

In this regard, Benotman wrote, "You (bin Laden) spared no effort in transgressing Mullah Omar and disregarding his instructions, and decided to ignore his orders to stop provoking the United States because of the dire consequences that might result for Afghanistan. How can we reconcile your claim that you are waging jihad to create what you call the Islamic state while at the same time defying the guardian in that state to which al-Qaeda pledged allegiance as a legitimate state (wilaya)? You are encroaching upon its most important prerogatives, the authority to declare war and peace, and [this action] led to the fall of the Taliban."

In the letter, the Libyan Islamist named al-Qaeda leaders who opposed launching operations outside Afghanistan, such as Sharia Committee head Abu Hafs al-Mauritani (killed in an air raid in Pakistan) and Security Committee official Abu Muhammad al-Zayat (believed to be in Iran at present).

But Benotman said he is not only angered that Afghanistan is forced to suffer the consequences of al-Qaeda's actions. He is also enraged that al-Qaeda and its branches around the world continue to wage futile wars that bring Muslims nothing but calamities.

Muslims worldwide are now frightened by the actions of these groups, fearing that at any moment al-Qaeda-inspired militants might blow themselves up in public places on the grounds that the targets are "apostates" or "infidels", as has occurred in many Arab countries.

Moreover, the actions of al-Qaeda branches – such as the "Mesopotamia" branch under the leadership of its late emir, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi – also demonstrate, in Benotman's view, the type of Islamic regime this organisation intends to establish. If asked to choose between this Islamic regime and the "apostate" dictatorships al-Qaeda claims it wants to topple, the majority of Muslims would undoubtedly prefer to remain governed by a dictator than by violent figures such as the leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq, for example.

In addition, Benotman believes al-Qaeda's actions have tarnished the image of Islam in the West. Muslims are now seen – especially in some right-wing circles – as a terrorist threat. Many Western governments have taken measures that Muslims interpret as targeting them. These measures likely would not have been adopted were it not for al-Qaeda's actions.

In this regard, Benotman asserts that the positions of bin Laden and his organisation do not represent Muslims in the West, just as they do not represent Muslims in the Arab world. He believes that his criticisms of al-Qaeda's actions are shared by many, including the leaders of the jihadist groups. He alluded to the "revisions" made by significant numbers of jihadist leaders, who in recent years declared their opposition to the "extremism" in the interpretation of "jihadist" concepts by al-Qaeda and some of its branches.

This is the hope of Benotman who now openly says, "Armed violence has reached its end."

But do his former "comrades-in-arms" in al-Qaeda share this view?

They may answer in the negative. But Benotman hopes they, including bin Laden, read his letter and think again about the consequences of their actions.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2010/09/23/feature-03

Casey

10-01-2010, 08:18 AM

OBL video released overnight. It appears to only be available in Arabic.

SmokedYourDSM

10-01-2010, 10:42 AM

Audio tape over still image of bin laden... some pics/vido of disaster victims. Basically the tape is similar to Ghadans discussing environemental stuff. I'm having a friend who speaks arabic listen to it later C.

:)

Chuckles

10-02-2010, 10:40 AM

Reported Arabic Transcript pdf

http://www.2shared.com/file/hzw1SRn7/waqfat.html

Casey

10-02-2010, 03:19 PM

This is the Arabic transcript for the both the video released yesterday and the second message which was released early this morning.

بسم اللہ الرّحمن الرّحیم

سیلاب سے متاثرہ
پاکستان کے مسلمانوں کی امداد کیسے کی جائےـــ؟
شیخ اسامہ بن لادن حفظہ اللہ ــــــــــــــ رمضان ۱۴۳۱ ھ

