Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : THE END OF THE WAR ON TERROR?
bin Laden tries to spoil Obama speech to arab world 
bin Laden tries to spoil Obama speech to arab world June 04, 2009 11:29am OSAMA bin Laden's latest audio threat to exact revenge on America is authentic, US officials believe. But the White House yesterday dismissed the tape as a tactic to deflect the spotlight from President Barack Obama's historic speech in Cairo, to be delivered at 8pm tonight Melbourne time. Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera aired the menacing recording after President Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia for his meeting with King Abdullah and as his next stop, the Egyptian capital, went into lockdown. Osama bin Laden accused the president of inciting hatred towards the US by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants and Islamic law in the Swat Valley. Bin Laden, who has a $A60.9 million bounty on his head and been in hiding for the past eight years, blamed the US for a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from Swat, in northwest Pakistan." Elderly people, children and women fled their homes and lived in tents as refugees after they have lived in dignity in their homes," bin Laden said. "Let the American people be ready to reap what the White House leaders have sown," he said. "Obama and his administration have sown new seeds to increase hatred and revenge on America "The number of these seeds is equal to the number of displaced people from Swat Valley." The terror leader accused Obama of provoking Muslims in the same way he said George W Bush had done. "He has followed the steps of his predecessor in antagonising Muslims ... and laying the foundation for long wars," bin Laden said, referring to deadly clashes in Pakistan between the US-backed government and Islamist militants. "Obama and his administration have sowed new seeds of hatred against America," he said."Let the American people prepare to harvest the crops of what the leaders of the White House plant in the next years and decades." White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said the tape was consistent with past bin Laden messages. "I don't think it's surprising that al Qaeda would want to shift attention away from the president's historic efforts and continued efforts to reach out and have an open dialogue with the Muslim world," Gibbs said. A US counterterrorism official said the tape was being analysed by US intelligence but said there had never yet been a fake bin Laden tape and the terror leader usually timed his dispatches to coincide with major events. Obama has long sought to build bridges with the Muslim world, addressing Turkey to rousing applause during his first trip abroad in April. His first television interview as president was with Muslim network Al Arabiya. He is expected to discuss violent extremism, the US presence in Iraq and Israel-Palestinian conflict and how he thinks it should be solved.Washington has taken full control of security in Cairo for the eight-hour presidential visit. Thirty-thousand army and intelligence personnel have been put on special duty under US command, Egyptian media reported. The security effort will include about 1000 CIA and FBI agents, three special aircrafts loaded with armoured vehicles equipped with firearms and detector sensors and 3000 bodyguards. Palestinian news reports said marine forces had been deployed on the banks of the Nile River, train stations, and other unknown routes in Cairo. Before heading to Cairo, Obama opened his Mideast trip with a visit to Abdullah, the monarch of a country that's home to Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina. "The United States and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship," Mr Obama said as he visited the monarch's desert horse farm. The U.S. president called Abdullah wise and gracious, adding: "I am confident that working together that the United States and Saudi Arabia can make progress on a whole host of issues of mutual interest." In turn, Abdullah expressed his "best wishes to the friendly American people who are represented by a distinguished man who deserves to be in this position." |