April 15, 2004

'Bin Laden' Offers Europe Truce, Revenge to Israel

n a recording broadcast on Arab satellite networks Thursday, a man who identified himself as Usama bin Laden offered a "truce" to European countries that do not attack Muslims, saying it would begin when their soldiers leave Islamic nations.

The tape, which ran in full at more than seven minutes, also vowed revenge against America for the Israeli assassination of a militant Palestinian leader and denounced the United States as using the Iraq war for corporate profiteering.
[...even mentioning Halliburton by name. Are they sure that Osama Bin Democrat didn't issue this tape?--Jen]
[...]
The latest message said "the door to a truce is open for three months." This time frame, he said, could be extended. "The truce will begin when the last soldier leaves our countries," he said without elaborating.
[...]
Russians, he said, were only killed after attacking Afghanistan in the 1980s and Chechnya, Europeans after invading Iraq and Afghanistan and the Americans in New York after "supporting the Jews in Palestine and their invasion of the Arabian Peninsula."
[Gee, the U.S. has only been supporting the "Jews in Palestine" since 1947 and as for "invading the Arabian Peninsula," we did that in 1991 at the request of the Saudis to expel Saddam from Kuwait before he got around to Arabia. So how do the 9/11 attacks figure into this "punishment," Usama?]
[...]
This truce, the message said, was to deny "the war mongers" further opportunities and because polls have shown that "most of the European peoples want reconciliation" with the Islamic world.
[Did OBL forget about the French, then German head scarf bans?--J.T.]

The message also vowed revenge for Israel's killing of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, leader of the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

"We vow before God to take revenge for him from America for this, God willing."
[That's funny: America didn't kill Yassin nor ask the Israelis to do it.
In fact, we condemned it, however equivocatingly.]

The message said that American policy ignores the "real problem," which is "the occupation of all of Palestine."

Boy, Osama will really go nuts when he hears what President Bush and Israeli PM Sharon agreed to at the White House today concerning the "Palestinian areas."
Hope EUrope doesn't fall for this ruse or that at least some of the countries whose support we've so much appreciated like Britain, Italy, Poland and even Spain (so far, they still haven't pulled out their Iraq troops and have sent more to Afghanistan) do not.
I suppose I don't have to tell you that OBL left out the "...or else" part of his message.
We all know only too well by now what the "or else" looks like: pretty much like Madrid on March 11.
Of course, Bin Laden offers and retracts "truces" on a whim, just as he finds compelling "reasons" to issue fatwas and call jihad.
I'd ignore it myself; most of us think that the real Osama's been dead a long time and this is just more terrorist blackmail or a bid for "protection."
Thank you, Drive thru.