In Tape, Bin Laden Urges Fighters to Sudan
Sunday April 23, 2006 3:31 PM AP Photo NYET702 By SALAH NASRAWI Associated Press Writer CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Osama bin Laden issued ominous new threats in an audiotape broadcast Sunday, purportedly saying the West was at war with Islam and calling on his followers to go to Sudan to fight a proposed U.N. force. In his first new message in three months, bin Laden said the West's decision to cut off funds to the Palestinians because their Hamas leaders refuse to recognize Israel proved that the United States and Europe were conducting ``a Zionist crusader war on Islam.'' ``The blockade which the West is imposing on the government of Hamas proves that there is a Zionist crusader war on Islam,'' said the speaker on the tape broadcast by the Al-Jazeera network. ``I say that this war is the joint responsibility of the people and the governments. While the war continues, the people renew their allegiance to their rulers and politicians and continue to send their sons to our countries to fight us.'' The voice on the tape sounded strong and resembled that on previous recordings attributed to bin Laden. There was no way to independently verify the authenticity of the tape. ``We are aware of the tape and a technical analysis of the recording is being conducted,'' a U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Israeli government spokesman Raanan Gissin said bin Laden had decided to attack Israel to deflect growing Arab animosity toward al-Qaida. ``When he attacks Israel, this is something the Arab world can agree upon,'' Gissin said. ``He has been criticized for the destruction and carnage he's causing the Muslim nation. He's looking for another justification ... ``Criticizing Israel sounds more politically correct.'' Al-Qaida is believed to have no direct links to Hamas, which is an outgrowth of the Muslim Brotherhood, but they share an anti-Israel ideology that calls for the destruction of the Jewish state. Recent media reports in the Middle East have said al-Qaida is building cells in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Sudan. Israel has indicted two West Bank militants for al-Qaida membership and a Palestinian security official has acknowledged al-Qaida is ``organizing cells and gathering supporters,'' although Israeli officials say the inroads appear preliminary. Bin Laden also addressed the conflict in Sudan, where he was based before being expelled under threats from the United States. He then moved to Afghanistan and is believed to be hiding out in the rugged mountains on the Pakistani side of their common border. In Washington, U.S. intelligence officials said bin Laden is separated from his top deputy and, in a sign he has to be careful about whom he trusts, surrounded by fellow Arabs. His No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, is hiding in a more settled area along the border, also surrounded by al-Qaida operatives from Egypt, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. A three-year conflict between Darfur's rebels and the Arab-dominated central government has caused about 180,000 deaths - most from disease and hunger - and displaced 2 million people. The United Nations has described the conflict as the world's gravest humanitarian crisis. The United States has described it as genocide. Negotiators are trying to broker a peace deal between warring factions by an April 30 deadline. Members of the African Union have agreed in principle to hand over peacekeeping duties to the United Nations beginning Sept. 30. ``I call on mujahedeen and their supporters, especially in Sudan and the Arab peninsula, to prepare for long war again the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan. Our goal is not defending the Khartoum government but to defend Islam, its land and its people,'' bin Laden purportedly said. ``I urge holy warriors to be acquainted with the land and the tribes in Darfur.'' Al-Qaida has targeted Western forces in Africa before - including its attacks against U.S. troops trying to bring peace to Somalia in 1993. Al-Jazeera apparently had the tape long enough to make significant edits, with its news reader providing substantial transition and background comments between excerpts from bin Laden. It was the first purported new message from bin Laden since Jan. 19. In that audiotape, he warned that his fighters were preparing new attacks in the United States but offered the American people a ``long-term truce'' without specifying the conditions. That tape was posted in full on a Web site a month later and included a vow by the terrorist chieftain never to be captured alive. ``I have sworn to only live free. Even if I find bitter the taste of death, I don't want to die humiliated or deceived,'' bin Laden said in that previous 11-minute, 26-second tape. In the message broadcast Sunday, bin Laden also called for a global Muslim boycott of American goods similar to the recent boycott of Danish products after the publication there of caricatures of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad. He also said the artists who drew those offending cartoons should be handed over to him for trial and punishment. The Al-Jazeera news reader said bin Laden, in a portion of the tape not aired by the Qatar-based broadcaster, scoffed at Saudi King Abdullah for his calls for a ``dialogue among civilizations'' and blasted liberal-minded Arab writers for taking part in the Western cultural invasion of Muslim lands. --- Associated Press reporters Katherine Shrader in Washington and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
FBI photo of Osama Bin Laden.
Aljazeera has aired a new audiotape it says contains the voice of al-Qaeda's leader, Osama bin Laden. The tape is 11 minutes and 26 seconds long, believed to have been made after March 14, 2006.

According to Aljazeera, in the tape, Bin Laden talks about the "situation in Iraq, Palestine and Sudan" and says that the isolation of the Hamas-led Palestine is a "war by crusaders and Zionists against Islam."

"I say that this war is the joint responsibility of the people and the governments. While the war continues, the people renew their allegiance to their rulers and politicians and continue to send their sons to our countries to fight us. The war goes on and the people are renewing their allegiance to its rulers and masters. They send their sons to armies to fight us and they continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned and our houses are bombed and our people are killed," said bin Laden.

"The blockade which the West is imposing on the government of Hamas proves that there is a Zionist crusaders war on Islam. I have sworn to only live free. Even if I find bitter the taste of death, I don't want to die humiliated or deceived. The war is a responsibility shared between the people and the governments. They do not want a truce unless it is from our side only. They insist on continuing their crusader campaign against our nation and to loot our wealth," he added.

Bin Laden also talked about Sudan saying, "I call on mujahedeen and their supporters, especially in Sudan and the Arab peninsula, to prepare for long war again the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan. Our goal is not defending the Khartoum government but to defend Islam, its land and its people. The politicians of the West do not want dialogue except for the sake of dialogue to drag us on, for them to gain more time. They want an armistice that is observed only by us."

The United States has since said that they believe the tape is authentic.

"We just heard from the intelligence community that they believe it's authentic," said Scott McClellan, spokesman for the White House.

"We are continuing to take the fight to the enemy abroad and making it difficult for them to plan and plot against Americans. The al Qaeda leadership is on the run and under a lot of pressure. We continue to take all terrorist threats seriously and that is why we are acting on all fronts doing everything within our power to prevail in the war on terrorism," added McClellan.

Aljazeera last aired an audiotape in January by bin Laden, where he promised new terrorist attacks in the U.S. but also offered the U.S. a "long-term truce."