TERRORISM: New Bin Laden Tape Supports Zarqawi, Urges Election Boycott

A new tape reportedly from Osama bin Laden has been received by Al Jazeera TV. In the tape, the man speaks about leadership in Iraq and the upcoming planned elections in the war-torn country. He urges Iraqis to boycott the January 30th elections and backs Abu Musab al-Zarqawi as the Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, urging the Iraqi people to "listen to" him. Al Jazeera aired only parts of the audio recording. The CIA is analyzing the tape to determine its authenticity.


In the recording, the voice proclaimed that any Iraqis who voted on January 30th would be considered "infidels."

An audiotape from bin Laden was posted to an Islamic website on December 16th, making today's recording, if authenticated, the second message in two weeks from the Al Qaeda leader.

This story is still developing. . .

Related News Links:
foxnews.com
apnews.myway.com


[edit on 27-12-2004 by Banshee]

Yay... I was wondering when we'd hear from him again.... probably just wants to wish President Bush a Happy New Year...

sorry... couldn't resist.


I'm scanning news to find something on this too...

In the tape Bin Laden is thought to confirm that al-Zarqawi is head of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and calls for a boycott of Iraqi elections.

[edit on 27-12-2004 by tommyc]

[edit on 27-12-2004 by tommyc]

Great! We've got Sunni groups planning to boycott Iraq's election, and now we've got Osama asking people to boycott the election.

I bet Osama doesn't want there to be an election so the US has no one to hand over power to. That keeps us there for Zarqawi to continue picking off our troops.

Does anyone know if Al Jazeera is planning to air the tape?

Sunni Group Pulls out of Iraq Polls
EDIT: to add link

[edit on 12/27/2004 by phreak_of_nature]

Link to AP story with a little more info. Still no word if AJ will broadcast the latest tape or not. Just a little additional info. Almost seems like this guy is trying to recreate the success they had in Spain, influencing their election. He tried to effect ours, and maybe he did, and now he is trying his pull in Iraq.

AP Story

On one hand, it's great that the sji'ites are not the main participants of al-quaida and are supporting the elections (and frankly given their numbers and being oppressed by saddam in the past they deserve a fair share of power in iraq), but what is their post-election plan, joining the iranian republic?


[edit on 27-12-2004 by Countermeasures]

Bin Laden didn't influence the election in Spain.


The people in Spain did. It's called democracy.

j

Is anyone else somewhat suspisous that this is only an audio tape. I would of imagined a visual recording of himself and his speech would have more impact. It is just that I am starting to wonder if he is really still alive and that this may be henchmen spreading their wishes.

...Maybe the logo of the Imperial Baath hotel in Damascus was visible in the background

The feeling I always get when he puts out an audio rather then video tape is that it is a hurried production. Hurried either because of the urgency of the message, or the lack of "safe" time to produce a video.

Or maybe he's just having a bad beard day.

Osama bin Laden's latest tape urges Iraqis to boycott the January elections. He names Abu Musab Al Zarqawi as the "Emir" of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and directs Iraqis to listen to him. Bin Laden's statement also praises the alliance between Zarqawi's group and Al Qaeda.

To me this looks like just another example of bin Laden solidifying his base. His previous tapes that have appeared to lay the groundwork and clear the way for the next large scale attack.

After the long period of silence that bin Laden went through, he sure is back in a big way. 2 audio tapes released this month alone, and one video at the end of October seem to signal that he remains a major player on the world stage.

wouldn't it be nice to hear him say "go and exercise your new right to vote. Vote for and vote for a new Iraq"

Oh wait....
Is OBL from Iraq?
Is Zarqawi?
Hmmm....
Didn't OBL make these same plea before the Afghan elections?
Before the U.S. elections?
Wow, this is the same guy who supported and advocated Mr. Kerry, right?
IMHO, even the worst type of election process taken in Iraq will be better than most Arabic countries version of "democracy".





seekerof

Well Bin laden does know that any leader elected in Iraq will be a puppet president with the strings being pulled by the USA.

Did OBL also know that when he admitted having a hand in 9/11 that he would be running and ducking, from cave to cave?




seekerof

[edit on 27-12-2004 by Seekerof]

Originally posted by Jakomo
Bin Laden didn't influence the election in Spain.
The people in Spain did. It's called democracy.

Oh come on now :shk:, the terrorist attack right before the election changed alot of peoples minds. THEY caved into terrorism. And at some point will have to pay for that with interest IMHO as will the Phillipines as well.

What's the date of the Iraqi elections? Does anyone know an exact date?

January 30th, 2005

If true, it is a sign of further desperation on the part of UBL and Zarqawi. Despite their acts of terror, they are losing their grip on the minds of people. The Iraqis have seen the success of the elections in Afghanistan and are eager to participate in the blueprint of their own future.

Just another last-gasp effort from a loser.

It looks like the sji'ite population is determined to vote!

the political leader of the largest sji'ite party already survived two bombing attempts in one week!

The sji'ites gaining political power will worry many iraqi sunnis, also those that do not like al-quaida at all, i expect them to come voting just to counter the sji'ite votes????

While the allowed sji'ite parties candidates are carefully screened by the amercians, in the back of their heads, they must be somewhat concerned about the relation of the iraqi sji'ites with iran?


[edit on 27-12-2004 by Countermeasures]