Jul 05 2007
Zawahiri Begs Iraqis To Join A Losing al-Qaeda
Update II: It seems the AP also agrees that the Zawahiri tape reflected the importance of Iraq to al-Qaeda and that things are going poorly for them:
A new video by al-Qaida’s deputy leader Thursday left no doubt about what the terror network claims is at stake in Iraq – describing it as a centerpiece of its anti-American fight and insisting the Iraqi insurgency is under its direct leadership.
But the proclamations by Ayman al-Zawahri carried another unintended message: reflecting the current troubles confronting the Sunni extremists in Iraq, experts said.
The Islamic State of Iraq, the insurgent umbrella group that is claimed by al-Qaida, has faced ideological criticism from some militants, and rival armed groups have even joined U.S. battles against it.
…
“Some of the developments suggest that it (the Islamic State) is more fragile than it was before,” said Bruce Hoffman, a Washington-based terrorism expert at the Rand Corp. think tank.
…
But al-Qaida in Iraq – the group that claims allegiance to Osama bin Laden’s goals – has been put on the defensive. Some Sunni insurgent groups have publicly split with it, distancing themselves from its bomb attacks on Iraqi civilians and accusing al-Qaida of trying to strong-arm their members into joining.
One influential faction, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, has openly helped U.S. forces in new offensives against al-Qaida in and around Baghdad, and some Sunni tribes have turned against it in western Anbar province.
If al-Qaeda is going to lose in Iraq, it will happen suprisingly quickly because of the fact the Iraqi street has risen up to oppose it. As the wave of muslim rejection continues to spread in Iraq, al-Qaeda will be forced to apply even more strong arm tactics until it all its evil is exposed and the people throw it off once and for all. The same thing happened with the Nazi fascists. Their image as the undefeatable, superior human beings was shattered and all that was left was their evil actions which was as a stain no one wanted to see return. The Islamo Fascists of al-Qaeda could lose just as quickly. Do not underestimate the power of popular rejection and repulsion that happens at the end of large struggles.
Major Update: Zawahiri confirms that Iraq and our efforts in Anbar and Diyala Provinces to rid these areas of al-Qaeda and secure the support of the local people is KEY to the greater war on terror both in the short and in the long term:
He claims Iraqis are increasingly supporting the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq, proclaimed in predominantly Sunni areas by an al-Qaeda affiliate.
The success of the Islamic State, he says, is crucial to the revival of a global, pan-Islamic caliphate.
No one needs to have doubts about our present administration twisting intelligence or the poor track record of intelligence in the ME. We can and should recognize the words and concerns of our enemy when he is out trying to shore up support and avoid a stunning loss. He admits the current focus will either boost or cripple al-Qaeda’s plans, and he sees problems already:
Zawahiri underlines the need for unity in Iraq – an implicit acknowledgement that splits have opened up in Sunni ranks.
In this I have no issues in believing in Zawahiri’s concerns. – end update
al-Qaeda’s number 2 leader Zawahiri is out begging (or threatening) the Muslim street to rise up against the US and the West and to stop rising up against al-Qaeda. In a tacit, if vague, admission al-Qaeda’s brutality has turned the tide in Iraq against al-Qaeda Zawahiri pleads for unity – knowing full well what the result will be if things continue on:
Al-Qaida’s deputy chief called on all Muslims to join the holy war against the West.
“May Allah pluck out your eye if you haven’t yet seen that jihad is an individual duty,” the transcript quoted al-Zawahri as saying.
…
He also encouraged Iraqis and Muslims in general to show greater support to the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida insurgent front in the country, despite detractors saying it lacks “necessary qualifications,” the SITE group quoted al-Zawahri as saying.
Al-Qaida’s deputy leader did not name these detractors, but implicitly acknowledged some problems.
“The first thing which our beloved brothers in Iraq must realize is the critical nature of unity,” al-Zawahri was quoted as saying. He also called on Kurds from northern Iraq to join forces with insurgents.
It was not clear what problems al-Zawahri was alluding to, but a number of major Sunni Arab tribes have turned against the Islamic State in recent months and have cooperated with US forces in the Iraqi provinces of Anbar and Diyala.
It’s not clear? You think al-Qaeda cares about the ‘detractors’ from the West? Gimme a break! The tape reeks fo faux bravado trying to cover up a desperate last ditch call to save al-Qaeda from the anger of the Iraqi Muslim street. But there is no saving al-Qaeda from the justice the muslim street wants from al-Qaeda for all the kiling and torture they committed on Muslims. The wheels are falling off the al-Qaeda operation in Iraq as we round up or kill hundreds or thousands of their best fighters with the help of the local Iraqis. When the Arab Muslim street sits on the sidelines it is one thing. But when they take to the streets to purge them of al-Qaeda it is a whole different story.
