Reuters – Bin Laden tape claims plane attack
. AP – FILE - This is an undated photo of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden issued a new audio message …
By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press Writer Paul Schemm, Associated Press Writer – 59 mins ago
CAIRO – Osama bin Laden claimed responsibility for the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas in a new audio message released Sunday threatening more attacks on the United States.
The United States said there was no indication to suggest that bin Laden or any of his top lieutenants had anything to do with the attempted attack and that the claim may have been motivated by the wish of the terror network's leaders to appear in control of al-Qaida's offshoots.
"They offer strategic guidance and rely on their affiliates to carry out that strategic guidance," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said in an interview.
"He (bin Laden) is trying to continue to appear relevant," he said.
The Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab told federal agents shortly afterward that he had been trained and given the explosives by al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, an al-Qaida-inspired offshoot in bin Laden's ancestral homeland of Yemen.
In the minute-long recording released to al-Jazeera Arabic news channel, bin Laden addressed President Barack Obama saying the recent attempt was meant to send a message similar to that of the Sept. 11 attacks.
"The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11," he said. "America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine," he added.
"God willing, our raids on you will continue as long as your support for the Israelis continues."
U.S.-based IntelCenter, which monitors militant messages, said bin Laden used specific language he has used before in advance of attacks, a possible indicator of an upcoming action within the next 12 months.
The phrase "Peace be upon those who follow guidance" appears at the beginning and end of messages released in advance of attacks to warn al-Qaida's enemies that they need to change their ways or they will be attacked, IntelCenter said in a statement. The language, used in the latest message as well, allows al-Qaida to blame the actual attack on those who refuse to change their ways, which in the group's view forces a response.
There was no way to verify the voice on the audio message was actually bin Laden, but it resembled previous recordings attributed to him.
The U.S. said it could not immediately authenticate the message. But White House adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" that whatever the source, the message "contains the same hollow justification for the mass slaughter of innocents."
Abdulmutallab attempted to blow up his plane as it approached Detroit Metro Airport on Christmas Day. However, the explosive powder he was hiding in his underwear failed to detonate.
On Friday, Britain raised its terror threat alert to the second-highest level, one of several recent moves the country has made to increase vigilance against international terrorists after the Christmas Day bombing attempt on a flight from Amsterdam.
Bin Laden's message came four weeks after the Yemen-based group made its own claim of responsibility for the bomb plot with a different justification — linking it to Yemeni military attacks on al-Qaida targets with the help of U.S. intelligence.
But a senior U.S. intelligence official in Washington said al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula is linked to the central al-Qaida that bin Laden heads and recent intelligence indicates there are ongoing contacts between al-Qaida in Yemen and in Pakistan.
He added, however, that there was "no evidence whatsoever" that bin Laden had any involvement in the Christmas Day plot or even knew about it in advance. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.
The message appeared to be an attempt by bin Laden to stay relevant, said Rohan Gunaratna, author of "Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror."
"The training and the definition of the attack was by the local leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, so in many ways you can say bin Laden is exploiting for his benefit this particular attack," he said. "Bin Laden still wants to claim leadership for the global jihad movement."
Of all the various offshoots and branches of al-Qaida around the world, Gunaratna said the group in Yemen is one of the closest to bin Laden since it is made up of bodyguards and associates of the organization's top ideologues. Yemen is bin Laden's ancestral homeland.
"Today the operational relationship has somewhat suffered, but the ideological relationship is very strong and that is why bin Laden claimed this attack," Gunaratna said.
Two of the group's top members were former detainees released in November 2007 from the U.S. military prison Guantanamo Bay.
Since the Christmas Day attempt, the Yemeni government, at the U.S.'s urging has stepped up its attacks on the group's hideouts in the rugged country's remote hinterland.
Analysts have long debated how much control bin Laden, who is believed to be somewhere in Afghanistan-Pakistan border region, really has over the various organizations using his group's name.
The Yemen-based group, however, has closer ties than most to bin Laden and his key lieutenants, many having once been their bodyguards.