ان الحمد للہ نحمدہ ونستعینہ ونستغفرہ ونعوذ باللہ من شرور انفسنا وسیئات اعمالنا من یہدہ اللہ فلا مضل لہ ومن یضلل فلا ہادی لہ واشہد الا الہ الا اللہ وحدہ لا شریك لہ واشہد ان محمدا عبدہ ورسولہ
اما بعد:
اے میری محبوب امت مسلمہ! ــــــــ السلام علیكم ورحمۃ اللہ وبركاتہ
میں آپ كو رمضان كے مبارك مہینے كی مبارک باد پیش كرتا ہوں۔ رمضان ماہِ قرآن ہے۔ یہ قیام اللیل كو طول دینے كا مہینہ ہے۔ یہ صدقات كا اور جہاد كا مہینہ ہے۔ پس ہمیں چاہیے كہ ہم خوب شوق وشغف سے عبادت كریں۔ اور چاہیے كہ ہر اس چیز سے بچیں جو ہمیں اللہ سبحانہٗ وتعالی كے ذكر سے غافل كردے۔
میرے مسلمان بھائیو!ـــمسلمان ممالك كے بہت سے علاقے آج کرۂ ارض میں زبردست موسمی تبدیلیوں اور ان کے تباہ کن اثرات سے متاثرہ ہیں۔ اس کے نتیجے میں پیدا ہونے والی صورتِ حال یہ بتا رہی ہے کہ امدادی سرگرمیوں كے روایتی انداز ان تباہیوں کا مداوا کرنے کے لیے کافی نہیں ہیں۔ خیموں، اشیاء خورد ونوش اور دواؤں کی مناسب ترسیل تو ضروری ہے ہی مگر توجہ طلب بات یہ ہے کہ انتہائی قلیل پیمانے پر کی جانے والی امدادی سرگرمیاں ان عظیم مصائب میں ہرگز کافی نہیں۔ اس لحاظ سے بھی کہ کتنی مقدار میں اور کس قسم کے سامان کی فراہمی درکار ہے اور اس لحاظ سے بھی کہ یہ سامان متاثرہ علاقوں میں بروقت کیسے پہنچایا جائے؟
حالیہ موسمی تبدیلیوں نے بہت بڑی تعداد میں لوگوں کو اپنی لپیٹ میں لیا ہے اور اعداد و شمار بتا رہے ہیں کہ ابھی مزید بڑی تباہی آنے کو ہے۔ اس لئے ہمیں امدادی سرگرمیوں كے مروجہ طریقوں میں زبردست بہتری لانی ہوگیـــ کیوں کہ متاثرین کی تعداد جنگوں سے متاثرہ افراد كی تعداد سے كہیں زیادہ ہے جن كے لئے مختلف ممالك اپنی افواج میں سخت جان افراد كو بھرتی كرتے ہیں، انہیں بہترین پیشہ وارانہ تربیت دیتے ہیں اور اس كے لیے اپنے بجٹ كا بہت بڑا حصہ مختص كرتے ہیں۔
مشرقِ وسط کے ممالك اپنی افواج پر سالانہ ایك كھرب (1000,000,00,000) یورو سے زیادہ خرچ كرتے ہیں جس سے مظلوم فلسطینی عوام کے زخموں کا کوئی مداوا نہیں ہوتا۔ اس کی نسبت امدادی سرگرمیوں كو ہمیشہ بالکل ثانوی حیثیت دی جاتی ہے۔ دونوں مقاصد کے لیے خرچ کی جانے والی رقوم کا قطعاً كوئی موازنہ ہی نہیں کیا جا سکتا۔ صرف گزشتہ دہائی كے دوران اگر ان كے بجٹ میں سے محض ایك فی صد بھی امانت داری اور مہارت کے ساتھ امدادی سرگرمیوں پر خرچ كیا جاتا تو غربت کی شکار اس زمین كا نقشہ ہی بدل جاتا اور آج حالات بہت بہتر ہوتے۔
افریقہ میں تیزی سے پھیلتی ہوئی خشك سالی اور دوسرے علاقوں میں آنے والے تباہ کن سیلابـــ جس میں حالیہ مثال پاکستان کی ہےـــ جس نے محض چند دنوں كے اندر كئی ہزار افراد كو لقمۂ اجل بنا دیا ہے اور لاكھوں کو گھر بار سے محروم کر کے مفلوک الحال کر دیا ہےـــ یہ حالات رحم دل انسانوں اور پرعزم مردانِ كار سے تقاضا كرتے ہیں كہ وہ پاكستان میں اپنے مسلمان بھائیوں كی امداد كے لئے سنجیدگی سے اور تیزی سے اقدام كریں۔ یقیناً مصیبت اتنی بڑی ہے كہ زبان اس كے بیان سے قاصر ہے اور اس سے نبرد آزما ہونے كے لئے زبردست وسائل كی ضرورت ہے۔ اور ان حالات کی شدت کو جاننے کے لیے آپ میں سے کچھ افراد كو متاثرہ علاقوں کا بچشمِ خود جائزہ لینا چاہئے۔
میں نے ایك ایسے مسلمان پاكستانی بھائی كو دیكھا جس كو سیلاب نے سینے تك ڈبو ركھا تھا۔ اس نے دونوں ہاتھوں سے اپنے دو پانچ چھ سالہ بچوں كو اٹھایا ہوا تھا ۔ كیا آپ تصور كرسكتے ہیں كہ اس كے باقی بچوں پر كیا بیتی ہوگی؟ اور پھر كیا آپ نے ان عورتوں كی فریاد كو نہیں سنا جو آپ سے اللہ سبحانہٗ وتعالیٰ كا واسطہ دے كر سوال كررہی ہیں۔ مسلمانانِ پاكستان كی امداد پر قدرت ركھنے والے ہر شخص پر لازم ہے كہ وہ مسلمانوں كی جانوں كی عظمت كا احساس اپنے اندر اجاگر كرے۔ لاكھوں بچے پینے کے صاف پانی اور زندگی كے لئے دیگر ناگزیر ضروریات سے محروم كھلے آسمان تلے پڑے ہیں اور انہیں خطرناك بیماریوں كا سامنا ہے۔ اور جسم میں پانی كی قلت كے سبب بچوں میں ہلاكت كی شرح اور بھی زیادہ بڑھ جاتی ہے۔ میں اللہ تعالی سے دعا كرتا ہوں كہ ان كی مصیبت ان پر آسان كردے اور ان كی كمزوری وناتوانی پر رحم فرمائے۔ آمین۔
موسمی تبدیلیوں سے پیدا شدہ سانحے یكے بعد دیگرے تیزی سے واقع ہورہے ہیں اس لیے تمام تر كاوشیں محض وقتی امداد دینے پر صرف کرنا کافی نہیں۔ بلكہ ایسا ممتاز امدادی ادارہ قائم كرنا چاہیے جو كہ امدادی كام كے بارے میں معلومات، تجربہ اور اتنی صلاحیت ركھتا ہو جو اسے ان ہولناك نقصانات کے مداوے كا اہل بنائے۔ اس ادارے كو بھاری ذمہ داریاں اور اہم ترین كام ادا كرنے ہوں گےجس كے لئے کچھ مخلص افراد كی یكجا كاوش كی ضرورت ہے۔ مثلاًـــآئندہ جملوں میں مَیں ادارے كی چند ذمہ داریاں بیان کرتا ہوں:
اول
عالمِ اسلام میں نہروں کی اطراف میں اور نشیبی علاقوں میں آباد بستیوں كے بارے میں تحقیقات كرنا اور دیكھنا كہ موسمی تبدیلیوں سے وہاں كن كن مشكلات كا سامنا كرنا پڑسکتا ہے۔ پچھلے عرصے میں جدّہ میں سیلاب سے جو تباہی پھیلی تھی وہ عین متوقع تھی، کیوں کہ اس کی وجہ نہایت واضح اور سادہ تھی۔ وجہ یہ تھی كہ جدہ كا شہر بہت سے دیگر شہروں كی طرح نہ صرف دریا کے خشک ہو جانے والے كناروں پر آباد کیا گیا بلكہ بہت سی رہائشی اور دیگر عمارتیں وادیوں كے نشیبی علاقوں میں قائم كی گئی ہیں جہاں سے پانی كا گزر ہوتا ہے۔ یہاں میرا مقصود اس سانحے كے ذمہ داران کا تعین نہیں، یہ بیان کسی اور موقع پر کیا جائے گا، میں یہاں حقیقی صورتِ حال بیان كر رہا ہوں تاكہ سیلابوں سے پیدا ہونے والے سانحوں سے بچا جاسكے اور انسانی زندگی كو در پیش خطرات كے حل مستقل بنیادوں پر نكالے جاسكیں۔ اسی طرح تمام پل اور بند محفوظ بنانے كے لئے وضع شدہ ضابطوں پر دوبارہ غور و خوض كرنا ہوگا۔
دوم
جنگوں یا موسمی تبدیلیوں سے پیدا شدہ قحط سالی كی لپیٹ میں آنے والے ممالك کی امداد کے لیے لازمی اقدامات کیے جائیں۔ چونكہ قحط سالی واقع ہونے سے عموماً بہت پہلے ـــ ایک سال یا اس سے بھی پہلے ـــ اس كی علامات ظاہر ہونا شروع ہو جاتی ہیں۔ اور ضروری امداد فراہم كرنے میں تاخیر سے خاص كر بچوں میں بہت زیادہ ہلاكتیں واقع ہوتی ہیں ۔ اور ان بچوں میں سے جو موت سے بچ بھی جائے وہ غذائی قلت كی وجہ سے جسمانی اور ذہنی كمزوری سے نہیں بچ پاتا۔
سوم
متاثرہ اور غربت زدہ علاقوں میں ترقیاتی منصوبے بنائے جائیں۔ ایسے ترقیاتی منصوبے قائم كرنے كی بہت زیادہ گنجائش ہے جن كی لاگت مجموعی طور پر كم ہوتی ہے۔ مثال كے طور پر ایسے ممالك میں نہروں اور ندیوں كا جال بچھانا جہاں موسمی دریا زیادہ بہتے ہیں جیسے كہ سوڈان، شاد(چاڈ)، صومالیہ اور یمن ۔
ایك سابقہ سروے كے مطابق سوڈان میں صرف ایك ندی دسیوں ہزار ایكڑ كو سیراب كرسكتی ہے جس كامطلب دسیوں ہزار لوگوں كو مدد فراہم كرنا ہے۔ جبكہ چھوٹی بڑی ندیوں كے اس جال كی لاگت دو لاكھ پچاس ہزار (250000) یورو ہے۔ اور اگر یہ تعمیراتی سامان قریب سے بہم پہنچے تو یہ لاگت گھٹ بھی سکتی ہے۔
چہارم
خوراک کی حفاظت كو یقینی بنانا۔تحقیقات بتا رہی ہیں كہ اگر دنیا میں گندم برآمد كرنے والے بڑے ممالك میں سے مزید كوئی ایك اور ملك ایسی مشكلات میں مبتلا ہوجائے جس سے اس كی برآمدات رک جائیں تو دنیا كی بہت سی اقوام، خاص كر ہمارے علاقے، جان لیوا قحط سالی كی لپیٹ میں آجا ئیں گے۔ جان لیوا سے مراد واقعی جان لیوا ہے۔ جب ان كی بنیادی غذا “روٹی” ہی نایاب ہو تو اُس وقت پیسہ بھی لوگوں كی قاتل بھوك كو ختم نہیں كرسكے گا ۔ سوڈان میں بارانی زرعی علاقہ اندازا ً بیس كروڑ (200000000) ایكڑ ہے جس میں سے نہایت كم علاقے پر كاشت كی جاتی ہے۔ لوگوں كو ان خطرات سے آگاہ كرنے كی ضرورت ہے۔ تاجر برادری اور سرمایہ دار خاندانوں كو اس پر آمادہ كرنا چاہیےكہ وہ اپنی اولاد میں سے چند كو امدادی سرگرمیوں اور زراعت كے لئے وقف كریں۔ كیونكہ امت پر آنے والی متوقع ہولناك قحط سالیوں سے بچنے كے لئے تاجر حضرات ہی نمایاں کام سر انجام دے سکتے ہیں۔ لہذا توجہ اس جانب مركوز ہونی چاہئے اور ایسی سرمایہ كاری سے بچنا چاہیے جو امت کے لئے بے سود ہو۔
ان حالات میں اس بات سے ماورا ہو کر دیکھنے کی ضرورت ہے کہ دیگر جگہوں كی نسبت زراعت میں سرمایہ لگانے میں محنت زیادہ اور منافع كم ہے۔ آج مسئلہ منافع اور خسارہ كا نہیں بلكہ زندگی اور موت كا ہے۔ اس بات كا خیال ركھتے ہوئے كہ زرعی سرمایہ كاری كے میدان میں داخل ہونے كے لئے بصیرت کی ضرورت ہے۔ ایسے باہمی معاہدوں كی ضرورت ہے جس میں سرمایہ كار كے حقوق كی ضمانت ہو اور جو اس كے كام میں ركاوٹ نہ بنیں۔ ہم جانتے ہیں كہ کامیاب سرمایہ كاری كے اہم ترین اصولوں میں سے ایك اس کا آزاد ہونا ہے۔ یعنی جس ملك میں سرمایہ كاری ہو رہی ہو اس كی حكومت كا سرمایہ كاری كے انتظام میں كوئی عمل دخل نہ ہو۔
افریقہ میں سرمایہ كاری كے كئی تجربے حوصلہ افزا بھی رہے اور كئی اس كے برخلاف بھی ۔ یہ معاملہ اس بات پر منحصر ہے کہ جن ممالك میں سرمایہ كار ی كی جارہی ہو ان کی عوام کے مزاج کو سمجھا جائے۔ ان میں سے بعض لوگ ایسے بھی ہیں جو كئی وجوہات كی بنا پر اپنے ممالك سے باہر سرمایہ كاری میں نمایاں ہیں۔ ان وجوہات میں سے ان كا بیرونی عناصر كے ساتھ مل كر كام كرنے کی صلاحیت بھی ہے۔ اور اگر اہم تنظیمی و کاروباری امور کے فیصلے ان كے اپنے ہاتھ میں ہوں تو وہ مختلف شراکتوں میں شامل ہو کر اندرونِ ملك بھی نمایاں کام سر انجام دے سکتے ہیں۔
پنجم
مسلمانوں كو زیر زمین محدود پانی كے ذخائر كو زرعی مقاصد كے لیے استعمال كرنے كے خطرات سے آگاہ کیا جائے۔زرعی مقاصد کے لیے استعمال ہونے والے پانی کے ذرائع کو پینے کے پانی کے کنوؤں سے ملانے کا انتظام ہونا چاہیے تا کہ بوقتِ ضرورت پینے کا پانی مہیا کیا جا سکے۔
آخر میں مَیں اپنے مسلمان بھائیوں كو تاكید کرتا ہوں كہ وہ خیر كے كاموں میں حصہ لیں اور كمزور اور لاچار افراد كی امداد اور ان كی مشكلات كو كم كرنے كے لئے مقدور بھر کوشش كریں۔ كیونكہ نبی ﷺ کی حدیث کے مصداقـــ جو كسی مؤمن كی دنیاوی مشكلات میں سے كسی مشكل كو آسان كرتا ہے اللہ اس كی قیامت كی مشكلات میں سے كسی مشكل كو آسان كرتے ہیں۔ لہٰذا ہمیں چاہیے كہ ہم اس دن كے لئے کچھ آگے بھیجیں اور اللہ سبحانہٗ وتعالی كی اس آیت پر غور وفكر كریں:
وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْراً وَأَعْظَمَ أَجْراً وَاسْتَغْفِرُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ{المزمل ۔۲۰}
“اور جو نیک عمل تم اپنے لئے آگے بھیجو گے اس کو الله کے ہاں بہتر اور صلے میں بزرگ ترپاؤ گے اور الله سے مغفرت طلب كرتے رہو۔ بے شک الله مغفرت كرنے والا اور رحم كرنے والا ہے۔”
میں اللہ ، صاحبِ عظمت، عرشِ كریم كے رب سے مسلمانوں كے تمام شہداء كی مغفرت كا سوال كرتا ہوں جو معركوں كے دوران اللہ كی راہ میں جہاد كرتے ہوئے مارے گئے ہوں یا سیلاب كی طغیانی میں ڈوب كر مرے ہوں۔ اللہ ان كی قبروں كو كشادہ كرےاور انہیں اپنی جنت میں داخل كرے۔ وہی ان كے بعد ان كے خاندانوں كا ركھوالا ہو اور ان كے پسماندگان كو اس مصیبت كے بدلے بھلائی سے نوازے ۔ یہ معاملہ اللہ ہی كے سپرد ہے اور وہی اس پر قادر ہے۔
اللهم إني أعوذ بك من زوال نعمتك وتحول عافيتك وفجأة نقمتك وجميع سخطك.
اے اللہ!میں تیرے انعامات كے ختم ہوجانے سے، تیری عافیت كے پھر جانے سے ، تیری اچانك پكڑ سے اور تیرے تمام غضب سے تیری ہی پناہ میں آتا ہوں۔
اللهم ربنا آتنا في الدنيا حسنة وفي الآخرة حسنة وقنا عذاب النار.
اے اللہ! ہمارے رب! ہمیں دنیا میں بھی بھلائی عطا كر اور آخرت میں بھی بھلائی عطا كر اور ہمیں آگ كے عذاب سے بچا۔
وصلی اللہم علی نبینا محمد وعلی آلہ وصحبہ وسلم۔

بسم اللہ الرّحمن الرّحیم

سیلاب سے متاثرہ
اپنے پاكستانی بھائیوں كی مدد كیجئے!
شیخ اسامہ بن لادن حفظہ اللہ ـــــــــــ شوال ۱۴۳۱ ھ

الحمد للہ والصلاۃ والسلام علیٰ نبینا محمد وعلیٰ آلہ وصحبہ ومن والاہ
اے میری امت مسلمہ!
السلام علیكم ورحمۃ اللہ وبركاتہ ۔ وبعد
میری گفتگو كا موضوع پاكستان میں سیلاب كا سانحہ ہے۔ جس پر توجہ دینے سے ہزاروں پاكستانی بچوں كی زندگی كو بچایا جاسكتا ہے اور اللہ كی توفیق سے جہاں تك ممكن ہے اس کے نقصانات كو كم كیا جاسكتا ہے۔ پاكستان میں سیلاب كا حجم بہت ہی بڑا ہے اور اس كے بعد پیدا ہونے والی مشكلات لگاتار بڑھتی ہی جا رہی ہیں۔ لاكھوں مسلمان سخت ترین آزمائش سے گزر رہے ہیں۔ اور دسیوں ہزار كے مر جانے كا خدشہ ہے۔ ہونا تو یہ چاہیے تھا كہ اس سانحے كے حجم كے مطابق ابتدا میں ہی بڑے پیمانے پر كوششیں شروع ہوجاتیں۔ خاص كر تركی، خلیجی ریاستیں اور ملائیشیا جیسے صاحبِ ثروت ممالك كے جانب سے۔ مگر افسوس ناك حقیقت یہ ہے كہ سانحے كے حجم اور اس كے لئے كی جانے والی امدادی سرگرمیوں كے درمیان كوئی تناسب ہی نہیں۔
اس معاملے میں ذرائع ابلاغ كی جانب سے بھی واضح تقصیر دكھائی دیتی ہے۔ سیلاب کی حقیقی صورتِ حال پیش کرنے کی کوئی کوشش سانحے کی شدت کے مطابق نہیں ہے ۔ ہم اس مسئلے میں ان چینلز پر ملامت نہیں كررہے جن کی کل کوششیں حكمرانوں كی تقدیس اور ان كے لئے اشتہار بازی كے گرد گھومتی ہیں۔ ان كا تو كام ہی یہی ہے۔ ایسے عظیم سانحوں میں جانوں كے بچانے میں ان كا حصہ اشتہاری بازی كے علاوہ كچھ نہیں۔ مگر وہ ابلاغی ادارے جو اپنی ذمہ داریاں ادا كرنے كے حریص ہیں، کم از کم ان کو تو چاہیے تھا كہ وہ اس ضمن میں اپنی کوششوں كو حادثہ كی شدت کے بقدر بڑھاتے۔ دو كروڑ (20،000،000۔ بیس ملین) مسلمانوں پر یكایك مصیبت ٹوٹ پڑی۔ كروڑ كے لگ بھگ كو بالواسطہ نقصان پہنچا،كیونكہ پاكستان كی سرزمین كا جو پانچواں حصہ زیرِ آب آیا وہ زرخیز ترین زرعی علاقہ تھا۔ اور اس كے سبب مستقبل میں غذائی اجناس میں شدید قلت اور قحط پیدا ہوگا۔
چونكہ یہ سانحہ اس صدی میں پیدا ہونے والے سانحوں میں سب سے بڑا ہے، تو ہونا تو یہ چاہیے تھا كہ اقوام عالم كے بڑے رہنما اور ذرائع ابلاغ كے بڑے ادارے براہِ راست اس کے نقصانات کا مداوا کرتے ۔ مگر یہ نہ ہوا۔ كیا اقوام ِ عالم كے رہنماؤں كو یہ زیب دیتا ہے كہ سانحے كے ایك ماہ بعد بھی پاكستان كا دورہ كرنے میں مغربِ بعید سے اٹھ كر آنے والا جنرل سیكرٹری ان سے سبقت لے جائے ۔ حالانكہ اس جنرل سیكرٹری كی تنظیم ہماری امت كے ساتھ دشمنانہ موقف ركھنے میں مشہور ہے۔ ایسا شخص جس كا مسلمانانِ پاكستان سے نہ دین كا واسطہ ہے نہ نسب كا ۔ وہ تو بعض متاثرہ علاقوں كا ہوائی دورہ كركے اپنی ڈیوٹی كا حق ادا كرنے آیا تھا۔اتنی آفت دیكھ كر ہی دہشت زدہ ہوگیا اور بیان دیا كہ اس نے اپنی زندگی بھر میں ایسی مصیبت نہیں دیكھی۔ مگر اس كے مقابلے میں عرب رہنماؤں میں سے كوئی بھی نہیں آیا۔ حالانكہ مسافت بھی كم ہے، بھائی چارے كا دعویٰ بھی ہے اور ان میں سے بعض كے تو پر امن حالات میں پاكستان كے بكثرت چكر لگتے ہی رہتے ہیں۔
اے میری امت مسلمہ!
ایك مسلمان جان كا ـــ وہ مرد ہو یا عورت، چھوٹا ہو یا بڑا ـــ اللہ تعالیٰ كے یہاں بہت بلند مقام ہے۔ ہم پر لازم ہے كہ ہم اس بلند مرتبہ كا خیال ركھیں۔ متعلقہ ادراوں كی رپورٹیں تو دسیوں ہزار بچوں کی ہلاکت كا اندیشہ بتا رہی ہیں۔ جس كا مطلب یہ ہے كہ اگر امت كو سانحہ كے حجم كا ادراك نہ ہوا اور اس بات كا ادراك نہ ہوا كہ نقصانات کا مداوا کرنے میں كتنی بڑی غفلت برتی جا رہی ہےتو ایک كثیر تعداد میں مسلمان جانیں حكومت ِ پاكستان اور عالم اسلام كی مال دار حكومتوں کی موجودگی میں ضائع ہوجائیں گی۔ سنے اور دیكھے بغیر کیسے یہ ادراك ہوسكتا ہے؟ ہونا تو یہ چاہئے تھا كہ روزانہ زمینی تصویریں اور جہازوں كے ذریعے سے ہوائی تصویریں كھینچی جاتیں، دریاؤں میں طغیانی كا تعاقب كیا جاتا اور اس وقت تصویریں كھینچی جاتیں جب پانی ان کے كناروں پر آباد بستیوں اور عمارتوں كو غرق كررہا تھاـــ پاكستان كے شمال سے لے كر جنوب تكـــ جہاں دریا سمندر میں مل جاتا ہے۔ تاكہ سیلاب كا حقیقی حجم ہر زاویے سے اور اپنے تمام تر اثرات سمیت امت کے سامنے آتا۔ تب ہی ممکن تھا کہ زندگی كے تمام بنیادی شعبوں كو درپیش مسائل کی شدت لوگوں پر واضح ہوسکے۔ اور تب ہی ان شعبوں سے متعلقین كی مدد ممکن تھی كہ ان میں سے ہر كوئی اپنی ذمہ داری جان کر اسے كما حقہٗ ادا كرسكےـــ جیسے:
 فوری امداد كا شعبہ جو سیلاب میں پھنس جانے والوں کوـــ یا ان لوگوں كو جن كے پھنس جانے كا اندیشہ تھاـــ بچانے كا اہتمام كرتا،
 صاف پانی اور غذا کی فراہمی کا شعبہ،
 رہائش اور خیمے فراہم کرنے والاشعبہ،
 طبی امداد اور نفسیاتی بحالی كا شعبہ،
 زرعی امور اور اس كے لوازمات كا شعبہ،
 یا اس سانحے سے متعلقہ انجنیئرنگ اور تعمیرات كا شعبہـــ تاكہ وہ شاہراہوں، پلوں اور بندوں كی سلامتی اور حفاظت كے لئے وضع كردہ اصول وضوابط كا از سر نو جائزہ لیتا۔
اسی طرح ممكن تھا كہ ہم آئندہ كے لئے سبق حاصل كرتے اور احتیاطی تدابیر اپناتے اور مستقبل میں اس قسم كے حادثے پیش آنے كی صورت میں بہتر طور پر صورتِ حال سے نمٹنے كی صلاحیت پیدا كرتے۔ ان علاقوں كے لیے بھی اور اس كے علاوہ دیگر علاقوں كے لیے بھی جن كے باسی دریاؤں اور نہروں كے كنارے بستے ہیں۔ حكمرانوں كو چاہیے كہ وہ آفت زدہ علاقوں كے دورے كریں تاكہ وہ اپنے اپنے ممالك میں دریاؤں كے كنارے بسنے والے افراد كے بارے میں ابھی سے محتاط ہوجائیں۔ انہی تدابیر سے عوام الناس كو معلوم ہونا تھا كہ آیا دنیا كے ممالك نے واقعی سنجیدگی سے ایسی امداد كی جو ان كے دیكھے ہوئے حالات سے مناسبت ركھتی ہے یا معاملہ كچھ اور تھا۔
اے میری امت مسلمہ!
نقصانات کے مداوے میں غفلت كی بنیادی ذمہ داری ان لوگوں پر عائد ہوتی ہے جو قانون سازی، انتظامیہ اور عدلیہ كے تمام تر اختیارات پر قابض ہیں۔ وہ اللہ كی شریعت سے ہٹ كر قانون سازی كرتے ہیںـــ ان ججوں كو معزول كرتے ہیں جو اللہ كے دین كے موافق كوئی ایسا فیصلہ یا فتویٰ دیں جو حكمران كے دین كے مخالف ہو۔ انتظامیہ كے اختیارات بھی حكمران كی ذات کے گرد ہی گھومتے ہیں۔ یہاں تك ذرائع ابلاغ كے بیشتر اختیارات پر بھی وہی قابض ہیں۔ اور جواب تو ذمہ دار سے ہی مانگا جائے گا۔مزید یہ کہ انہوں نے عوام کی امدادی سرگرمیوں پر ایسی ظالمانہ اور جابرانہ پابندیاں لگائی ہیں جن كا انہیں واشنگٹن سے حكم ملا ہے۔ ظاہر ہے کہ اس كا اطلاق واشنگٹن پر نہیں بلكہ مفلوك الحال مسلمانوں پر ہی پڑتا ہے۔
خلاصتاًـــ پہلی بات یہ کہ دنیا میں ایسے عظیم موسمی تغیرات واقع ہو رہے ہیں جن میں متاثرین كی تعداد جنگوں سے متاثرین كی تعداد سے كہیں زیادہ ہوتی ہے۔ كئی ابلاغی اداروں كے ہاں جنگ زدہ علاقوں میں خدمات انجام دینے والے مخصوص صحافی ہوتے ہیں۔ تو چاہیے تو یہ كہ ہر بڑے چینل کے پاس ہنگامی حالات میں کام کرنے والے افراد پر مشتمل ایك باصلاحیت گروہ ہوـــ جس میں منتخب کردہ ماہرین ہوںـــ خاص كر انتظامی امور، امدادی سرگرمیوں، طبی، زرعی، تعمیراتی اور آبپاشی کے امور كے ماہرین۔ یہ گروہ کسی ایسے واقعے كی پہلی گھڑی میں ہی حركت میں آئے تاكہ لوگوں كے سامنے آفت زدہ علاقے میں تمام شعبہ ہائے زندگی كے بارے میں تمام زایوں سے ایك جامع تصویر پیش كرسكے۔ ان میں سے ہر كوئی اپنے شعبے كے حوالے سے ایك علمی ، حقیقی اور تفصیلی تجزیاتی تحریر سامنے لائے اور آئندہ اس قسم كے حادثات سے بچنے كےلئے آراء پیش كرے۔
اسی طرح ایسے حادثات سے بچنے میںـــ اللہ كے حكم سےـــ یہ بھی ممد ومعاون ہوگا كہ پاكستان میں شمال سے لے كر جنوب تك دریاؤں كے كناروں پر ریتیلی پشتیں تعمیر كی جائیں۔ اور اس میں استعمال كیے جانے والے تعمیراتی سامان كے انتخاب کے لئے شاہراہوں كی تعمیر میں اپنائے گئے انجینئرنگ كے اصولوں كو مد نظر ركھا جائے۔ یہ بتاتا چلوں كہ دریا كے اصل دھارے كے دونوں جانب ریتیلی پشتوں كی تعمیر پر آنے والی لاگت، سیلاب سے ہونے والے مادی خسارے کی محض دو فی صد ہے۔ (صرف مادی وسائل ـــ جانوں كے نقصان اور دیگر انسانی تكالیف کا تو کچھ اندازہ کرنا بھی مشکل ہے)۔ ان پشتوں کی تعمیر کیـــ اور اس سے متعلقہ امور كی تفصیل اس شعبہ كے ماہر انجنیئر وں سے كوئی مخفی نہیں۔ مثلاً یہ بات كہ ان پشتوں كی بلندی اور دریا كے كناروں سے ان کا فاصلہ سیلاب كے بعد کی نئی زمینی صورتحال كے مطابق ہونا چاہیے۔
ایك اور مسئلہ سے بھی خبردار رہنے كی ضرورت ہےـــ جو ہمیں لے ڈوبنے میں سب سے زیادہ بڑھ كر ہےاور امدادی كاروائیوں كی قلت اور تاخیر كی وجوہات میں سے اہم تر ہے۔ وہ مسئلہ یہ ہے کہ ہم اپنے درمیان وسعت نظر پر مبنی ‘‘امتِ مسلمہ كی محبت ’’ كے بجائے تنگ نظری پر مبنی ‘‘حب الوطنی’’ كو پروان چڑھا رہے ہیں۔ جزیرۂ عرب كے مادی وسائل در اصل تمام مسلمانوں کی ملکیت ہیں۔مسلمانوں كا پٹرول مسلمانوں كے لئے ہی ہونا چاہیے۔ مگر صورتحال یہ ہے كہ یہ وسائل بغیر كسی حق كے صرف كیے جاتے ہیں، غلط جگہوں پر استعمال ہوتے ہیں اور بے دریغ اور بلا روك ٹوك خرچ كیے جاتے ہیںـــ ایسے حالات میں جب بہت سے مسلمان سیلابوں، قحط سالی، بیماریوں، بھوك اور جہالت میں مبتلا ہو کر موت کے منہ میں جا پہنچے ہیں۔ ولا حول ولا قوۃ الا باللہ۔
مطلوبہ طریقے اور مطلوبہ تیز رفتاری سے مسلمانوں كی جانیں بچانے كے لئے كئی بنیادی امور دركار ہیں۔ ان میں سے چند درج ذیل ہیں:
اول:
ایسے ادارے کا قیام جو كہ ایسے حادثات سے بچنے اور نقصانات کا مداوا کرنے كا اہل ہو۔ اس ادارے كو مہارت بھی حاصل ہو، امتِ مسلمہ كے لئے تڑپ بھی اور خونِ مسلم پر غیرت بھی۔یہ اوصاف عام طور پر سركاری ملازمین كے یہاں تو ناپید ہیں مگر چند اللہ والے مردانِ كار اس کام کے لئے تلاش کئے جا سکتے ہیں۔ ان میں خیراتی و امدادی میدان میں كام كرنے والے کچھ حضرات اور چند بڑے ادارے چلانے والے حضرات ہیںـــ جو اس میدان میں حسنِ تدبیر اور كام كو بروقت انجام دینے میں نمایاں ہیں۔ اس معیار كے افرادـــاللہ كی مدد سےـــ ایسے ادارے تشكیل دینے اور ان كی نگرانی كرنے کی قدرت ركھتے ہیںـــ جو حادثات كے حجم كے اعتبار سے اپنی ذمہ داریوں سے عہدہ برا ہونے كی صلاحیت ركھیں۔ یہ جانتے ہوئے كہ مسلمان ممالك میں یہ قابلیت موجود ہے اور ان میں سے بعض كو خاص كر پاكستان میں كام كرنے كا وسیع تجربہ بھی ہےـــ اس دور کا ـــ جن دنوں افغان مہاجرین كی امداد كی جاتی تھی۔ ان میں سرزمینِ حرمین اور كویت كے ہلالِ احمر كے ذمہ داران بھی شامل ہیں۔
دوم:
بڑے پیمانے پر مالی ذرائع كی دستیابی۔
سوم:
غیور اور بے لوث كاركنان كی جماعتیںـــ جنہیں مسلمانوں كی قیمت كا احساس ہو۔ اور ایسی بہت سی جماعتیں پاكستان میں پہلے سے ہی موجود ہیں ۔
چہارم:
ترك، عرب ،ملائیشین اور دیگر ممالك سے رضاكاروں كے ایسے گروہ جو اپنے مسلمان بھائیوں كی امداد كریں، ان كی دلجوئی كریں اور اس بات كی یقین دہانی كریں كہ تمام متاثرین تك امدادی سامان پہنچ رہا ہے۔ اور وہ حادثہ كے حجم اور مسلمانوں كی تكالیف كی چھوٹی بڑی تفاصیل كو دنیا كے سامنے ركھ سكیں تاكہ ان كا تدارك ہوسكے۔ یہ رضاكار ایسے ہونے چاہئیں کہ انہیں خونِ مسلم كے مرتبے كا احساس ہو اور انہیں اپنے كام میں فنا ہونے كےلئے یہ حدیث كافی ہو، جس میں رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے فرمایا:
“بیوہ اور مسكین كی دیكھ بھال كرنے والا اللہ كی راہ میں جہاد كرنے والے كی طرح ہے”۔ (متفق علیہ)
اپنی بات ختم كرنے سے پہلے میں اپنے مسلمان بھائیوں كو یاد دلاتا ہوں كہ انڈونیشیا، ملائیشیا، بنگلادیش، مسلمانانِ ہند، كشمیر، پاكستان، افغانستان، عراق اور تركی جو كہ نقشے میں ایك ہلال كی شكل میں جڑے نظر آتے ہیںـــ اور جو كہ امت مسلمہ كی آبادی كی اكثریت ہیںـــ وہی مشرق اور شمال كی طرف سے دشمنوں كے خلاف امت كے دفاع میں صفِ اول تشكیل دیتے ہیں۔اللہ كے فضل وكرم سے، افغانستان كے مسلمانوں نے تین دہائی قبل كمیونسٹ یلغار كو روكاـــ اور ان افغانی بھائیوں کو پاكستان ہی كے راستے سے ہر قسم كی امداد پہنچتی تھی۔ اور اللہ كے فضل وكرم كے بعد ان مسلم ہلالی ممالك كے ذریعے مستقبل میں آنے والی یلغاروں كو بھی روكا جاسكتا ہےـــ چاہے جتنی بھی ہوں۔
آخر میں مَیں اللہ تعالی سے دعا كرتا ہوں كہ وہ مسلمانانِ پاكستان پر آسانی فرمائے۔ ان كے بوڑھوں ، عورتوں اور بچوں كی كمزوری پر رحم فرمائے اور اپنے بندوں كو توفیق دے کہ ان كی مدد كے لئے ہاتھ آگے بڑھائیں۔ میں اللہ رب العزت سے یہ بھی دعا كرتا ہوں كہ وہ ان كے مرحومین كی مغفرت كرے اور ان كے بیماروں كو شفایاب كرے۔ اور ان لوگوں كو سرچھپانے كی جگہ میسر كرے جن كا كوئی آسرا نہیں۔ بے شك وہ اس پر قدرت ركھتا ہے۔
اللہہم آتنا فی الدنیا حسنۃ وفی الآخرۃ حسنۃ وقنا عذاب النار۔
وصلی اللہ علی نبینا محمد وعلی آلہ وصحبہ اجمعین
وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد للہ رب العالمین۔

Casey

10-13-2010, 12:10 PM

[ أغيـثـوا إخـوانـكــم فـي بـاكسـتــان ]
[ Help Your Brothers in Pakistan ]

للشيخ المجاهد / أسامة بن لادن حفظه الله
By The Mujahid Sheikh / Osama bin Laden May Allah protect him
All praise be to Allah, and peace and prayers be on our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and his Companions and those who follow him righteously.

To proceed:

My Muslim nation,
peace be upon you, and the Mercy of Allah, and His Blessings.

My topic is about the floods of Pakistan, and the method of saving tens of thousands of its children, and the way to minimise its dangers as best we can, with the permission Allah.

The size of the catastrophe of the floods in Pakistan is enormous, and the complications which have occurred continue to increase. Millions of Muslims are suffering very badly, and tens of thousands are still at risk of death. The response should have been as great from the beginning of the catastrophe, as big as the disaster itself, especially from those best able to help: such as Turkey, the Gulf states and Malaysia. It is regrettable that up until this point, there hasn't been a suitable response, in terms of rescue work and how to deal with the catastrophe, and there has been an obvious shortage on the part of the media.

There have been some efforts put into showing the extent of the floods, but they have not been sufficient for the scale of the crisis. We in this case don't blame the television channels, which have adopted propaganda for the ruler and magnifying his image as their primary role - that's why they exist. Their role in saving life in such great catastrophes is not so important to them.

But those channels should have sought to perform their duty and improve their standards in the face of such a crisis:
Twenty million Muslims were in a state of constant crisis, and tens of millions were damaged indirectly, as a result of one fifth of the total area of Pakistan being submerged, and the area which was submerged was the crop-producing region, which will lead to a huge shortage in food and could cause widespread famine.

This event was one of the most serious of all the catastrophic events in the past century, so the leaders of the people should have dealt with it in conjunction with the leaders of media channels, but this did not happen.

Also, wouldn't it have been appropriate for the leaders of our nations to fight to go to Pakistan - before the United Nations' Secretary General travelled from the far West a month after the event? In spite of the many animosity-filled stances against our nation of his organisation, and with no ties between him and the Muslims of Pakistan, neither in terms of religion nor kinship. He only came because he had to, as part of his job, only to take a ride with his plane around the affected areas, and he was stunned by what he saw. He stated that he has never seen a catastrophe on that scale in his life.

Meanwhile the Arab leaders never came, in spite of the fact the are a shorter distance away, and their claims of brotherhood, as well as the amount of time they spend in Pakistan in good times rather than bad.

My Muslim nation:

The soul of one Muslim, man or woman, old or young, is of very important value for Allah the Exalted. And this importance means we must also take care, the reports of the concerned organisations point to the possibility of the death of tens of thousands of children. This means many Muslim souls will receive no care either from the government of Pakistan or the governments of the Islamic world, if we as a nation don't realise the size of the catastrophe and the amount of shortage present in dealing with it. This realisation can only come from hearing and seeing (for ourselves).

It was necessary to photograph it from ground-level, as well as from above by aeroplanes on a daily basis, and to follow the route of the floods from the valleys, to record its effects on villages and the buildings, from the (geographical) top of Pakistan down to the bottom.

This would show the true size of the floods, with all its effects and repercussions both vertically and horizontally, and accordingly, it would allow the people to see how big the catastrophe's repercussions were on day-to-day life.

This would help the responsible people to do what is required, to tackle those issues requiring instant intervention. These include: organising the required equipment to evacuate those stranded and cut-off by the water, as well those likely to be stranded, as well as organising food and drink, as well as housing and tents, providing psychological and health care, and assessing the agricultural affairs front and its repercussions.

On the engineering matters front in all its fields which are related, safety regulations need to be reconsidered considering safety and security on roads, bridges and dams. In this way we can learn from this, and take precautions to help deal with such events in this region, and others where people live beside rivers and in valleys.

Government leaders should have visited the affected areas, to see what precautions to help those who live beside rivers and in valleys in their own countries. In this way people can see for themselves if the rescue work of the nations is real and serious and proportional to the scale of the disaster, or less than it should be.

