Zawahiri says Iraq will become 'fortress of Islam'

DUBAI (AFP) — Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Muslims to make Iraq a "fortress of Islam" in an audio message marking the fifth anniversary of the US-led invasion.

In a nearly 16 minute message posted on the Internet, Zawahiri accused Shiite Iran of seeking to annex southern Iraq and slammed the Egyptian government for "starving" its people as part of a "Zionist-American plan

He called on extremists to fight to create a greater Muslim state after US President George W. Bush had admitted the "failure of the Crusader invasion".

"We will only get our rights back with our own hands and not through beggary or fraudulent elections," he said, according to a summary released by the US-based SITE monitoring service.

The message posted on Islamist militant websites contained a reference to April 8 testimony to the US Congress by the US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus.

"Bush declared that he will give Petraeus all the time he needs ... which allows Bush to escape the decision to withdraw forces. By passing the problem to the next president, Bush is declaring the failure of the Crusader invasion of Iraq," Zawahiri said.

He mocked the US-backed Sunni Arab local groups formed to fight Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

"So where are the Awakening Councils that Petraeus announced six months ago will achieve victory in Iraq? ... Are these Awakening Councils in need of someone to defend them and protect them?" Zawahiri asked.

On Thursday, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd mourning two members of one of the councils, killing at least 51 people in one of the biggest insurgent attacks this year.

"Very soon Iraq will become the fortress of Islam, wherefrom will start missions and brigades for the liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque" in Jerusalem, said Zawahiri, considered the leading ideologist of the Sunni organisation.

"Iran has clear goals, which is the annexation of southern Iraq and the east of the (Arabian) Peninsula, and to expand in order to be able to communicate with its followers in southern Lebanon," Zawahiri said.

He said a plot against Iraq by the United States and Iran would lead to the Middle East region exploding.

"If an understanding with it (Iran) is reached on the basis of accomplishing all or some of its goals in return for keeping a blind eye on the American hegemony in the area, this understanding will add fuel to the fire ... The situation will explode an already enflamed region," Zawahiri said.

While Zawahiri lambasted Iran, a senior hardline cleric there was trumpeting what he said should be the Shiite country's role in defending Islam.

"In a not so distant future, we should reach a point of having the most powerful military equipment in the world so that no one even think about invading our borders," Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a Friday prayer sermon.

"And not only that of the Islamic republic, but also the borders of Islam ... We must defend oppressed Muslims everywhere so that the enemies do not dare to attack Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq."

Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden's top lieutenant referred to clashes between protesters and police in the Egyptian industrial city of Mahallah earlier this month, implicitly accusing the Egyptian government of conniving with Israel and the United States to keep the Hamas-run Gaza Strip under siege.

"Those who steal the livelihood of the people of Egypt are those who are denying food to the people of Gaza under the pretext of suspect international commitments with the Jews and the Americans," he said.

"In so doing, Israel achieves monopoly over supplies to Gaza to force its people to surrender to their conditions," Zawahiri said in the audio attributed to him.

"Starving the people of Egypt .... is part of a Zionist-American plan."

It was Zawahiri's second audio message this month. On April 2, he launched a blistering attack on the United Nations. He also said that bin Laden, who like him has evaded capture, was still alive. source

 

Al Qaeda has made Iraq their main battleground, too bad there is a lot of people that forget that.

 

He is a really moving speaker. People move to the exits when they hear him.

 

would you like to see Zawahiri in jail

 

Fast fact: Ayman al-Zawahiri met with Iraqi officials in Saddam's regime before we invaded. There was an al Qaeda presence in Iraq before we went in.

 

Bush: "You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror" 6th Sep. 2006

 

We all know that he is not th best speaker. Anyone who heard Bush give the statement knew that he was trying to portray that it is difficult to convey the connection to the American people.

 

He was talking about the big picture, which Americans have a hard time focusing on.

 

You mean the one where 9/11 is not properly investigated, our President and his executive branch repeatedly violate the rule of law, and then we invade 2 sovereign nations without catching the bad guys, killing thousands of our own, and 10s of thousands of others in the process?

Or were you talking about spending up to $3 trillion on the bogus wars, which will just bring us to our knees economically that much sooner.

I wasn't sure which particular catastrophe of government you were referring to.

 

What law has been violated?
Nazi Germany was a sovereign nation and we never caught the bad guy. more were killed there and more money was spent....

 

if you see the big picture then tell us how did he became from a defeated nobody in egyptian jail to here and now.

 

Ordering members of the executive branch to not respond to or follow Congressional subpoenas.

Amongst others.

 

I want exact examples here and the law to be quoted and named please.

 

I want you to provide the sources I asked you for this week.

 

What thread? I would love to help you out here.

Also I did not ask you for sources and all, all I want is a name and a quote.

I do not need a link proving this, just some facts.

 

The recent Mukasey hearings with John Conyers covers it. GooTube is your friend searching for it.

 

Now how about the law that was violated?

 

Did you find what I told you to look for? It's not my job to educate you. I can point the way, but you will have to educate yourself.

 

A CBS 60 minute report that interviewed the American rep who continuously interviewed and interacted with Saddam reported the following:

(and this is from Saddam Hussein)

He had no connections with Al Queda. He didn't like them, he didn't trust them, he didn't want them around.

Having Al Queda in Iraq while he was ruling would have been a problem for his totalitarian regime. Really, there was no room for anything but control by Saddam Hussein.

After Saddam fell there arose a Sunni based group in Iraq that developed under different leadership and ultimately took on the name of Al Queda in Iraq.

They are a destructive group. They are sunni oriented but are also fundamental in a way that is a problem for native Iraqi sunni's.

In a nation where there are many potential enemies: other sunni's, different tribes, of course the Americans, of course the shiites, the kurds, who knows who else....they do exist.

In the last nine months this groups power has been diminished as a result of both the surge and the developing alliance between tribal native sunni's and the Americans. Some of that alliance is a result of American's paying the tribal leaders.

Some of the result is a result of "who is your biggest enemy now".

As an anti western anti government, anti monarchs, anti democracy.....and very fundamentalist....Zawarhiri has a boatload of potential enemies from Egypt's government, to Saudi Arabia's monarchy, to all the shiites to westerners and particularly the US to you name it.

IMHO its too bad he is alive. On the other I don't see Zawahiri's brand of al queda getting a big foothold in Iraq subject to the tribal sunni leaders converting and beginning to hate the US more than they hate the al queda fundamentalists.

But who knows.

 

You can not educate me because you are just spouting off the typical anti-Bush nonsense without actually knowing the details behind it. If you actually knew you would have provided it. The fact is you are just spouting off anti-Bush headlines without knowing the facts.