AJ
It is even more than that.
He is also in a cultural war with Hamas and Fatah, since he considers them totally in error , even though they are descended from the Muslim Brotherhood, because he is opposed to their in any form participating in a political process.
He believes only in full victory by conquest and not a bit of political accommodation.
He considers their method less pure and damaging to the Caliphate.
AJ
Where most get this whole situation wrong is they buy into the MSM generalizations about the whole Mideast.
Dale could advise you well that this is not the binary choice Sunni/Shiite stuff the media is peddling.
There are many sects involved other than them.
AQ is based on the most radical sect of Wahabbiest (SP) teachings where the only goal is total conquest with not a bit of quarter given and no political accommodation of any kind.
All of the groups that try to work the combination of terrorism and politics to take over areas like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Fatah, and even Hezzbolah are totally against their grain and sellouts as far as they are concerned.
Iran which has no love for Iraq only wishes destabilization of what they don’t want to have back as a potential enemy.
They will use religious divisions and AQ as a useful tool to keep Iraq weak and will do the same with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Iran will use their puppet players to gain political power by whatever means to control their zone of influence they wish to create.
Even worse Russia and China will play the game with them up to a point using them as puppets to confront and confound the west.
It is a complex mixture of religious and political gamesmanship which some think they can control, and for all our sakes, somebody better hope they can or it could end up really not pretty at all.
The big thing with AQ is when you read the news other than them about the world, look for all the places where the Muslims are looking for total domination.
Places like Somalia, Bangladesh, Sudan, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as many others.
Muslims as a whole tend overall to live in split societies but still with respect of the central government.
In some areas where they have enough influence, they request separate Shira Law.
But where you see the no quarter, our way or the highway, total domination issue then you are looking at AQ and all their fellow travelers.
May Allah pluck out your eye? Now that is a unique recruiting tool.
“The same thing happened with the Nazi fascists. Their image as the undefeatable, superior human beings was shattered and all that was left was their evil actions which was as a stain no one wanted to see return.”
I would say it was more obvious with the Italian fascists than than in Germany. Once the people turned against the government in Italy, it pretty much left the Germans with their rear exposed (so to speak).
Ok folks for your additional reading pleasure go here for a boots on the ground look at the situation today.
Here is a report from on the scene at the Red Mosque in Pakistan.
Don’t know the source so I won’t vouch for it.
Public pleading…
AJ Strata thinks the latest video from psychotic killer al Qaeda #2 Ayman al-Zawahiri is a sign of the organization’s growing desperation in the face of the American offensive in Iraq, as he practically pleads with Muslims in Iraq to…
AJ Sounds like your post was almost channeling Douglas Farah on his blog.
All is not well elsewhere, although Zawahiri does his best to paint the picture of a triumphant caliphate toppling the old world order.
In Iraq, the Islamist groups are running into the buzzsaw of not only U.S. military efforts but the willingness of local tribes to fight against their radical agenda. Like most of the armed groups that meet with some success, the groups appear to have over-reached and it is costing them.
I got the George Bush Resignation Speech in my email today!!
George Bush Resignation Speech
(The speech George W. Bush SHOULD give.)
Normally, I start these things out by saying “My Fellow Americans.” Not doing it this time. If the polls are any indication, I don’t know who more than half of you are anymore. I do know something terrible has happened, and that you’re really not fellow Americans any longer.
I’ll cut right to the chase here: I quit. Now before anyone gets all in a lather about me quitting to avoid impeachment, or to avoid prosecution or something, let me assure you: there’s been no breaking of laws or impeachable offenses in this office.
The reason I’m quitting is simple. I’m fed up with you people.
I’m fed up because you have no understanding of what’s really going on in the world. Or of what’s going on in this once-great nation of ours. And the majority of you are too damned lazy to do your homework and figure it out.
Let’s start local. You’ve been sold a bill of goods by politicians and the news media. Polls show that the majority of you think the economy is in the tank. And that’s despite record numbers of homeowners including record numbers of MINORITY homeowners. And while we’re mentioning minorities, I’ll point out that minority business ownership is at an all-time high. Our unemployment rate is as low as it ever was during the Clinton Administration. I’ve mentioned all those things before, but it doesn’t seem to have sunk in.
