[Nettime-bold] Re: As U.N. Meets, bin Laden Tape Sets Off Alarms

["Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net>]

Isn't that such a shame that the US viewer is deprived from seeing 
Osama Bin Laden's weekly TV address? It is indeed a curiosity 
that he is seen by everybody else except by those who are most 
directly involved in the current conflagration: Americans and 
Afghans. 

Americans because the US government doesn't want its citizens to 
see that Osama Bin Laden is alive and well and able to record and 
smuggle out of Afghanistan his weekly 'televangelist' message to 
Al Jazeera, despite a month of "coalition" air strikes that are harder 
and larger every day. In a typical post-modern American hypocrisy 
this reasonable governmental wish is rationalized by national 
security adviser Condoleeza Rice with the notion that Osama Bin 
Laden's taped speeches contained hidden secret messages. 
However, State Department and FBI reportedly did not find any 
hidden codes in his messages.

The overall effect of Ms. Rice's actions has been to get Mr. Bin 
Laden's statements off American television and off the front pages  
of most newspapers. [Clinton intelligence official Toby] Gati said 
this may be a mistake, since Americans needed to understand 
that they were dealing with an implacable enemy. Maybe, Bush's 
administration does not want Americans to know that they were 
dealing with an implacable enemy. 

Because that knowledge could potentially subvert citizens support 
of the war effort. Citizens need to believe that there is a way to win 
this war, and that the government knows what that way is. Even, if 
the government doesn't really know that way, which is so far clearly 
obvious through the regular appearance of Bin Laden's taped 
messages. And Afghans can't see the tapes because there is no 
TV network in Afghanistan, and the TV viewing itself is banned by 
the ruling Taliban.

But what he says about his enemies is: "It suffices me to seek 
God's help against them." There is nothing illegal or criminal in 
praying or wishing something bad to happen to people that one 
does not like. It is not nice to celebrate death of thousands of 
people who died in the World Trade Center dissaster, but there is 
nothing criminal in that. Of course, those who are grown-up enough 
to know that there is no Santa Claus who puts the gifts under the 
Christmas tree, would not buy into the story that the WTC simply 
collapsed as a consequence of some biblical, apocalyptic act of 
God.

"The people of Afghanistan had nothing to do with this matter." he 
says. And he is probably right. But he doesn't say anything about 
who, then has something 'with this matter' - and somebody must 
have something 'with this matter' since Allah, allmighty, did not 
drive those planes, but people with names and passports from 
Saudi Arabia did.

OBL might be hiding in a cave, but a cave with a satellite dish and 
internet access. He assessed well the US wish to avoid at all 
costs understanding of the present conflict as a clash of 
civilizations, and he uses all resources - insisting on repeating the 
word 'crusade' once uttered by George Bush - to present this 
conflict in exactly such framework: as a clash between the Islamic 
civilization and the rest of the world, casting Islamic civilization in a 
role of the perpetual underdog, who now has to rise and assert its 
greatness against the proverbial infidels.

The added attack on the U.N. is a logical follow-up on the previous 
discurse. The U.N. Security Council indeed passed most of its 
resolutions on sanctions and other punishing meassures against 
the predominantly Islamic countries. And until the inclusion of 
Syria in the post-September-11 apeasement period, it was 
generally a Christian-Confucian turf. And since the WTC disaster 
produced the grand coalition of the U.S. and Russia, with China 
being largely a silent accomplice, there was not much left for OBL 
but to issue a fatwah against the entire non-Islamic world, and to 
focus on the U.N. as the representative of that world, as his 
greatest enemy.

Again, he uses examples which have basis in truth: Kashmir, 
Palestine, Iraq, Bosnia, Chechnya, Indonesia, Somalia and Sudan. 
In all of those cases local Muslim population suffered (or still suffer) 
as a consequence of some political, diplomatic games by wealthy, 
powerful, old and new colonial powers of the non-Muslim world. 
And he aims to spread fear of potential terror attacks against UN 
objects and personnel - right before the (already postponed) 
session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Which is also 
the expected tactics.

Still, his self-assured, cocky, take-on the world address, strikes 
me as a desperate cry: "Fear God, O Muslims and rise to support 
your religion. Islam is calling on you: O Muslims, O Muslims, O 
Muslims. God bear witness that I have conveyed the message. 
God bear witness that I have conveyed the message.  God bear 
witness that I have conveyed the message." 3 times "O Muslims" 
and 4 times "God bear witness that I have conveyed the message" -
 this rhetoric may work only on those who live in the pre-modern 
times, where 'fear of God' still have some tangible implications. Or 
is it a code, Ms. Rice?

