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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: calgal who wrote (520006)	1/5/2004 10:22:26 PM
From: calgal	Respond to of 769667

AMONG FRIENDS In Praise of Politicians We need opportunitists--the kind who seek great opportunities. BY SAMUEL MCCHORD CROTHERS Monday, January 5, 2004 12:01 a.m. EST URL:http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110004506

To: calgal who wrote (520006)	1/5/2004 10:23:20 PM
From: calgal	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Bin Laden Tape Blasts U.S., Saddam, Palestinians Monday, January 05, 2004 CAIRO, Egypt — The voice on an audiotape calling for Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East is likely that of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden (search), intelligence officials told Fox News. The voice on the tape, broadcast Sunday on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel, said the U.S.-led war in Iraq was the beginning of the "occupation" of Gulf states for their oil. The voice referred to recent events -- including the Dec. 13 capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (search) and peace initiatives between Israel and the Palestinians. The voice refers to Saddam as "a comrade in treason and agentry to the United States." The speaker urged Muslims to "continue the jihad [holy war] to check the conspiracies that are hatched against the Islamic nation." Intelligence officials believe the voice is in fact that of the elusive bin Laden because of the mention of events since the capture of the deposed Iraqi president and they think the tape was made within the past couple of weeks. On a morning news program, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge (search) also said that "preliminary assessments says this is the voice of Usama bin Laden." Al-Jazeera played the audiotape while showing a still photo of bin Laden against a dark blue background. "My message is to incite you against the conspiracies, especially those uncovered by the occupation of the crusaders in Baghdad under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, and also the situation in (Jerusalem) under the deceptions of the road map and the Geneva initiative," the speaker said. A Mideast peace plan dubbed the Geneva Accord was launched Dec. 1 by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. The phrase "road map" refers to a U.S.-backed plan for a Palestinian state by 2005. The voice purporting to be that of bin Laden also said there is a "fierce attempt to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque and destroy jihad and the mujahideen in beloved Palestine" through the Geneva initiative. Al Aqsa is the name of the mosque in Jerusalem where Muslims believe the prophet Muhammad received the revelation of the beliefs of Islam and embarked on his ascension. The voice also tells his followers that jihad is the only means by which Islamic countries liberated themselves and said the West is using the pretext of the war on terror to "tarnish jihad and kill anyone seeking jihad." "Muslims, if you do not punish them for their sins in Jerusalem and Iraq, they shall defeat you because of your failure," the voice said. Several times since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, bin Laden messages of this kind were followed by large-scale terror attacks. Ibrahim Hilal, Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief, told The Associated Press the network received the message Sunday. However, he declined to reveal how it was delivered. Hilal said he was certain the voice on the tape was bin Laden's. "It is bin Laden's superb and special Arabic language that is very hard to emulate," Hilal said. "It is undoubtedly his voice, his style, and the typical examples from history he uses." The original message was 47 minutes long but the network aired only 14 minutes, Hilal said. The CIA's translation of the message runs more than five single-spaced pages. In those excerpts, the speaker urged Muslims to "liberate the Islamic world from the military occupation of the Crusaders." He said Gulf countries have given in to U.S. pressures "thinking that would not open the door for toppling of the dictatorial regimes by military force from outside, especially after they saw the capture of their previous comrade in treachery, a hireling of America," referring to Saddam. The speaker criticized leaders of Muslim nations for refusing to pressure the United States on the Palestinian issue and for not supporting the Palestinian resistance. He also criticized Gulf countries for receiving members of the U.S.-appointed interim Iraqi Governing Council. He said the "big powers" were trying to control the region for its oil. "The occupation of Iraq is the beginning of the full occupation of the other Gulf states. ... The Gulf is the key for control of the world in the point of view of the big powers because of the presence of the biggest deposits of oil." President Bush and other top U.S. officials have long declared Iraq the central front in the war on terror and bin Laden's push for terror attacks against U.S. and coalition forces suggests terror strikes and stepped efforts to thwart them will define U.S. military actions in Iraq for some time. Bin Laden, at one point, even says, "there can be no dialogue with occupiers except through arms." Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and a former FBI agent, told Fox News that although bin Laden is still not in custody, this type of communication "gives us the opportunity, when they make this operational move, to be a little closer, to get a little bit more information … about what his movements are, what his intentions are." And with counterterrorism intelligence getting better every day, he said, "we are putting a lot of pressure on these folks [terrorists] all around the world." Al-Jazeera last broadcast an audiotape purportedly from bin Laden in October. CIA analysts examining that tape concluded it probably was authentic. Fox News' Bret Baier, Major Garrett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.