Despite the shock to our economy of 9/11, the stock market has rebounded to record levels and more Americans than ever are participating in these markets. Meanwhile, all you can do is whine about gas prices, and most of you are too damn stupid to realize that gas prices are high because there’s increased demand in other parts of the world, and because a small handful of noisy idiots are more worried about polar bears and beachfront property than your economic security.
We face real threats in the world. Don’t give me this “blood for oil” thing. If I was trading blood for oil I would’ve already seized Iraq’s oil fields and let the rest of the country go to hell. And don’t give me this ‘Bush Lied People Died’ crap either. If I was the liar you morons take me for, I could’ve easily had chemical weapons planted in Iraq so they could be ‘discovered.’ Instead, I owned up to the fact that the intelligence was faulty. Let me remind you that the rest of the world thought Saddam had the goods, same as me. Let me also remind you that regime change in Iraq was official US policy before I came into office. Some guy named ‘Clinton’ established that policy. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?
You idiots need to understand that we face a unique enemy. Back during the cold war, there were two major competing p political and economic models squaring off. We won that war, but we did so because fundamentally, the Communists wanted to survive, just as we do. We were simply able to outspend and out-tech them.
That’s not the case this time. The soldiers of our new enemy don’t care if they survive. In fact, they want to die. That’d be fine, as long as they weren’t also committed to taking as many of you with them as they can. But they are. They want to kill you. And the bastards are all over the globe.
You should be grateful that they haven’t gotten any more of us here in the United States since September 11. But you’re not. That’s because you’ve got no idea how hard a small number of intelligence, military, law enforcement and homeland security people have worked to make sure of that. When this whole mess started, I warned you that this would be a long and difficult fight. I’m disappointed how many of you people think a long and difficult fight amounts to a single season of ‘Survivor’. Instead, you’ve grown impatient. You’re incapable of seeing things through the long lens of history, the way our enemies do. You think that wars should last a few months, a few years, tops.
Making matters worse, you actively support those who help the enemy. Every time you buy the New York Times, every time you send a donation to a cut-and-run Democrat’s political campaign, well, dammit, you might just as well FedEx a grenade launcher to a Jihadist. It amounts to the same thing.
In this day and age, it’s easy enough to find the truth. It’s all over the Internet. It just isn’t on the pages of the New York Times or on NBC News. But even if it were, I doubt you’d be any smarter. Most of you would rather watch American Idol.
I could say more about your expectations that the government will always be there to bail you out, even if you’re too stupid to leave a city that’s below sea level and has a hurricane approaching. I could say more about your insane belief that government, not your own wallet, is where the money comes from. But I’ve come to the conclusion that were I to do so, it would sail right over your heads.
So I quit. I’m going back to Crawford. I’ve got an energy-efficient house down there (Al Gore could only dream of having) and the capability to be fully self-sufficient. No one ever heard of Crawford before I got elected, and as soon as I’m done here pretty much no one will ever hear of it again. Maybe I’ll be lucky enough to die of old age before the last pillars of America fall.
Oh, and by the way, Cheney’s quitting too. That means Pelosi is your new President. You asked for it. Watch what she does carefully, because I still have a glimmer of hope that there’re just enough of you remaining who are smart enough to turn this thing around in 2008.
So that’s it. God bless what’s left of America. Some of you know what I mean.
SBD
From a commenter over at JOM this tea reading of the future
Let’s look at what we will be treated to after 2009 with a Liberal in the White House and Keith Olbermann promoted to the evening news: (In Olbermann voice).
JAN 20th 2009: Good evening, I’m Keith Olbermann and this is your evening snooze. Our Executive Producer, John Edwards
Is off tonight due to a freak hair accident, more on that later with our very special quest commentator Rosie O’Donnell for the last two hours. It was a scene straight out of 1945 today, as Herr Bush, err President Bush prepared to leave his bunker and make way for the incredible team of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama who, as you’ll remember, the American people
came to their senses and elected back in November.
Herr Bush, in a final act of desperation to stave off the Leahy/Conyers impeachment committee provide a full pardon today to one, I Scooter, Lewis, Libby. You’ll remember Mr. Libby was convicted way back in 2007 of carrying out the orders of President Bush to create the illusion that Iraq had WMD, a story entirely created and directed from the oval office. Thus throwing the Nation into an unwinnable war with casualities here to fore unseen in the annuls of man.
Senator Leahy issued a statement a short time ago stating that Herr Bushs leaving office was another clever manuever to stop the Committee from finding its very first piece of evidence, and he would not be deterred in his drive for impeachment, simply because Herr Bush has left office, and that a lack of any evidence should not deter the Congress from moving forward on impeaching Bush.