Let's then for a moment consider the third sentence of his 
message, particularly in a view held by Tobi Gati that he is an 
'implacable enemy': "A person who is guided by God will never be 
misguided by anyone and a person who is misguided by God can 
never be guided by anyone." He might believe that he is indeed 
guided by God and thus refuse to compromise with any human, yet 
he may in fact be delusional, or in his parlance 'misguided by God' 
and still, although for the opposite reason, be implacable. This 
sentence sounds like one of those Pythia's oracles - because it 
makes both those guided and those misguided by God implacable 
to humans. I wonder whether he is actually aware of his lunacy and 
gives us here a small hint about just how crazy he is. In which 
case, and this is an interesting legal issue, would his lawyers be 
able to get him off on the grounds of insanity, if he is ever brought 
to a trial for crimes against humanity?

ivo  

=============================================================================

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/09/international/09TERR.html

Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
Friday, November 9, 2001

MESSAGE
As U.N. Meets, bin Laden Tape Sets Off Alarms
By PATRICK E. TYLER and ELAINE SCIOLINO

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 -- As scores of world leaders converge on New York this
week for the United Nations General Assembly, Osama bin Laden's latest
message to the world has provoked profound new security concerns for the
United Nations and its global work force.

How to respond to Mr. bin Laden's perceived threats is far from clear. In
his message, he singled out not only the United Nations, but various world
leaders -- either implicitly or by name, as was the case with President
Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Analysts say that his oratory is further
proof of his shrewdness in assessing the mood of both the West and the
Muslim world, as well as his ability to take advantage of both.

In the videotaped message broadcast last weekend by the Arab language
television network Al Jazeera, Mr. bin Laden said, "The United Nations is
nothing but a tool of crime," and he called Secretary General Kofi Annan a
"criminal." Mr. bin Laden then listed a series of conflicts in which he
charged that the United Nations was siding with the "crusader" interests
of the West and against Muslims.

"The U.N. is now a target," said Toby T. Gati, the State Department's
senior intelligence official during the Clinton administration and someone
with long experience in United Nations issues. "That does not necessarily
mean that nice building in New York is the only target, it means U.N.
workers who are all over in every country -- they are really the people in
danger."

In Manhattan, United Nations officials are taking no chances as they
prepare the East River headquarters for a week of speeches and meetings in
which terrorism and Afghanistan will dominate the agenda. President Bush
will deliver an address on Saturday. "We are on high alert," said Shashi
Tharoor, a senior aide to Mr. Annan. "We are taking extremely advanced
security measures."

As the accused mastermind of the worst terrorist attack on the United
States, Mr. bin Laden continues to cast himself as a populist holy warrior
who has not only eluded the military campaign thus far, but has also kept
an open channel to his followers by smuggling videotapes that reach a
restive Muslim population around the world.

"President Bush contends that this is a war against terrorism and not
against Islam, and Osama bin Laden is taking the exact opposite approach
-- saying it is not a war against me, it is against Islam and he shows how
the `oppressors' are conducting their crusade," observed J. Stapleton Roy,
who also headed the State Department's intelligence bureau.

Some experts see Mr. bin Laden's denunciation of the United Nations and of
some world leaders, like Mr. Putin, as a warning to them, since both the
United Nations and Russia are emerging as crucial participants in the
political maneuvering intended to undermine the ruling Taliban and destroy
Mr. bin Laden along with his Al Qaeda network.

United Nations officials and other experts were struck by the vehemence
directed at the world body as it tries to play a vital role in forming a
new Afghan government to displace the Taliban. A senior United Nations
envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, was just returning from meetings with Afghan
leaders in Pakistan and elsewhere when Mr. bin Laden issued his attack
against the organization, causing some alarm about Mr. Brahimi's security.

"I think bin Laden wants to preempt the work of the United Nations and
undercut Brahimi's efforts," said Phyllis E. Oakley, a veteran diplomat
who also served as the State Department's intelligence chief.

In Bosnia, Mr. bin Laden charged, "our brothers have been killed, our
women have been raped and our children have been massacred in the safe
havens of the United Nations and with its knowledge and cooperation."

Notwithstanding reports that Mr. bin Laden is hiding in a cave with poor
communications, he seems keenly aware that the Bush administration is
working more closely with Russia to try to marshal an effective military
campaign on Afghanistan's northern flank. He railed at the "Russian bear"
for its war in Chechnya, where Mr.  Putin has asserted that he has been
fighting terrorists trained in Mr. bin Laden's camps and financed with Al
Qaeda money.

