Bin Laden warns Europe over Mohammed cartoons

[Strengthandhonour]

Bin Laden warns Europe over Mohammed cartoons

6 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned Europe Wednesday of a "reckoning" for publishing controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, US monitoring groups said.
In the message, addressed to the "intelligent ones" in the European Union, bin Laden said that publishing the "insulting drawings" was a greater crime than Western forces targeting Muslim villages and killing women and children.
And the "reckoning for it will be more severe," he said, according to a transcript of the message provided by the Virginia-based IntelCenter.
Referring to a series of cartoons published in Danish newspapers, the Al-Qaeda leader also warned: "if there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions."
And cryptically he added that the Muslims' response to the insult will be "what you see, not what you hear."
The five-minute audio message, titled "May Our Mothers Be Bereaved Of Us If We Fail to Help Our Prophet," was posted by As-Sahab, Al-Qaeda's media arm, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
The message coincided with the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War.
The audio track with English subtitles is heard over a video image of bin Laden holding an AK-47 automatic rifle.
IntelCenter chief Ben Venzke said bin Laden's message was "a clear threat against EU member countries and an indicator of a possible upcoming significant attack."
"However, it is unclear in exactly what timeframe it may occur," he said.
Protests have raged in a number of Muslim countries since 17 Danish dailies on February 13 reprinted a drawing featuring the Prophet Mohammed's head with a turban that looked like a bomb with a lit fuse.
The newspapers decided to republish the caricature, originally printed in 2005, a day after police in Denmark foiled a plot to murder the cartoonist.
Bin Laden's message also includes a nugget for US President George W. Bush, whom he describes as Europe's "opressive ally who -- along with his aggressive policies -- is about to depart the White House."
He said the "savage acts" of the US-led military coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan "haven't ended the war, but rather (have) increased our determination to cling to our right, avenge our people and expel the invaders from our country."
The last message from bin Laden, who is still at large and believed to be hiding somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistani border, came on December 29 in a 56-minute recording released on the Internet.
In that message, the Al-Qaeda leader, who has remained elusive since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, warned Sunni Muslims in Iraq not to take up arms against Al-Qaeda and promised the "liberation of Palestine."
Bush, in a speech earlier marking the war's fifth anniversary, hailed progress in the "war on terror" and said Iraq was witnessing an "Arab uprising" against bin Laden's Al-Qaeda network.
"In Iraq, we are witnessing the first large-scale Arab uprising against Osama bin Laden, his grim ideology, and his murderous network. And the significance of this development cannot be overstated," Bush said.
The president touted what he called "the Anbar Awakening," when Sunni tribal leaders in the restive province "had grown tired of Al-Qaeda's brutality and started a popular uprising."
Bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people and prompted the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Despite a massive manhunt and a 25-million-dollar bounty on his head, he has evaded capture and has regularly taunted the United States and its allies through warnings issued via video and audio, mainly on the Internet.
Prior to his December message, bin Laden issued a message in November that was aired on the Arabic television channel Al-Jazeera, warning Europeans to break with the United States and leave Afghanistan.



source: AFP: Bin Laden warns Europe over Mohammed cartoons

[Menydh]

Wasn't he dead?

[Lutiferre]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Wasn't he dead?

Probably doesnt make much of a difference. But I remember something about that too.

[Marulus]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Wasn't he dead?

He is dead for a while and then he becomes alive for the next while, depending on the current needs of those "in command" (in America and in Europe).

Ridiculous....

[Lutiferre]

On another note, this reminds me that the Danish Government Intelligence has warned the public that each time Muhammed cartoons are printed, it is a threat to our national security, because they make us target for terrorism.

The amount of terror paranoia has been much greater ever since they were printed in the first place. I have often wondered when we will pay for our passion for drawing Muhammed.

[M.R.]

Originally Posted by Marulus

He is dead for a while and then he becomes alive for the next while, depending on the current needs of those "in command" (in America and in Europe).

Ridiculous....

I don't really find it ridiculous. Muslims are using him as some kind of mythological hero who never dies, until they found his body he will be alive for them.

[Marulus]

Originally Posted by M.R.

I don't really find it ridiculous. Muslims are using him as some kind of mythological hero who never dies, until they found his body he will be alive for them.

I am not sure as to who is really using him.

[M.R.]

Yeah sure, it's in USA/Izrael interest too.

[Monolith]

Originally Posted by M.R.

Yeah sure, it's in USA/Izrael interest too.

I believe that he's just their puppet..

[Sergius]

Originally Posted by Lutiferre

I have often wondered when we will pay for our passion for drawing Muhammed.

Soon.