In the past year, bin Laden's messages have concentrated heavily on the situation of the Palestinians in attempt to rally support from Muslims around the world.
Some analysts say bin Laden is focusing on the close U.S.-Israeli relationship because he is worried about Obama's popularity across the Middle East with his promises to withdraw from Iraq and because his father was a Muslim from the African nation of Kenya.
The plight of the Palestinians, especially in the blockaded Gaza Strip where 1,400 were killed in an Israeli offensive a year ago, angers many in the Arab world.
"The Palestinian conflict was never part of the al-Qaida original mandate, but Osama is clearly exploiting it," Gunaratna said.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Andy David dismissed the latest al-Qaida message and its attempt to link Israel with attacks on the U.S.
"This is nothing new. He has said this before," he said. "Terrorists always look for absurd excuses for their despicable deeds."
The last public message from bin Laden appears to have been on Sept. 26, when he demanded that European countries pull their troops out of Afghanistan. The order came in an audiotape that also warned of "retaliation" against nations that are allied with the United States in fighting the war.
57 Comments
luckybychoice
needs a 9mm right between the eyes
daisycutter
to learn what discomfort is. Me and osama bin shithead spending quality time together LOL
Pkato
rather see him hit by .50 cal...honestly
Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself.
They are the American people's liberty teeth and keystone
under independence. -- George Washington
runawaygun762
In the ankle.
ecaman
Why? It's been over 8 years since 9/11/2001. He's one fucking guy, and incredibly distinctive looking. All the vaunted might and prowess of the US, and this asswipe is still walking around.
Reaper308
ever see the movie "The Hunting Party"?
runawaygun762
But that may just work to make him more of a martyr. "Oh, look how long he defied the Great Satan". He is really just a figure head, and while killing him would be a good thing, it wouldn't have much practical value. But god would it feel good
CharlesW
Kill a pig with a sword then behead him with it
daisycutter
Chop the head off of a pig. Chop the head off of obama bin laden. Sew obama bin laden's head to the pig and send it on a world tour with news conferences in every major city and plenty of photo ops!! Advertise, "Have your picture taken with Pigladen!"
That sounds like a wonderful time for all :<)
ecaman
Or, you could sew bin Laden's head onto the ass of the pig!
samD
I like it, but what a put down to pigs everywhere...
CharlesW
Ben fuckin a pig and title it makin bacon
runawaygun762
Let's just take all the weed we confiscate from the border, send it to Afghanistan, hand it out, and once people are happy and hungry with the munchies, we offer to send tons and tons of Doritos if they'll just tell us where he is.
Ebear
they have hashish that makes our weed smoke like malboro lights.
runawaygun762
Yes, they have hash, but the quality sucks. Good pot would work wonders over there. And yes, they are a huge producer of opium, but that only gets people mad when they can't get their fix. No, marijewanna is the way to go
Reaper308
will do anything to get their fix once withdrawls start. They'd rat him out
Ebear
now that being said....Doritos?...Im thinking red hot Cheetos...then we could offer our shittiest American piss beer.
daisycutter
~
Ebear
a win win
runawaygun762
You can have fun raising your pinky while you sip your meskin beer with the lime in it, I'll go ahead and drink the American piss. More for me.
Ebear
you win.....drink all the piss you want!!! lol
Reaper308
drink all of the above... with my pinky up (no lime)!
runawaygun762
Natty Ice, Steel Reserve, Budweiser, it's good stuff, ladies and germs.
daisycutter
drinking dog piss beer just makes you think they do :<)
Reaper308
have you tried pacifico yet?
Ebear
Hamms....my father drank it cause it was the official beer of the Chicago Cubs.
runawaygun762
I really need an Old Chicago's I may go to Chili's and try one of every beer there that I haven't already. But then again, that means going out in public without my gun and that causes anxiety for me.
runawaygun762
There's actually a topic on beers I've tried, and here we are on an OBL topic discussing this. We really do have the worst case of collective ADD ever. So anyway, where were we? Oh yyeah. I love The Andy Griffith Show.