"Russians have annihilated the Chechen people in their entirety and forced
them to flee to the mountains where they were assaulted by the snow and
poverty and diseases," Mr. bin Laden said in the video.

Mr. bin Laden's videotaped message was largely ignored by many Western
media organizations, especially television networks that had been urged by
the national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, to handle such messages
with extreme care since they might be used to pass coded messages to
terrorists.

Since that warning, neither Ms. Rice, nor any other Bush administration
official, has made public any government assessment of whether any such
messages have been detected in Mr. bin Laden's statements. A White House
spokesman said tonight that he had no knowledge of any follow-up by Ms.
Rice. A State Department official said he was not aware of any analysis
that had been done by the government to determine whether Mr. bin Laden's
messages contained any coded signals.

The overall effect of Ms. Rice's actions has been to get Mr. bin Laden's
statements off American television and off the front pages of most
newspapers. Ms. Gati said this may be a mistake, since Americans needed to
understand that they were dealing with an implacable enemy.

"This is an important speech," she said of the 2,600-word statement. "It
tells you that you cannot bargain with someone like this, you cannot
reconcile. This reinforces my belief that we are doing the right thing in
bombing him because if we don't want this to be a war of civilizations, we
have really got to get rid of a person who is intent on making it that
way."

After several days of analysis, experts say they are struck that Mr. bin
Laden shows that he is well informed about the the military campaign that
seeks to destroy him. He is aware of opinion polls that show "more than 80
percent of Westerners" have been "saddened by the strikes that hit the
United States." And, he is equally certain, as he asserts, that "the vast
majority of the sons of the Islamic world were happy about these strikes"
because they "were in reaction to the huge criminality practiced by Israel
and the United States in Palestine and other Muslim countries."

As with his earlier messages, the core of Mr. bin Laden's evangelism is a
clash of religions -- not just Muslim against Christian, or Muslim against
Jew, but Muslims against everyone else, the "infidels."

In his first taped message of Oct. 7, Mr. bin Laden declared that "these
events have divided the world into two camps" -- Muslims and "infidels."
Now, he said, "The entire West, with the exception of a few countries,
supports this unfair, barbaric campaign, although there is no evidence of
the involvement of the people of Afghanistan in what happened in America."

Like President Bush and the Pentagon, Mr. bin Laden said he regretted the
death of civilians in Afghanistan, but expressed no sympathy for the
thousands of lives lost on Sept. 11. He called the attacks the "great
strikes that hit the United States in its most important locations.

"The people of Afghanistan had nothing to do with this matter," he said.
"The campaign, however, continues to unjustly annihilate the villagers and
civilians, children, women, and innocent people."

------

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/03/international/07TERR_TEXT.html

November 3, 2001

TEXT
Bin Laden's Statement

Following is the translated text of Osama
Bin Laden's latest statement, as posted on
the British Broadcasting Corporation's web
site.

We praise God, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness.

We seek refuge in God from the evils of our souls and our bad deeds.

A person who is guided by God will never be misguided by anyone and a
person who is misguided by God can never be guided by anyone.

I bear witness that there is no God but Allah alone, Who has no partner.

Amid the huge developments and in the wake of the great strikes that hit
the United States in its most important locations in New York and
Washington, a huge media clamor has been raised.

This clamor is unprecedented. It conveyed the opinions of people on these
events.

People were divided into two parts. The first part supported these strikes
against US tyranny, while the second denounced them.

Afterward, when the United States launched the unjust campaign against the
Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, people also split into two parties.

The first supported these campaigns, while the second denounced and
rejected them.

These tremendous incidents, which have split people into two parties, are
of great interest to the Muslims, since many of the rulings pertain to
them.

The polls showed that the vast majority of the sons of the Islamic world
were happy about these strikes.

These rulings are closely related to Islam and the acts that corrupt a
person's Islam.

Therefore, the Muslims must understand the nature and truth of this
conflict so that it will be easy for them to determine where they stand.

While talking about the truth of the conflict, opinion polls in the world
have shown that a little more than 80 per cent of Westerners, of
Christians in the United States and elsewhere, have been saddened by the
strikes that hit the United States.

The polls showed that the vast majority of the sons of the Islamic world
were happy about these strikes because they believe that the strikes were
in reaction to the huge criminality practiced by Israel and the United
States in Palestine and other Muslim countries.

After the strikes on Afghanistan began, these groups changed positions.

Those who were happy about striking the United States felt sad when
Afghanistan was hit, and those who felt sad when the United States was hit
were happy when Afghanistan was hit. These groups comprise millions of
people.

