It appears that Al Queida, Obie Bin Laden and Zarqawi are on the ropes and reeling heavily.
Its over for them in Iraq and Afghanistan. With this call to start attacks on Westerners in
other countries they will further alienate those countries and moderate Muslims who desperately
want o move from the 7th century into the 21st.
In effect, Bin Laden and Zarqawi are admitting that while they cannot win in Iraq and Afghanistan,
they can still rally support against the main enemy - Isarel, the USA, Britain and other Coalition Nations.
They are, in effect, “re-focusing” their efforts to where they believe they can garner continued support.
Muslims are increasingly disillusioned by terrorism directed against fellow Muslims, but, can they be
expected to “forgive and forget” if AQ and Company re-dedicate themselves to the cause of an Israeli-free Middle East?
From a poster on another website:
[quote]What is needed is a more concerted effort to get the message out.
For a start, we need a clearer case of why we are in Iraq now.
We need more effort in explaining the gains in Iraq and i don’t mean a
body count of terrorists killed but in what gains there are in normalising the country.
More emphasis should be on the hearts and minds operation in place, Schools built,
Hospitals set up and supplied.
What effort is being done to generate the Iraqi Business class, we should be talking
about that.
I feel a major problem, is that in starting to talk about Iran we are forgetting to
get the message out about Iraq.[/quote]…well said.
Some links:
Never again
will the Walter Cronkites of another day or another war have a monopoly on communication
of the ground situation that could lead to disastrous manipulation.
…and might I add Dan Rathers name to that…
[quote]Al Qaeda Admits Defeat
April 27, 2006: Some interesting trends in the war on terrorism. Trends are often difficult
to make out in this murky conflict, but the recent release of an audio message from Osama
bin Laden on April 23rd, and a few days later, a rare video from Abu Musab al Zarqawi delivered
the same message. Both sent out signals that failed to connect. Bin Laden urged his followers
to go to Sudan and Israel and support the fight against Jews and Christian “crusaders.”
In Sudan, bin Laden was offering his services to kill Western peacekeepers that have not yet
shown up in western Sudan (Darfur), where northern (largely Arab) Sudanese Moslems are killing
southern (largely black African) Sudanese Moslems. Islamic radicals in Palestine (Hamas) and
Sudan (the government) promptly and publicly rejected bin Laden’s offer. This is a visible,
to Western eyes, example of how Bin Laden’s vision, of using Islamic terror to accomplish anything,
has been discredited in the Islamic world. This shift in opinion was played out in Moslem media
over the last three years, as Islamic terrorism was applied to Islamic populations in Iraq and
Saudi Arabia. The end result was that Islamic terrorism was no longer fashionable. Bin Laden is
still something of a folk hero, but in the same iconic way that Che Guevara on a t-shirt or
poster is. Ignored, but not forgotten.(More on the defeat at the link)
strategypage.com/qnd/urbang/ … 60427.aspx[/quote]
See the Zarqawi video -
[quote]What Extremists are Saying
Zarqawi Video: Arab media and on-line reaction notes that this is the first time Zarqawi has
shown himself. Some commentary views this as a sign of weakness in the face of political progress
being made in Iraq. Other commentary reiterates criticism of Zarqawi’s tactics, which target
innocent Muslims and undermine the legitimacy of the Iraqi insurgency. Al-Arabiya featured an
Egyptian analyst who said that both Zarqawi and bin Laden “are trying to assert the existence and
strength of the organization.” The program also featured the Iraqi national security advisor
asserting that Zarqawi’s people are killing Iraqi civilians. Al-Jazeera prominently featured State
Department official Alberto Fernandez, who predicted the terrorist’s message would be rejected not
only in the West but in the East, adding that the tape demonstrates Zarqawi’s desperation.
Online commentary discusses Zarqawi’s character. Bloggers refer to him as a “bloody psychopath,”
“criminal,” and “terrorist;” a minority support him as a leader of the “resistance” in Iraq.
Interestingly, many said the video refutes the popular theory that Zarqawi is an imaginary bogeyman
created by the Americans to justify US actions.
Message:
