Al Qaeda's Move To Secular Political Rhetoric

From religious fundamentalism to radical secular geopolitical analysis:

"Most recognize Amriki as being the main person behind the al-Sahab media organisation, and it is thought that he runs its editing suite from the back of a van somewhere in and around the border areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan, where Bin Laden and Zawahiri are also thought to be in hiding ... Although Bin Laden and Zawahiri have directed many comments and statements at the people and government of the US, recent statements have shown that Al-Qaeda is attempting to improve this particular media strategy. One of Zawahiri’s latest statements stated that Al-Qaeda is fighting on the behalf of "all the weak and oppressed in North America and South America, in Africa and Asia, and all over the world", being possibly the first time that Al-Qaeda leadership has stated that their struggle is also aimed at assisting the world’s oppressed. Zawahiri’s statement also contained many references to Malcolm X / Malik el-Hajj Shabazz, a figure that still holds an emotive and profoundly political place in the hearts and minds of radicals, Muslims and especially Black people in the US. Zawahiri cited the famous militant Black leader to call on Black soldiers in the US army to recognise their historical and continuing oppression by the US and to refuse to fight in a war that is not in their interests; “And I tell the soldier of color in the American army that the racist Crusader regime kidnapped your ancestors to exploit them in developing their resources, and today it is using you for the same purpose, after they altered the look of the shackles and changed the type of chains and try to make you believe that you are fighting for democracy and the American dream ... And after you achieve for them what they want, they will throw you out into the street like an old shoe”.

This selectively targeted media strategy is now further continuing with Al Qaeda's latest Bin Laden audio broadcast, though in this case directed at Europeans:

Bin Laden urges Europeans to leave Afghanistan

29/11/2007 - 19:50:04

Osama bin Laden today called on the people of Europe to urge their governments to pull out of Afghanistan.

In a new audio recording broadcast on the al-Jazeera television network, the al Qaida leader said Western governments were wrong to attack the country in response to the 9/11 attacks in the US.

Addressing “the peoples” of Europe, bin Laden said that he alone was responsible for the atrocities, and neither the government nor the people of Afghanistan knew about them.

“Before Afghanistan’s wounds had healed and their grief had ended, they were invaded without right by your unjust governments without stopping to think about or reflect upon (US President George) Bush’s claim that this invasion was a response to the events of the 11th,” he said.

“The events of Manhattan were a response to the American-Israeli coalition’s murder of our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and it was I who was responsible for 9/11.

“I stress that all Afghans, both government and people, had no knowledge of these events.”

Bin Laden compared a number of current and former European leaders, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jose Maria Aznar – who lost the Spanish general election in 2004 in the wake of the Madrid bombings – to “Third World leaders” who “love to take refuge in the shadow of the White House”.

The recording is the fourth release attributed to bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in the remote and lawless mountains separating Pakistan from Afghanistan, since the start of September.

“It is better for you to restrain your politicians who are thronging the steps of the White House and work diligently to remove oppression from the oppressed,” he said.​
 

Gavin

booty bass intellectual
They've also released statements about global warming right before the election... I've read interpretations that this was a ploy to keep Bush in power and the war on terror a high priority by stealing Democratic talking points so that Repubs could effectively portray the Democrats as pro-terror (and Cheney said as much in '04).
 

Buick6

too punk to drunk
Geez who woulda thunk a pack of homophobic religious fascists would really be a pack of green homosexual marxists??
 

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
(repo man drawl) Malcolm X was a faaaaag

I can't find the Bin Laden video anywhere which is a shame, I'd like to see it.
 

Gavin

booty bass intellectual
I can't find the Bin Laden video anywhere which is a shame, I'd like to see it.

He does cut a dashing figure.

I'm at work or I'd link to the post at lecolonelchabert.blogspot.com... some interesting discussion of Jameson's reading of 9-11, how late capitalist empire building has caused these massive slush funds to build up in the hands of small groups accountable to no one -- bin Laden's money coming from a combo of oil revenue and CIA funding in the 70s... [i.e. U.S. taxpayer dollars + drug money]. Of course it has to be in banks somewhere....

[Edit: here's the link, discussion in the comments section before it devolves into interminable blogosphere drama: http://lecolonelchabert.blogspot.com/2007/11/arcades-theorists-ii.html#comments]

Weird how Osama keeps harping on the fact that "he alone" planned 9-11... Is he worried that Ron Paul is stealing his thunder with this 9-11 Truth business?
 
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