The entire West, with the exception of a few countries, supports this
unfair, barbaric campaign, although there is no evidence of the
involvement of the people of Afghanistan in what happened in America.

The people of Afghanistan had nothing to do with this matter. The
campaign, however, continues to unjustly annihilate the villagers and
civilians, children, women, and innocent people.

The entire West, with the exception of a few countries, supports this
unfair, barbaric campaign.

The positions of the two sides are very clear. Mass demonstrations have
spread from the farthest point in the eastern part of the Islamic world to
the farthest point in the western part of the Islamic world, and from
Indonesia, Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan to the Arab world and
Nigeria and Mauritania.

This clearly indicates the nature of this war. This war is fundamentally
religious. The people of the East are Muslims. They sympathized with
Muslims against the people of the West, who are the crusaders.

Those who try to cover this crystal clear fact, which the entire world has
admitted, are deceiving the Islamic nation.

They are trying to deflect the attention of the Islamic nation from the
truth of this conflict.

This fact is proven in the book of God Almighty and in the teachings of
our messenger, may God's peace and blessings be upon him.

Under no circumstances should we forget this enmity between us and the
infidels. For, the enmity is based on creed.

We must be loyal to the believers and those who believe that there is no
God but Allah.

We should also renounce the atheists and infidels. It suffices me to seek
God's help against them.

God says: "Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee
unless thou follow their form of religion."

It is a question of faith, not a war against terrorism, as Bush and Blair
try to depict it.

Many thieves belonging to this nation were captured in the past. But,
nobody moved.

It is a question of faith, not a war against terrorism, as Bush and Blair
try to depict it.

The masses which moved in the East and West have not done so for the sake
of Osama.

Rather, they moved for the sake of their religion. This is because they
know that they are right and that they resist the most ferocious, serious,
and violent Crusade campaign against Islam ever since the message was
revealed to Mohammad, may God's peace and blessings be upon.

After this has become clear, the Muslim must know and learn where he is
standing vis-a-vis this war.

After the US politicians spoke and after the US newspapers and television
channels became full of clear crusading hatred in this campaign that aims
at mobilizing the West against Islam and Muslims, Bush left no room for
doubts or the opinions of journalists, but he openly and clearly said that
this war is a crusader war. He said this before the whole world to
emphasize this fact.

Anyone who lines up behind Bush in this campaign has committed one of the
10 actions that sully one's Islam.

What can those who allege that this is a war against terrorism say? What
terrorism are they speaking about at a time when the Islamic nation has
been slaughtered for tens of years without hearing their voices and
without seeing any action by them?

But when the victim starts to take revenge for those innocent children in
Palestine, Iraq, southern Sudan, Somalia, Kashmir and the Philippines, the
rulers' ulema (Islamic leaders) and the hypocrites come to defend the
clear blasphemy. It suffices me to seek God's help against them.

The common people have understood the issue, but there are those who
continue to flatter those who colluded with the unbelievers to
anesthetized the Islamic nation to prevent it from carrying out the duty
of jihad so that the word of God will be above all words.

The unequivocal truth is that Bush has carried the cross and raised its
banner high and stood at the front of the queue.

Anyone who lines up behind Bush in this campaign has committed one of the
10 actions that sully one's Islam.

Muslim scholars are unanimous that allegiance to the infidels and support
for them against the believers is one of the major acts that sully Islam.

There is no power but in God. Let us investigate whether this war against
Afghanistan that broke out a few days ago is a single and unique one or if
it is a link to a long series of crusader wars against the Islamic world.

Following World War I, which ended more than 83 years ago, the whole
Islamic world fell under the crusader banner - under the British, French,
and Italian governments.

They divided the whole world, and Palestine was occupied by the British.

Since then, and for more than 83 years, our brothers, sons, and sisters in
Palestine have been badly tortured.

Hundreds of thousands of them have been killed, and hundreds of thousands
of them have been imprisoned or maimed.

Let us examine the recent developments. Take for example the Chechens.

They are a Muslim people who have been attacked by the Russian bear which
embraces the Christian Orthodox faith.

Russians have annihilated the Chechen people in their entirety and forced
them to flee to the mountains where they were assaulted by snow and
poverty and diseases.

Nonetheless, nobody moved to support them. There is no strength but in
God.

This was followed by a war of genocide in Bosnia in sight and hearing of
the entire world in the heart of Europe.

For several years our brothers have been killed, our women have been
raped, and our children have been massacred in the safe havens of the
United Nations and with its knowledge and cooperation.

Those who refer our tragedies today to the United Nations so that they can
be resolved are hypocrites who deceive God, His Prophet and the believers.