My Muslim nation:

The main responsibility for the poor response to their catastrophe lies first and foremost with those who occupy the sources of power: the judiciary, executive and legislative branches.

Law-makers are making laws away from Allah's governance, they have dismissed those senior judges who rule by the rule of Allah for giving verdicts according to Shariah and in opposition to what the ruler wishes. The wielding of executive power is limited to the personal whims of the ruler too. Even the media, except in the rare occasions, is as well.

Responsibility for the crisis corresponds to the amount of power, without forgetting the unjust limits they place on where voluntary work could be carried out, dictated by Washington, but which only apply to poor, weak Muslims.

In short, as the world is going through enormous climate change, where the number of casualties is even more in many instances than the number of the casualties of wars. So in the same way that media organisations have war correspondents, every major channel should have an dedicated crew, which consists of a team of experts, especially in the areas of administration, rescue, medicine, agriculture, civil engineering and irrigation.

They should start moving instantaneously in the first few hours after an event, to provide a true integrated image to the people with all its dimensions, and for each one to give detailed reports in their specialist field about the impact on daily life in the affected area, and to suggest ways to avoid such a disaster being repeated.

These things can be done to prevent future disasters, with the permission of Allah:

Creating sand barriers on the banks of the rivers, from the top of Pakistan to its bottom, ensuring the material used is according the followed practises and procedures in road construction. Two sand walls on the sides of a river would cost around 2% of the material cost which was caused by the flood let alone the lives lost and human suffering. The details of dams and their attachments are well known by specialised engineers, such as the height and distance from the rivers' sides, as would be required in the new circumstances after the flood.

Also we warn others of a matter that is one of our weakest points, and a cause for scarcity and lateness of rescue aid. It is the tendency towards hateful, narrow nationalism, as

The great financial wealth found in the Arabia Peninsula, is Muslim money. The Muslim oil is for all the Muslims, but in reality, some of it is being taken unfairly, and is spent in the wrong place, and is wasted without accountability.

Meanwhile many Muslims are being subjected to floods, famine, disease, hunger, ignorance, and are actually dying!

And there is no power or might except from Allah!

So the rescue of Muslim souls as swiftly and efficiently as possible has several important prerequisites.
First:

The presence of an administration that is able to efficiently cope with the events with experience and jealousy in their defence of, and feeling for, the blood of the Muslims. This is not available in most of the official workers of the nations, but only in some men who are volunteering for Allah' sake in the unpaid voluntary field, and in some company managers, who are well known to be good administrators and fast and efficient performers.

Men such as those are able - with the permission of Allah - to establish and run systems that deal with the crisis in the best manner. It is known that these elements are available in some Muslim countries. Some of them have great experience in relief work in Pakistan, from the days of aiding the Afghan immigrants. Some of them are Red Crescent managers in Saudi Arabia, and in Kuwait.

Second:

The availability of huge financial resources.

Third:

The availability of people who are jealous in their defence of the souls of Muslims in volunteer groups and there are many of those by the grace of Allah in Pakistan.

Fourth:

The availability of Turkish, Arab, Malaysian and other volunteers, to help their brothers and comfort them, and make sure the aid is delivered to all those who are affected, and to participate in transferring the details of the disaster to other Muslims, of the size of the catastrophe so that it can be dealt with. Volunteers should be jealous in their defence of the blood of the Muslims, and motivated to take action by the hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him: "He who runs to help the widow and the poor is like a Mujahid in the path of Allah" (Agreed upon)
Before I finish, I remind my Muslim brothers that the Islamic crescent - from Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, the Muslim parts of India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Turkey - make of a large portion of the Ummah, and are the first line of defence against the enemies in the east and north, and it's by the grace of Allah, and after that by the Muslims in Afghanistan, who received all kinds of support from Pakistan, that we stopped the red invasion, thirty years ago.

And it's by the grace of Allah, and after that by this Islamic crescent, that we will stop all greedy enemies in the future, though they are numerous.

To conclude:

I ask Allah the Exalted to lighten the burden on Muslims in Pakistan from what they're suffering, and to have mercy on their elders and women and children, and to give support to His worshippers, and whoever gives a hand of support to them.

And I ask Him (Bountiful and Majestic) as well to have mercy on their dead, and to heal their wounded, and give ****ter to those who are homeless, for Allah has the power to do all that.

"Our Lord! Give unto us in the world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and guard us from the punishment of the Fire" [Surah al-Baqarah: 201]

May Allah send prayers upon our prophet Muhammad, and his family, and his Companions in their entirety.

And our final prayer is that all praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds

NYer

10-14-2010, 06:25 PM

Apparently, Osama never heard about Climategate.

The 801

03-25-2011, 09:33 AM

Nice ideology debate....

Bin Laden sets alarm bells ringing
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

ISLAMABAD - After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following strong tip-offs that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been criss-crossing the area in the past few weeks for high-profile meetings in militant redoubts.

The US has been on Bin Laden's trail ever since he fled Afghanistan when the US invaded the country in 2001 to oust the Taliban, but the 54-year-old with a US$50 million reward on his head has always remained several steps in front.

Asia Times Online has learned that decision-makers have put a lot of weight on the information on Bin Laden's movements as it has come from multiple intelligence agencies, in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. For at least two years, little credible news has emerged of Bin Laden's movements and motives. Now, intelligence officials believe they have top-grade accounts as they come from the inner circles of militant camps.

Officials are said to be "stunned" by the visibility of Bin Laden's movements, and their frequency, in a matter of a few weeks in the outlawed terrain of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the most unprecedented reports about him since he evaded the US in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in 2001.

The development has fueled speculation in intelligence circles that al-Qaeda could be planning another major attack along the lines of the September 11, 2001, assault on New York and Washington, and the July 2007 foiled bomb attack in London.

However, extensive investigations by Asia Times Online, including exchanges within al-Qaeda's camps, point in another direction: given the nature of Bin Laden's meetings, this appears to be the beginning of a new era for a broader struggle in which al-Qaeda, through its Laskhar al-Zil (Shadow Army), will try to capitalize on the Arab revolts and the Palestinian struggle and also revitalize and redefine its role in Afghanistan.

A meeting in Bajaur
Several weeks ago, Bin Laden is reported to have met with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, the legendary Afghan mujahid and founder and leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Afghanistan (HIA) political party and paramilitary group, in a militant camp in thick jungle on the fringes of Kunar and Bajaur provinces in Afghanistan. The encounter was publicized by leaks from the HIA's inner circle and the news was circulated within militant camps in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area via top-level Pakistani militant commanders in Bajaur.

Despite him being an ally in the war in Afghanistan, the Taliban led by Mullah Omar have always been skeptical about Hekmatyar's intentions, while Bin Laden and some other al-Qaeda leaders view him differently. Hekmatyar's representatives of the HIA have been in direct active negotiations with the Americans and have also brokered limited ceasefire agreements with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces in Afghanistan.

Intelligence sources privy to the meeting in Bajaur said Bin Laden could not afford to meet Hekmatyar simply for a dinner party, which was hosted by a Pakistani militant commander of Salafi tendencies and who was a member of the HIA during the Soviet jihad.

"The talks appeared to discuss some grand strategy and Osama bin Laden aims to take Gulbuddin Hekmatyar on board, especially as Hekmatyar's commanders have brokered ceasefire agreements with NATO forces in Afghanistan and Hekmatyar's representatives have been negotiating a truce with the Americans," an intelligence source told Asia Times Online.

Beyond terror operations
Adding to the view of the importance of Bin Laden's meeting with Hekmatyar is that it took place when the interest of the CIA and its special forces had already been piqued by reports of the al-Qaeda leader's movements in Kunar and Nuristan for meetings with various militant commanders and al-Qaeda bigwigs. Bin Laden would have been aware of the dangers and was obviously prepared to take the risk.

While intelligence agencies might be involved in a guessing game about Bin Laden's plans and a possible grand al-Qaeda operation, his movements can be read in the perspective of recent discourse in al-Qaeda circles and a major shift in its policies.

International Islamic militancy that had its roots in the decade-long war against the Soviets in the 1980s was broadly divided into two main schools of thought; both considered themselves righteous despite embodying contradictory themes. These were doctrines of armed struggle espoused by Palestinian Sunni Islamic scholar and theologian Dr Abdullah Azzam, and Egyptian ideologue and Bin Laden's deputy, Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Azzam preached in favor of defensive jihad by Muslims to help the Afghan mujahideen against the Soviets. He firmly believed in a broader Muslim bloc including Muslim ruling establishments and never supported revolt against Muslim regimes. Despite being Palestinian with Jordanian nationality and a background in the Muslim Brotherhood, Azzam kept himself aloof from the Palestinian revolt against the Jordanian monarchy in September 1970 (called Black September).

Azzam was very close to the Saudi Arabian royal family and considered it essential to lobby it for support of Islamic armed movements like the Afghan resistance against the Soviets and the Palestinian resistance against Israel. He struggled to achieve unity among Muslim rulers and Islamists to resist Western hegemony. He was less dogmatic than others in his strategic purview.

After Azzam's assassination in Pakistan in 1989, Zawahiri emerged as the main ideologue of Islamic armed opposition. Coming from the same ideological background of the Muslim Brotherhood as Azzam, Zawahiri faced an entirely different world after the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s when, under American instructions, Muslim regimes were intolerant of Islamic militancy.

Zawahiri therefore promoted the idea of ideological divides within the Muslim world, and encouraged revolts and terrorism to polarize societies to such a point of chaos that they would be unmanageable and amenable to Western intervention. It was believed that such intervention would open the gates for a battle between the West and the Muslim world.

Like Azzam, Zawahiri is not too dogmatic, but he encouraged narrow ideological views in resistance movements as a strategy to boost revolts against Muslim-majority states.

Of the two schools of thought, Azzam's has never been criticized and is respected by all while Zawahiri's has come under heavy fire from mainstream Muslim scholars and intelligentsia. Zawahiri’s adherents had no argument in his defense other than him operating under the law of necessity.

A recent ideological discourse within al-Qaeda's ranks shot down Zawahiri's arguments. This was sparked by key al-Qaeda ideologues and commanders such as Sulaiman Abu al-Gaith (see Broadside fired at al-Qaeda leaders Asia Times Online, December 10, 2010) and Saif al-Adel.

Adel emphasized that while polarization within the Muslim world was essential after 9/11 to gather strength behind al-Qaeda, nowadays, especially in light of the great Arab revolt, there was a need to switch to Azzam's viewpoint that sees no need for polarization within Muslim-majority states viz-a-viz the Muslim world's confrontation against Western hegemony.

After this, al-Qaeda began a new phase with the Muslim Brotherhood and Palestinian groups to revive its old contacts and establish a new nexus for a joint struggle against Western interests in the Muslim world.

Bin Laden's meeting with Hekmatyar and other militant commanders in the Hindu Kush can be seen as a part of this new war in which al-Qaeda aims to involve the whole Muslim nation.

Hekmatyar's HIA has been a part of al-Qaeda's Laskhar al-Zil, which comprises elite guerrillas. Possibly, al-Qaeda aims to revitalize its operations in Afghanistan, and throughout the world, along with mainstream resistance groups (sons of the soil or Ibnul Balad) and in addition to Islamic political parties.

While fears attached to Bin Laden’s unprecedented visibility and movement for a grand al-Qaeda operation cannot completely be dismissed, it is more possible that al-Qaeda will undertake both worldwide terror operations and join forces with mainstream Muslim groups.

Syed Saleem Shahzad is Asia Times Online's Pakistan Bureau Chief

Casey

05-02-2011, 04:06 PM

بيان من (مؤتمر الأمة) يدعو إلى احترام جثمان الشيخ أسامة بن لادن

Statement of (the nation) calls for respect for the body of Sheikh Osama bin Laden

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

بيان من

Statement of

(مؤتمر الأمة)

(The nation)

يدعو إلى احترام جثمان الشيخ أسامة بن لادن

Calls for respect for the body of Sheikh Osama bin Laden

ودفنه وفق أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية

And buried in accordance with the provisions of Islamic law

الحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى اللهم على نبينا الأمين وآله وصحبه أجمعين وبعد ..

Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and blessings of Allaah be upon our Prophet Secretary and his family and companions and yet ..

فقد فقدت الأمة اليوم الشيخ أسامة بن لادن الذي كان زعيما من زعمائها الذين أبلوا بلاء عظيما في الدفاع عن الأمة والجهاد في سبيل الله بنفسه وماله في مواجهة الاتحاد السوفيتي الشيوعي وغزوه واحتلاله لأفغانستان منذ بداية الجهاد سنة 1982م إلى سنة 1992م ثم في مواجهته للاحتلال الأمريكي لأفغانستان سنة 2001م واحتلال العراق سنة 2003م حتى كتب الله له الشهادة اليوم في مواجهة مع القوات الأمريكية في باكستان..

Has lost the nation today, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, who was a leader of leaders who have done great in the defense of the nation and Islamic Jihad for the sake of God himself and his wealth in the face of the Soviet Union Communist Party and its invasion and occupation of Afghanistan since the beginning of the Jihad in 1982 to the year 1992 and then in the face of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan in 2001 and the occupation of Iraq until the year 2003 written to his testimony today in a confrontation with U.S. forces in Pakistan ..

وإن المؤتمر إذ يعزي أسرة الشيخ أسامة والعالم الإسلامي بوفاته ليدعو حكومة الولايات المتحدة إلى احترام شعائر الدين الإسلامي والأديان السماوية والمواثيق الدولية وتسليم جثمانه إلى أسرته حتى يتم دفنه والصلاة عليه حسب أحكام الشريعة الإسلامية..

The conference is attributed as the family of Sheikh Osama and the Islamic world of his death to call the U.S. government to respect the Islamic religion and the heavenly religions and international conventions and delivered his body to his family until the burial, and prayer as per the provisions of Islamic law ..

هذا ونسأل الله للشهيد الرحمة الواسعة وأن يسكنه جناته

We ask God for mercy martyr wide and home to paradise

وإنا لله وإنا إليه لراجعون

From God and to Him we shall return

مؤتمر الأمة
Conference of the Nation
الاثنين 29 جمادى الأولى 1432
Monday, 29 May 1432
الموافق 2 مايو 2011
Approved May 2, 2011

Casey

05-03-2011, 03:34 PM

Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate / Zabihullah Mujahid about the announcement made by Obama regarding A_i_ha

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

تصريح الناطق باسم الإمارة الإسلامية/ ذبيح الله مجاهد حول ما أعلنه اوباما بخصوص استشهاد الشيخ أسامة بن لاذن

Spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate / Zabihullah Mujahid about the announcement made by Obama about the death of Sheikh Osama bin permission

ثلاثاء, 03 مايو 2011
Tue, May 3, 2011
19:33
19:33

من جهة لم يقدم الأمريكيون شواهد مقنعة لثبوت ادعائهم، ومن جهة أخرى لم تعلن المنابع المقربة من الشيخ أسامة بن لادن موقفها ـ تأكيداً او نفياً ـ تجاه ما أعلن اوباما من استشهاد المذكور، لذا فإن إمارة أفغانستان الإسلامية تعتبر الحديث في الموضوع قبل إصدار موقف رسمي من المنابع المقربة للشيخ قولاً قبل أوانه.

Hand, did not provide convincing evidence of Americans to prove their claim, on the other hand did not declare the sources close to Sheikh Osama bin Laden, its confirmation or denial about what Obama announced the death of the said, so the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is to talk on the subject before the release of an official position of sources close to Sheikh word premature.
-------------- --------------
منقول عن موقع الامارة الاسلامية

Moved the location of the Islamic Emirate

Casey

05-03-2011, 05:14 PM

Photo of bin Laden said to be before he was sent to sea

http://worldanalysis.net/uploads/new_medium.jpg

Related:

Info regarding photoshop of OBL after being shot in the head

http://wincoast.com/forum/showthread.php?102817-Bin-laden-is-dead!&p=1659692&highlight=#post1659692

Casey

05-03-2011, 05:44 PM

Photo of bin Laden said to be before he was sent to sea

http://worldanalysis.net/uploads/new_medium.jpg

Liveleak has a graphic that appears to be the original of this photo.

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&sl=ar&tl=en&u=http://www.liveleak.com/view%3Fi%3D964_1304445424&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhgC0bbW553YTw8-lvaO4Tfx1Uvxpw

The 801

05-06-2011, 07:45 AM

I don't buy it. These will never surface.

Simon666

05-06-2011, 07:47 AM

Looks same appearance as 2001 or something. Would expect his beard to be a lot more grey. Anyway, we'll see.

Simon666

05-06-2011, 07:51 AM

Thought so:

UPDATE: Though it does not appear to have made any official publications, the super fake-looking picture below is circulating some on Twitter, purporting to be another photograph of Osama Bin Laden's dead body. People seem rightfully skeptical because this Photosopping isn't even skilled:

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/x2_5dd1f23.jpg

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2011/05/osama_bin_laden_death_photo_fake.php

SmokedYourDSM

05-06-2011, 10:41 AM

Hi casey :)

Here's the official statement from AQ on Ansar in case you didn't have it.

http://www.as-ansar.com/vb/showthread.php?t=38472

In the name of God the Merciful

[Al Qaeda - General Command]
I lived a martyr benign Humic
Statement on the epic parents, and the death of Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him

In the name of God the Merciful

Praise be to Allaah says: {And if you are slain in the way of Allah, or die for the forgiveness from Allah and mercy are better than what they hoard} [Al-Imran: 157], and peace and blessings be upon His Prophet, who said: (be good, I kill for the sake of Allah, then live and then kill and then revived, and then kill) , and his family and his companions, who reported right Badelhm, and kept the religion Bnhoarham, and poured the Ialaih blood {What did befall them in the way of Allah, they weaken nor degrade themselves} [Al-Imran: 146] and on the wire on their way and fought jihad and patience, patience to the Day of Judgement.
After:
In a historic day, from the days of the Islamic nation great, and the position of not Bbda of the positions of its heroes and men across the old mosque, and on a paved road taken by the option of her predecessors and Ahakeha, killing of Sheikh Mujahid Commander Zahid Muhajir Abu Abdullah Osama bin Muhammad bin Laden, may God have mercy on him in the home of true sincerity in saying work and the case for proof to catch up with the nation's solemn extended keep up with Tetra between great leaders, and soldiers loyal, and the Knights of honest Abe when to give Aldnip in religion, and recognizes the command and humiliate those who hit them humiliation and wretchedness of anger and who have gone astray, run afoul of arms with arms, and force with force, and before to challenge the masses Mcetkbrp out Baladtha and equipment, aircraft and buildup dwellings boastfully and to be seen of men, what weakened them resolve not sapped his strength, but to stop them face to face Toda stand as it was Toda stand, not still in the midst of battle that may be used to fold a thousand analogues yet to be excused and has its secretariat until received shots of treachery and blasphemy to deliver his soul to the maker while repeating:

Of making the Holy Spirit to the Lord --- How to ward off the falsehood blame
And concludes his enlightening Gospel Glory requested by the long years and GAP land in search of the interest it Vtlqaha jubilantly declared when he turns to Him: it is the certificate in the name of Allah: {none is granted only those who are patient and is receiving only a great fortune} [separated: 35], and has echoes of his words ringing in the outlook: Valsaid taken from a witness of God, did not think he thinks the deficit!

It is thought those who find wars --- that does not get the thought deficit
Congratulations to the Nation of Islam martyrdom of her son's bar Osama, after a lifetime of diligent effort, determination and patience, and incitement and jihad, and the generosity and kindness, and immigration, travel, advice and good governance, and the wisdom and statesmanship - Foldable Omar Sheikh Jihad in this day and age to keep his blood and his words and positions, and concludes with the spirit apply in the limbs generations our Islamic nation, generation after generation, have learned from him that the glory is not built aspirations and hopes, and that leadership is not positions and decorations, and the beliefs and principles are not just words ornate Tlokha tongues, and that religion does not supports the curious times, words and deeds, and for the good old - in the world and the Hereafter - open to those who He wanted to pay its toll and bear followed, and that the ruler in the religion does not only get the patience and certainty, and that capital one is honesty and sincerity.
For if enable the Americans to kill Osama, What then is the shame and Shunnar, it kills the men and heroes only in the arena bout, and for each book, but you Americans can tell them and their clients and their instruments and Asalm and their intelligence and their computers that Imitoa what lived Sheikh Osama for him and was killed in the process? Begone, Sheikh Osama did not build the organization to die with his death and goes in going {want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, though the disbelievers hate * it is Who sent His Messenger with Guidance and the Religion of Truth, to proclaim it over all religion, however much the idolaters} [Grade: 8.9], will remain verses arrows outstanding at the throats of those deaf mutes who do not understand, and will remain the religion of God - and from the Jihad for the sake of God - was present always carry beliefs hearts of the net, and working to revive it supported the pure, and consistently in order to enable the masses of honest does not hurt them from the pious not to let them down until he came to God's promise .
The sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him was not a prophet sent in the twentieth century it is a Muslim man from the Muslim Ummah precious to take the book strongly and sold the Hereafter and strives for it as as we think, Verwah God would raise his religion, and Oazza what he sought to show pride in his speech, and frightened by the United disbelief the whole of what has made no secret except his Lord, but the nation that gave birth to Osama nation and Lud reproducers, and come from men and heroes like him and his ilk, who Esteldhun sacrifice and Istazbon patience and Ingson live their enemies, and conquer them the gates of hell, or lead them to heaven with chains; Jaami faith and the Koran and Islamic Jihad, which emerged Sheikh Osama bin Laden is not and will not shut the doors, recent book God Mahfouz and his signs are rehearsed the night and the parties the day and will not be erased, even if met from Boqtarha, how the Muslim Ummah today the most popular on its religion and sacrifice for the faith and strength in the face of its enemies and recognition of the fact that almost her, having grown up the generation of pious pure contributed to Sheikh Osama may God have mercy on him a good contribution in instilled with all his fellow leaders of the righteous, and advocates the righteous good guys, Jill Istali faith and proud to become Muslim, and despise the infidel West and contempt for his or her own pseudo-civilization of immorality and Alkhana and decay and hypocrisy, the generation to take the killing led booty for the consolidation of his loyalty to the religion is not fond of reversed by the heels, chanting with faith and believe God said: {And how many a Prophet fought with him Rbion many, what did befall them in the way of Allah, they weaken nor degrade themselves and Allah loves the patient * and the only words that they said: Our Lord forgive us our sins and our extravagance in our foothold victory over the disbelieving folk * God gave them the reward of the world and better reward of the Hereafter, and Allah loves the doers of good} [Al-Imran: 146-148].
If the light of Islam and jihad can turn off the killing or the death of one of the day went to Matt Syed creation Muhammad peace be upon him and cringe from cringe from the Arabs, or wrapped up their on that spattered the faithful life of his own blood in the niche, and Osman when Msahvh, and on the way, may God bless them all, how much and how many of the leaders who followed in the way of life has been filled the land east and west beings and their conquests and their struggle, what eased the light of truth latest deaths and no reverse their followers absences, but increasing in killing fury on their enemies, and a determination to take their revenge and the banner of the right to their hands, they recite the words of their Lord: {of the believers are men true to their covenant with Allah, some have died and some of them are still waiting;} [Ahzab: 23].
In this context we in al Qaeda promise God Almighty - and we ask help and support and installation - to continue on the path of jihad, who walked by our leaders, led by Sheikh Osama, but Mtoanin not reluctant, and will not deviate from it or we tend to judge God between us and the enemy the right to a Best of Judges, not bad for us then to see the victory and nail and are aware of the opening and empowerment or perish without it: {Vliqatl for the sake of God those who Icheron life of the world and the Hereafter fight in the way of Allah being killed or more will give him a great reward} [women: 74].
We also stress that the blood of the mujahid sheikh Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him heavier and more expensive in our view and when every Muslim to go in vain, and will remain, God willing, the curse of chasing the Americans and their agents and pursued inside and outside their country, and soon - with God's help - to Tnqbann happiness sorrow, but Takhttun blood Bdmuahm, and Nbern Section Sheikh Osama may God have mercy on him: you will not enjoy the American nor live in America safe so enjoy it, our people in Palestine, and will continue to be soldiers of Islam groups and masse plot and plan without fatigue or boredom and despair, no surrender, no creek or chill until Termua them guy, Chip child by Almsheeb.!
We call upon the Muslim people in Pakistan who killed Sheikh Osama on the land to rise up and rise up to wash this shame that caused them a handful of traitors and thieves who have sold everything to the enemies of the nation, and disregarded the feelings of this people, decent fighter, and to rise up uprising strong public to clean up their country (Pakistan) Burgess Americans who have wreaked havoc in {Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves} [Thunder: 11].
This was my father Sheikh to leave this world before taking part nation Islamic joys Bthoradtha, which has risen in the face of injustice and wrong and record them God's mercy sound word before his death one week, including greetings, advice and guidance, we will publish soon, God willing, and stamped with these verses:

Stop right to Taghi --- is the splendor is human
Is the path to the world --- is the path to the other
Fmt you want the slave --- and if you wish Fmt free
Moreover, we warn the Americans of any prejudice to the corpse of Sheikh God's mercy or exposure to the treatment of Inappropriate him or any one of the family honored their neighborhood and Guetilhm, and to recognize the bodies to the people, otherwise, any ill-will open you doors to double from evil do not blame them but yourselves. We call on all Muslims to do their duty to enforce this right.

And God is before and after, and will teach those who wronged any turning.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family peace and recognition of a lot.

Al Qaeda / GC
Tuesday, 29 May 1432 e
Approved: May 3, 2011

(Source: Center for Media Dawn)

Casey

05-06-2011, 07:40 PM

Thanks Smoked!

Casey

05-06-2011, 07:43 PM

http://worldanalysis.net/uploads/3.gif

Tawhid and Jihad group accounted for when God renewed century and uplifting the banner of Tawhid Sheikh Osama bin Laden

-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------

In the name of God the Merciful

{Of the believers are men true to their covenant with God, some have died and some of them are still waiting;}

:: I won the Lord of the Kaaba::

| | Tawhid and Jihad group accounted for when God renewed century and uplifting the banner of Tawhid | |

Sheikh Assad brave and gallant Osama bin Muhammad bin Laden, may God have mercy on him

Praise be to God Moez Islam victory and humiliating trap and the Bank of things from him and inferred the unbelievers in deception, which states the number of days in justice, and make the result for the Righteous grace, and peace and blessings of God on the top Manar Islam with his sword, and after:

Difficult days we spent and spent Unitarians in the countries of the land, and they are waiting for news of certainty about the fate of the Imam of the Mujahideen, and the commander of legions of true unwavering, and we consider him and his reckoning Allah; Sheikh Osama bin Laden accepted by God, that Aajltna news from our pure good guys in general command of al Qaeda , to teach us that the sheikh was the safest Spirit Poara, and departed from this world is coming to deliberate, not slept the eyes of cowards.

Lived Sheikh - accepted by God - our neighborhood from the lottery, did not pay attention to the decoration of this world, or the wreckage mortal, but dedicated his life to call for the unification and mobilization of the nation for jihad for the sake of Allah, The right to us that we record and reckoning Allah that he was right (Refurbished twenty-first century), was narrated from Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, he said: (Allah sends to this nation at the head of every one hundred years of renewed its religion) Narrated by Abu Dawood.

And how not to have Sheikh Osama may God have mercy on him renewed the century, and the testimony of the enemy before the friend it is he who sparked the jihad in all corners of the globe, and to instill in the minds of all Muslims that they are jihad only regaining their dignity and their pride, and proved he acts, Vozl America and forced her nose in their own backyard in raids on New York and Washington.

Have renewed the nation's debt, yes; renewed the nation's debt when revived the obligation of jihad, which we know the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him to leave and missing it is left to the religion and the loss of him, narrated that Ibn Umar said: I heard the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him say: ( When you enter into, and you have received, the tails of cows, and indulge in farming and abandon Jihad, God brought humiliation upon you not be delivered until you return to your religion) Narrated by Abu Dawood.

"Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may God have mercy on him:" the soul of wit saying peace be upon him: (until you return to your religion); to leave the Jihad and to ignore them and sleep to the minimum deviation from religion and a paradox to him, and is sufficient as a sin, and sin, "his decision.

We in the Shura Council of the Tawhid and Jihad in Jerusalem, as counted when God sheikh brave lion gallant Osama bin Laden, may God have mercy on him, and we ask God to inflict the prophets and the saints and martyrs and the righteous; we emphasize that the departure of our sheikh must send us a lot of meanings of the High Commissioner, for we encourage them high aspirations, he left his body pure, but his spirit is still with us calling that does not leave a trail of glory and for parents, and the echo of his calls ringing ears: Jihad, Jihad, Vnaahid God Almighty, and say, filling the mouth: God and Allah and the God of Noasln path of Jihad, and will go in the footsteps of Imam Mahdi , it does no harm many defeatists and losers, and will not shock calls to surrender and obedience to tyrants, and the noblest of Dtna our mothers, and the splendor and Cup We had experienced the sweetness of the biography of Shaykh al-Islam, Osama, Vobcroa with ill O enemies of Allah, the Jews and the apostates, and of the most important.

{And how many a Prophet fought with him many devoted men and what did befall them in the way of Allah and they weaken nor degrade themselves and Allah loves those who are patient *

What was saying only that they said: Our Lord forgive us our sins and wasted efforts, make our foothold sure and give us victory over the disbelieving folk *

Allah gave them the reward of the world and better reward of the Hereafter, and Allah loves the doers of good}

Vlijl as well as speeches and Fith it is not an eye did not lead thou excuse

A brother who was tortured soul, not derogatory, but they'll grow to be told by the old!

Brother died from beatings and stabbed dead in place of victory since his death victory

Matt and his sword racket until he died from beatings and took to the hills by Canna

It was only attributed to those who say pride and an asset to those at night and has no asset

And the same recovery shame even if it was the disbelief on horror or disbelief without

He proved in a quagmire of death and said to her leg from under the Okhmsk Hashr

Tomorrow I should be, praise be to weave tunic did not leave only pay Okfanah

Deterioration of the red death, what clothes Dja her night except a silk Khadr

It was built on Islam and the death of another star sky, including moon

Renewed hopes after Osama and became filled in for Travel Travel

And how a probabilistic cloud creature Bisagaiha grave alone and in the sea!

Tahir went on dresses is no longer kindergarten day after Thuy they only wanted the tomb

You have the peace of God, and I stood I saw the Holy free no age

Your brothers in the

Shura Council of Tawhid and Jihad group

Jerusalem

Friday, 3 Jumada II 1342

Approved 6-5 --2,011

جماعة التّوحيد والجهاد تَحتسب عند الله مُجدِّد القرن ورافِع لِواء التّوحيد || الشيخ أسامة بن لادن ||

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

{مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ صَدَقُوا مَا عَاهَدُوا اللَّهَ عَلَيْهِ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ قَضَى نَحْبَهُ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَنْتَظِرُ وَمَا بَدَّلُوا تَبْدِيلًا}

:: فُزتَ ورَبّ الكَعبَة ::

|| جماعة التّوحيد والجهاد تَحتسب عند الله مُجدِّد القرن ورافِع لِواء التّوحيد ||

الشَّيخُ المِقدَام والأَسدُ الهُمَام أُسامَة بِن مُحمَّد بِن لاَدِن رحِمه الله

الحمدُ لله مُعِز الإسلام بِنصرِه ومُذِل الشِّرك بِقَهرِه ومُصرِّف الأمُور بِأمره ومُستدرك الكَافرين بِمكرِه، الذي قدَّر الأيام دولًا بِعدله، وجَعل العَاقبةَ للمُتقين بفِضْله، والصَّلاة والسَّلام عَلى مَن أَعلَى اللهُ مَنار الإِسلامِ بِسيفه، وبعد:

أيامٌ صعبة قضيناها وقضاها الموحدون في أقطار الأرض وهم ينتظرون الخبر اليقين، حول مصير إمام المجاهدين، وقائد جحافل الصادقين الثابتين، كما نحسبه والله حسيبه؛ الشيخ أسامة بن لادن تقبله الله، إلى أن عاجلتنا الأخبار الواردة من إخواننا الأطهار الأخيار في القيادة العامة لتنظيم قاعدة الجهاد، لتُعلِمنا أن شيخنا قد أسلم الروح لباريها، وانتقل إلى الرفيق الأعلى مُقبلًا غير مدبر، فلا نامت أعين الجبناء.

عاش الشيخ -تقبله الله- بيننا حينًا من الدهر، لم يلتفت لزخرف الدنيا ولا لحطامها الفاني، بل أفنى عمره في الدعوة للتوحيد واستنهاض الأمة للجهاد في سبيل الله، فحُق لنا أن نحسبه والله حسيبه أنه كان بحق (مجدد القرن الواحد والعشرين)، فعن أبي هُريرة رضِي الله عنه عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أنه قال: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِئَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا) رواه أبو داود.

وكَيف لا يكُون الشيخ أسامة رحمهُ الله مُجددَ القرن، وبشهادة العدُو قبل الصديق فإنه هُو الذي أشعل فتيل الجهاد في كافة أرجاء المعمورة، وغرس في أذهان كل المسلمين أنهم بالجهاد فقط سيستعيدُون كرامتهُم وعزتهم، وبرهن على قوله بالأفعال، فأذل أمريكا وأرغم أنفها في عقر دارها في غزوتي نيويورك وواشنطن.

