Osama wants regime change, too

[pynchonoid]

So Osama is Bush's ally, building on the previous
business relationship between the two families...

Misleading the Public
Osama Wants Saddam Dead
by Firas Al-Atraqchi
<http://www.antiwar.com/orig/atraqchi1.html>

[...] And then something happened that neither the
U.S. administration nor the media anticipated: bin
Laden called Saddam an apostate.

The audio message goes on to reveal that bin Laden
believes Saddam to be a socialist and declares that
"socialists and communists are unbelievers," thereby
labeling Saddam an apostate of Islam, an infidel. It
is worth mentioning that the government of Iraq is
quasi-socialist and secular, and not Islamic.

Walid Phares, an Arabic-speaking MSNBC analyst finds
that the audio message undermines Saddam's regime:
"Osama bin Laden does not care about Saddam, in fact
he can't wait till the demise of Saddam; he is trying
to position himself to offer Iraqis an alternative
ideology – he calls socialism abhorrent to Islam."

The voice alleged to be bin Laden's in the audio
message also called for the spilling of Saddam's
blood: "His blood is halal." This wording is used to
indicate what is permissive or legally allowed for the
killing of a usurper or criminal.

The audio message also called forth the overthrow of
governments supporting the U.S. – Nigeria, Morocco,
Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

If bin Laden is effectively calling on Muslim Iraqis
to overthrow Saddam and that Saddam is irrelevant in
the coming war and Iraqis should not fight for him,
how then can the U.S. administration use this message
to prove Saddam and al-Qaeda are linked?

That question left some analysts baffled.

Kenneth Pollack, CNN analyst and anti-terrorism
specialist, says that this is not the first time that
bin Laden has used the plight of Iraq under sanctions
and under Saddam to rally Muslims to his cause. In
fact, bin Laden has spoken of the Iraqi issue since
1996, and has not hidden the fact that he is growing
distaste for Saddam's socialist, Ba'athist regime.

"The October audio message this year was a four minute
tape and bin Laden expressed sympathy for the Iraqi
people," says Peter Bergen, CNN consultant on
terrorism. "I don't see today's audio message as
endorsing Saddam," he concludes.

Nevertheless, U.S. officials maintain that this is all
the proof they need. However, the U.S. viewing public
must be aware that they were only allowed to view
excerpts of the 16-minute audio message, and contrary
to what CNN has been proclaiming, it is not all about
Iraq. The audio message also includes advice on
refraining from alcohol and illicit sex, and
respecting one's parents, in addition to other
spiritual advice. [...] 


... enjoy!

-Doug





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