Are not our tragedies but caused by the United Nations? Who issued the
Partition Resolution on Palestine in 1947 and surrendered the land of
Muslims to the Jews? It was the United Nations in its resolution in 1947.

Those who claim that they are the leaders of the Arabs and continue to
appeal to the United Nations have disavowed what was revealed to Prophet
Mohammad, God's peace and blessings be upon him.

Those who refer things to the international legitimacy have disavowed the
legitimacy of the Holy Book and the tradition of Prophet Mohammad, God's
peace and blessings be upon him.

This is the United Nations from which we have suffered greatly. Under no
circumstances should any Muslim or sane person resort to the United
Nations. The United Nations is nothing but a tool of crime.

We are being massacred everyday, while the United Nations continues to sit
idly by.

Our brothers in Kashmir have been subjected to the worst forms of torture
for over 50 years. They have been massacred, killed, and raped. Their
blood has been shed and their houses have been trespassed upon.

Still, the United Nations continues to sit idly by.

Today, and without any evidence, the United Nations passes resolutions
supporting unjust and tyrannical America, which oppresses these helpless
people who have emerged from a merciless war at the hands of the Soviet
Union.

Let us look at the second war in Chechnya, which is still underway. The
entire Chechen people are being embattled once again by this Russian bear.

The humanitarian agencies, even the US ones, demanded that President
Clinton should stop supporting Russia.

However, Clinton said that stopping support for Russia did not serve US
interests.

A year ago, Putin demanded that the cross and the Jews should stand by
him.

He told them: You must support us and thank us because we are waging a war
against Muslim fundamentalism.

The enemies are speaking very clearly. While this is taking place, the
leaders of the region hide and are ashamed to support their brothers.

Let us examine the stand of the West and the United Nations in the
developments in Indonesia when they moved to divide the largest country in
the Islamic world in terms of population.

We should view events not as separate links, but as links in a long series
of conspiracies, a war of annihilation.

This criminal, Kofi Annan, was speaking publicly and putting pressure on
the Indonesian government, telling it:  You have 24 hours to divide and
separate East Timor from Indonesia.

Otherwise, we will be forced to send in military forces to separate it by
force.

The crusader Australian forces were on Indonesian shores, and in fact they
landed to separate East Timor, which is part of the Islamic world.

Therefore, we should view events not as separate links, but as links in a
long series of conspiracies, a war of annihilation in the true sense of
the word.

In Somalia, on the excuse of restoring hope, 13,000 of our brothers were
killed. In southern Sudan, hundreds of thousands were killed.

But when we move to Palestine and Iraq, there can be no bounds to what can
be said.

Over one million children were killed in Iraq. The killing is continuing.

As for what is taking place in Palestine these days, I can only say we
have no one but God to complain to.

What is taking place cannot be tolerated by any nation. I do not say from
the nations of the human race, but from other creatures, from the animals.

They would not tolerate what is taking place.

A confidant of mine told me that he saw a butcher slaughtering a camel in
front of another camel.

The other camel got agitated while seeing the blood coming out of the
other camel. Thus, it burst out with rage and bit the hand of the man and
broke it.

How can the weak mothers in Palestine endure the killing of their children
in front of their eyes by the unjust Jewish executioners with US support
and with US aircraft and tanks?

Those who distinguish between America and Israel are the real enemies of
the nation. They are traitors who betrayed God and His prophet, and who
betrayed their nation and the trust placed in them. They anesthetize the
nation.

These battles cannot be viewed in any case whatsoever as isolated battles,
but rather, as part of a chain of the long, fierce, and ugly crusader war.

Every Muslim must stand under the banner of There is no God but Allah and
Mohammad is God's Prophet.

I remind you of what our Prophet, may God's peace and blessings upon him,
told Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him.

He told him: Boy, I am going to teach you a few words. Obey God, He will
protect you. Obey Him, you will find Him on your side. If you ask for
something, ask God. If you seek help, seek the help of God.

You should know that if all people come together to help you, they will
only help you with something that God has already preordained for you.

And if they assemble to harm you, they will only harm you with something
that God has already preordained for you. God wrote man's fate and it will
never change.

I Tell the Muslims who did their utmost during these weeks: You must
continue along the same march.

Your support for us will make us stronger and will further support your
brothers in Afghanistan.

Exert more efforts in combating this unprecedented war crime.

Fear God, O Muslims and rise to support your religion. Islam is calling on
you: O Muslims, O Muslims, O Muslims.

God bear witness that I have conveyed the message. God bear witness that I
have conveyed the message.  God bear witness that I have conveyed the
message.

God's peace and blessings be upon you.


=========================================================================

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