Ebear
had a fat vagina
CharlesW
31-28 in overtime
Best Playoff I've ever sen and I've seen them all
Ebear
go in there naked and they'll think your a Hobbit...or a wolf-midget
Reaper308
furry wolf midget!!!
Reaper308
that I'm suppose to keep people on topic, I suck at life
runawaygun762
You fuckin spic. I actually laughed out loud. Wolf-midget? So you've seen me naked, huh? Yeah, my eight nipples and sausage toes do tend to freak people out even when I'm not trying to sniff everybody's ass
daisycutter
like American beer
Ebear
that was EDDYMunsters lil furry dolls name!!!!!lololol you fuckin rube
runawaygun762
I have ever seen for moderators actually doing what they're supposed to. but I like it. Somebody else described it as an online bar environment and I think that's pretty close to it. I probably wouldn't have stayed here this long if it had been like some of the other forums I'm on.
Ebear
chicks with dicks?
runawaygun762
That forum is a cool one like this. nationalgunforums.com, thegunforum, theobamaforum (got booted from that one pretty quick), powerstroke.org, those are all boring with real mod control that actually keeps it clean and on subject. Okay, theobamaforum is not clean, and the only subject is the subjugation of whites, but their mods keep people on topic there. And hand out points against you if you talk about killing and eating black people who try to break in your house.
Ebear
i told my wife you called me a spic....and she said.."again?"...lololol...fuckin asswipe
runawaygun762
But a meskin soldier of mine (That's right, they're not all in the Marines, some spics are in the army) told me a joke and the punchline was "A spicket fence", but I can't remember the joke. Oh well, it was funny.
greg az
My sat dish is not working right due to our storm, so it seems it kicks me off after a couple min.. last night i typed up a little story about our storm damage, and just as i was sending it got booted again, so will see how long it lasts tonight..
runawaygun762
Don't you have to go to "work" making like 47 bucks an hour to push a broom or something? Fuckin union. I tried organizing a union in Ft Riley, the Military Police Local 977, but all I could get as the union rep was a 45 minute smoke break every hour.
Ebear
good to here from you....people were askin about you.....Runawaygun is a retard
runawaygun762
DON'T YOU LEAVE ME!!!! I'LL GUT YOU LIKE I DID ALL THE OTHERS!!!! Sorry, had a "love-struck teenager moment again. They come and go.
runawaygun762
Why are you the only one whose words cut off on the right? I thought they fixed that shit. They better get to work on it, or I'm not paying my membership dues next month for this site.
daisycutter
offer in return
daisycutter
and a cubit measuring stick
runawaygun762
Ever see what happens when a whole shift of MPs drive around with signs in their patrol cars saying "Our radars don't work and we're driving drunk right now", huh? Well, me neither, and damn me, why didn't I think of that back then? SHIT!!!
daisycutter
ones that tell you to ignore the other voices.
runawaygun762
The voices in my head tell me they have voices in their heads, too.
greg az
I honestly missed our mutual moments of insanity.. You guys do know that if you talk like we do with "normal people" they look at ya REAL odd.. runs, i gota tell ya much as i love ya and all im going for your dad just like ebear.. you damn kids just dont know how to take care of us "oldsters"'
No my sat dish got all spun by this storm just like the last one.. so i just did a little guessing on it.. I suppose i could figure out how to get an azimuth (sp?) but that would take more tech skills than i have.. NOT one of the AV nurds.. greg was hitting on the girls in HS not projectors.. Hope it stays good enough for me to catch up with the gossip.
Game was a winner, but did anybody else thing Minnisota was fighting the Saints AND the zebra's.. i saw what i thought were some questionable calls.
daisycutter
~
runawaygun762
Huh? I don't get it. I'm looking forward to becoming a greybeard. Of course, greybeard is just a term for old soldier, as I am seemingly incapable of growing a beard. I swear, I let it grow for over a month on leave and all it ever got to be was scraggly, splotchy, dirty looking. Damn it. I'm not a man.
daisycutter
Arthur
SKSKID
i wish a gunship would just shit on him
big pops
let him run and we will see wow gets him first