لقد جدد للأُمة دينها، نعم؛ جدد للأمة دينها حين أحيا فيها فريضة الجهاد التي علَّمنا رسُول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن تركها وتضييعها هو تركٌ للدين وضياعٌ له، فعَنْ ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُما قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: (إِذَا تَبَايَعْتُمْ بِالْعِينَةِ، وَأَخَذْتُمْ أَذْنَابَ الْبَقَرِ، وَرَضِيتُمْ بِالزَّرْعِ، وَتَرَكْتُمْ الْجِهَادَ، سَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ ذُلًّا لَا يَنْزِعُهُ حَتَّى تَرْجِعُوا إِلَى دِينِكُمْ) رواه أبو داوود.

قال الشيخُ أبو مصعب الزرقَاوي رحمهُ الله: "ودل قوله صلى الله عليه وسلم: (حتى ترجعوا إلى دينكم)؛ على أن ترك الجهاد والإعراض عنه والسكون إلى الدنيا خروج عن الدين ومفارقة له، وكفى به ذنباً وإثماً مبينا" ا.هـ

وإننا في مجلس شورى جماعة التوحيد والجهاد في بيت المقدس إذ نحتسب عند الله تعالى شيخنا المقدام الأسد الهُمام أسامة بن لادن رحمه الله، ونسألُه تعالى أن يُلحقه بالأنبياء والصديقين والشهداء والصالحين؛ فإننا نُؤكد أن رحيل شيخنا يجب أن يبعث فينا الكثير من المعاني السامية، لنستحث بها الهمم العالية، فقد رحل بجسده الطاهر، لكن رُوحه لازالت بيننا تنادي أن لا تتركوا درب العز وسبيل الإباء، وصدى نداءاته تقرع آذاننا: الجهاد الجهاد، فنُعاهد الله تعالى، ونقول بملء الفم: والله وتالله وبالله لنُواصِلنَّ درب الجهاد، ولَسوف نمضي على خُطى الإمام المُجدد، لن يضُرنا كثرة المتخاذلين والمتراجعين، ولن تهُزنا دعوات الاستسلام والانقياد للطواغيت، فقد ولدتنا أمهاتنا أعِزة، وتجرعنا كأس العز وخبرنا حلاوته من سيرة شيخ الإسلام أسامة، فأبشروا بما يسوئكم يا أعداء الله اليهود والمرتدين ومن والاهم.

{وَكَأَيِّنْ مِنْ نَبِيٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُوا لِمَا أَصَابَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُوا وَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّابِرِينَ *

وَمَا كَانَ قَوْلَهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَإِسْرَافَنَا فِي أَمْرِنَا وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ *

فَآتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا وَحُسْنَ ثَوَابِ الْآخِرَةِ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ}

كذا فليجلَّ الخطبُ وليفدحِ الأمرُ فليسَ لعين لم يفضْ ماؤها عذرُ

أخًا كانَ عَذْبَ الرُّوحِ لا مِنْ غَضاضَةٍ ولكنَّ كِبراً أنْ يقالَ به كبرُ!

أخًا ماتَ بين الضربِ والطعنِ ميتة ً تقومُ مقامَ النصرِ إذْ فاتهَ النصرُ

وما ماتَ حتى ماتَ مضربُ سيفهِ مِنَ الضَّرْبِ واعْتَلَّتْ عليهِ القَنا السُّمْرُ

وما كانَ إلا عِزًا لمن قلَّ عِزه وذخراً لمنْ أمسى وليسَ له ذخرُ

ونفسٌ تعافُ العارَ حتى كأنَّه هو الكفرُ يومَ الروعِ أوْ دونَه الكفرُ

فأثبتَ في مستنقعِ الموتِ رجله وقال لها منْ تحت أخمصكِ الحشرُ

غَدَا غَدْوَة ً والحَمْدُ نَسْجُ رِدائِهِ فلم ينصرفْ إلا وأكفانُه الأجرُ

تردى ثيابَ الموتِ حمراً فما دجا لها الليلُ إلاَّ وهْيَ مِنْ سُنْدُسٍ خَضْرُ

كأنَّ بَنِي الإسلام يومَ وَفاتِه نُجومُ سَماءٍ خَرَّ مِنْ بَيْنها البَدْرُ

تجددت الآمالُ بعدَ أسامةٍ وأصبحَ في شغل عنِ السفر السفرُ

وكيفَ احتمالي للسحابِ صنيعة ً بإسقائِها قَبْراً وفي لَحدِهِ البَحْرُ !

مضى طاهرَ الأثوابِ لم تبقَ روضة ٌ غداة ً ثوى إلا اشتهتْ أنَّها قبرُ

عليك سَلامُ اللهِ وَقْفاً فإنَّني رَأيتُ الكريمَ الحُرَّ ليسَ له عُمْرُ

إخوانكم في

مجُلِسُ شُورى جَماعة التَّوحِيدِ وَالجِهاد

بيتُ المقدِس

الجمعة 3 جمادى الآخرة 1342

الموافق 6-5- 2011

Casey

05-06-2011, 09:32 PM

Army of Islam: [obituary statement congratulating the Nation of Islam and the martyrdom of Persia saga parents - Sheikh / Osama bin Laden]
-------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------
In the name of God the Merciful
Praise be to God, prayer and peace upon the Messenger of Allah, and after:

Allaah has made life time limit and death as inevitable, Fzy God His Messenger peace be upon him, and I like his creation to him as the progenitor of the conditions of the prophets before him, who have been traumatized or tortured or killed, and attributed the nation, including decrees of God do not stray from this year cosmic, was noted in the download for the death of the Prophet peace be upon him or kill him, and all that God has decreed is good, but the parameters of uniformity in these calamities appear clear:

So the first part: the pen much earlier work, and is located in the reign of God but what of Him, and to book time immemorial has occurred at the time did not provide for the moment was not delayed again.

Second: that the way to conclude either the sovereignty of God or martyrdom, and the disillusioned and lost, who sold his religion Bdniah, and more disappointment and the greatest Khosrana him who sold his religion other physically.

Third: that the worship of men Here are the men had died, and those who worship the Lord of men is alive and not die, and approach men do not die their deaths, what is mentioned by the Prophet peace be upon him did not die will not die with his death.

Fourth: the death of leaders weigh the load on the followers, and the legacy of the group, which is not underestimate him, it is trust in God faithfully and loyally helped by God, and humiliation by the Han plain, and back on the road or re-examine the approach the group is the evil heir.

VIA men Unification remember the calamity of the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him easier for you to accept every person who is after him, and know that before you ripped in half and combed the combs of iron, and donated their heads to prostitutes, burned, tortured, stabbed and killed, what is repulsed by their religion, do not jump to pick the fruit, and know with certainty that the king of the nation of Muhammad peace be upon him will be the Mashreq and Maghreb glory of Islam and his humiliation of infidelity and his family.
And know that the battle rounds, not round, and they need the same length and severity of patience and the depth of faith and firmness of certainty and stability provided tight humerus and concerted efforts, and real Balaftn to know his enemy and Ewalih, and his guardian and Iedi, improving the conduct of the battle, ensuring his victory.

Men should be sure that your Lord, and work rewarded, not only Tklfon yourselves, and you do not ask you as a result, demanding work, and opened the hole by the needle of the heavens will know then how much was Mgbona in the world that did not kill for the sake of God a thousand times.
In conclusion, we ask Allah by His beautiful names and attributes of Almighty that leads us in our loss and Ikhalafna better than her, and help us to acceptance of His decree and certainty of a capacity of, and thanks for the command, and praise in the good times and bad, and Ibdlna after fear, secure, and Iezna ill-inverted and poplar after the furnace, and another pretext that Praise to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.
Army of Islam - General Command
Saturday, 4 inanimate Hereafter 1432 e
Corresponding to 07, May 2011

جيش الإسلام : [ بَيَـان نعي وتهنئة أمة الإسلام بإستشهاد فارس ملحمة الإباء - الشيخ/ أسامة بن لادن ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، وبعد:

فإن الله سبحانه جعل الحياة بأجل والموت بقدر لا مفر منه، فعزى الله سبحانه رسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأحب خلقه إليه بما سلف من أحوال الأنبياء من قبله، ممن أوذي أو عُذب أو قُتل، وعزى أمته بما يقدره الله سبحانه بما لا يخرج عن هذه السنة الكونية، فكان في التنزيل الإشارة لموت الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم أو قتله، وفي كل ما يقدره الله سبحانه خير، ولكن معالم التوحيد في هذه المصائب تظهر واضحة جلية:

فأولها: أن قلم القدر سبق العمل، ولا يقع في مُلك الله إلا ما قدره سبحانه، وأن كتاب الأزل قد وقع في حينه فلم يقدم لحظة ولم يتأخر أخرى.

وثانيها: أن سبيل الله تُختتم إما بالسيادة وإما بالشهادة، وخاب وخسر من باع دينه بدنياه، وأشد خيبة وأعظم خسراناً منه من باع دينه بدنيا غيره.

وثالثها: أن من يعبد الرجال فها هم الرجال قد ماتوا، ومن كان يعبد رب الرجال فهو حي لا يموت، وأن منهج الرجال لا يموت بموتهم، فما جاء به الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يمت ولن يموت بموته.

ورابعها: بموت القادة يثقل الحمل على الأتباع، وإرث الجماعة ليس مما يُستخف حمله، فمن توكل على الله بصدق وإخلاص أعانه الله عليه، ومن هان سهل الهوان عليه، ومن يتراجع عن الطريق أو يعيد النظر في منهج الجماعة فبئس الوارث هو.

فيا رجال التوحيد اذكروا مصابكم برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يسهل عليكم تقبل كل مصاب بعده، واعلموا أن من قبلكم شُقوا نصفين ومشطوا بأمشاط الحديد، وأهديت رؤوسهم للبغايا، وحرقوا وعذبوا وطعنوا وقتلوا، فما صدهم ذلك عن دينهم، فلا تستعجلوا قطف الثمار، واعلموا يقيناً أن ملك أمة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم سيبلغ المشرق والمغرب بعز الإسلام وأهله وذل الكفر وأهله.
واعلموا أن المعركة جولات وليست جولة، وهي تحتاج لطول نفس وشدة صبر وعمق إيمان ورسوخ يقين وثبات قدم وشد عضد وتكاتف جهود، وحقيق بالفطن أن يعلم عدوه ومن يواليه، ووليه ومن يعاديه، فيحسن تسيير المعركة، بما يضمن معه الانتصار.

فثقوا أيها الرجال بربكم، واعملوا تؤجروا، ولا تكلفون إلا أنفسكم، ولستم مطالبين بالنتيجة بقدر مطالبتكم بالعمل، ومن فتح له بمقدار ثقب الإبرة من الجنان سيعلم حينها كم كان مغبوناً في الدنيا أن لم يقتل في سبيل الله ألف مرة.
وفي الختام نسأل الله سبحانه بأسمائه الحسنى وصفاته العلى أن يجرنا في مصيبتنا ويخلفنا خيراً منها، ويرزقنا الرضا بقضائه واليقين بقدره, والشكر على الأمر، والحمد في السراء والضراء، وأن يبدلنا من بعد خوفنا أمنا، وأن يعذنا من سوء المنقلب ومن الحور بعد الكور، وآخر دعوانا أن الحمد لله رب العالمين.
جيش الإسلام - القيادة العامة
السبت 4 جماد الآخرة 1432هـ
الموافق 07, مايو 2011