Feb 20th 2009: President Hillary announced today the last combat troops will be leaving Iraq tomorrow. In her rush to remove American Forces, much of their equipment had to be left behind, but the outstanding new President explained the equipment left behind would be helpful to the Iraqis in securing their country without US help.
Feb 21st 2009: Prime Minister Maliki was dragged from his office today, shot in the head and his entrails were paraded before
the US Embassy in Baghdad. Meanwhile, thousands of Iraqis stormed the Embassy in a last bid to get out of the country alive.
Al Queda in Iraq announced the assassination of Maliki and 900 members of his government.
In a ridiculous and partisan move today, the Republican National Committee tried to blame the pull out of US forces for the mass murder;
When clearly there was no relationship between the events and they even occurred over 24 hours apart.
President Hillary issued a statement regretting the loss of life and sent her condolences to a fourth cousin of Maliki now living in Peru, the sole survivor
of the family after Al Queda dragged his wife, children, brothers and sisters and their families through the streets of Baghdad and executed them with a bullet to the head.
The President made it clear that there would be no retaliation for this in order to better relations and understanding between the parties and wished dialogue could begin on a new beginning of cooperation and a new spirit of friendship. In response, Al Queda in Iraq cut the arms off of 38 Iraq children
discovered with US books in their classroom.
Feb 22nd 2009: Osama Bin Laden is in the news today, issuing a new Fatwa for the US to withdraw from all countries
on the Arabian peninsula. He warned that if the did not leave Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and all other territories within two months, a bombing campaign would begin to force them out of the region. Bin Laden especially suggested targeting the leadership and their families in these countries and boasted of a great base of operations left to him by the US when they ran from Iraq. Bin Laden also offered his full support for weapon a dn aid to hamas in gaza and Hexbollah in their fight against the Jews invasion.
President Hillary refused to take questions today as a joyous mood after the election has turned quite somber now that reality has hit the Democrats square in the face. The President left a bumbling Barack Obama, yes, you elected him, to mumble before the cameras about how we had cooperated with giving the radicals what they wanted and now there needed to be some accommodation from their side. Another Peace in our time moment.
Feb 25th 2009: Terror reigned down on the US embassy in Baghdad today as Al Queda in Iraq stormed the compound with over 1,000
supporters using women and children as human shields tied to the fronts of their vehicles. All marines on the compound were beheaded and their bodies strung up on the Al-Aaimmah bridge along with Hillarys campaign posters proclaim a new beginning of peace and understanding.
The Vice President continued the embarrassment today by claiming maybe the US would consider allowing Sharia Law in some parts of the Country that want it and maybe an Islamic counsel would be created that the President can consult on how to not offend Muslims when Drafting new laws and regulations.
Mar 1st 2009: President Hillary today announced that she has made a formal request to Osama Bin Laden that she wants American civilians to still be able to live and work in the Middle East and in return she would withdraw all US armed forces. She finished her speech with a moving quote
from Shaykh Abdullah Azzam, Bin Ladens spiritual mentor, in an attempt to reach out to him. She also instructed Americans living on the Arabian Peninsula to not be openly Christian or wear Christian symbols which only inflame and outrage people. Amin Al Zawahiri announced today Al Queda had recruited over 600 suicide bombers from the slums of Baghdad who were willing to martyr themselves in the Jihad to push the Americans out of the Middle East. There are unreliable reports that Al Queda has threatened their families and taken hostages.
Mar 10th 2009: There are new reports that governments in the Middle East are considering deporting all Americans to placate the terror state of Iraq, after Al Queda named a new leader of the country and beheaded the entire Supreme Court of Iraq in the Al-Sha’ab Stadium.
Apr 12th: Car bombs and suicide bombers struck all over the Arabian Peninsula tonight as President Hillary is
whisked to an undisclosed location for discussions with her advisors. An aid that wished to remain anonymous stated that the President has many options to respond and that she has literally dozens of additional concessions to draw upon if required. She insisted no concession has been taken off the table at this time. She faulted a muddled message and that perhaps Bin Laden didn’t understand how willing
she was to make concessions. She stated she understood how men sometimes need to lash out and dominate
the weaker, but that America would only go so far, she just wanted him to tell her, just how far that was…
She then annoucned two new anti-terror initiaves to include Universal health care for all Americans killed or injured in terror attacks, and a tax increase on the richest 87% of Americans to pay for the withdraw of US forces and to appease the Islamic terrorists.
This just in: A visibly shaken Vice President Obama was rushed to Walter Reed hospital psychological ward for observation.
He was heard to mumble, Bush is gone, why do they still hate us??….