3 - 9 January 2002
Issue No.567
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 3 - 9 January 2002 Issue No.567 |
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Passing on the torch?
Will Bin Laden's latest videotape aired by Al-Jazeera be his last? Khaled Dawoud reports
In Osama Bin Laden's third and latest videotape aired last week by the Qatar-based Al- Jazeera satellite channel since the 11 September attacks, America's "most wanted" spoke as if he were delivering a farewell speech to the outside world.
He provided extensive information on the 19 young men suspected of carrying out the 11 September attacks, and virtually claimed responsibility for the 1998 bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. And as if he were dictating his will, Bin Laden called upon Arabs and Muslims to continue their jihad, or holy struggle, against the United States by targeting its economy, saying that this was the only way to fetter the world's sole superpower in its blind support for Israel and maintaining its siege on the Iraqi people.
After the fall of the extremist Taliban regime, the deployment of US forces in the heart of Kandahar, and their attacks on suspected hideouts in the Tora Bora mountains, only a few observers expected to hear from Bin Laden again. Yet, at a time when the United States and the new government in Afghanistan were claiming that he might have been killed by American seven-ton "Daisy Cutter" bombs, he appeared again, defiantly asserting that he had done the right thing.
Aired on 27 December, Bin Laden's latest videotape was sent to Al-Jazeera's office in Pakistan by mail, confirming the difficulties the leader of the Al-Qa'eda organisation is now facing in communicating with the outside world. It also fuelled speculation that he managed to slip into Pakistan and was enjoying the protection of extremist Muslim groups in the area along the border with Afghanistan.
However, US sources said on Monday the latest intelligence reports indicated that "it is highly probable that Bin Laden is still alive," Senator Bob Graham, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told the Cable News Network, CNN.
Afghanistan's interim foreign minister, Abdallah Abdallah, also said on Sunday that he believed Bin Laden was probably still in the country.
Judging by Bin Laden's statement that he was releasing the videotape to mark "almost three months since the blessed attacks" on 11 September and "two months since the beginning of the US strikes," the tape appears to confirm that Bin Laden was alive during mid- December. The fact that Bin Laden did not drink any water during his speech, in contrast to his previous videotapes including that released by the Pentagon in mid-November, suggested that it was recorded during the last days of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
In the tape released by the Pentagon, Bin Laden gave what Washington considered a "full confession" of his responsibility for the 11 September attacks. Talking to an unidentified Saudi man, Bin Laden said that the damage done to New York's Twin Towers exceeded his own expectations. However, due to the poor sound and picture quality, the content of the Pentagon's videotape failed to convince either sceptics or Bin Laden sympathisers in the Arab and Muslim world that he had confessed.
Although Bin Laden looked tired and gaunt in the latest videotape, many commentators said that there was nothing surprising about his appearance given that he has been on the run in cold and rugged territory for almost four months. During his address Bin Laden did not move his left hand, which he kept perfectly still at his side. This suggested to analysts that he might have been injured in one of the US raids. Bin Laden also appeared alone -- without any of his close top associates, namely the leader of Egypt's Jihad group, Ayman El-Zawahri, or his Kuwaiti spokesman, Suleiman Abu Ghaith.
Although Bin Laden stopped short of claiming direct responsibility for the 11 September attacks, he provided extensive information on the identity of the attackers. "Out of the land of the two holy sites [Saudi Arabia], the land of faith, 15 young men took off, two took off from United Arab Emirates, one from Lebanon, Ziad Jarrah, and one from Egypt, Mohamed Atta," Bin Laden said.
To underline his argument that even the world's superpower could be defeated if those who fought it had strong faith in their religion and cause, Bin Laden boasted how 19 young men "who were high school students managed to shake America's throne to avenge what is happening in Palestine and Iraq." He added, "With simple resources, they used the enemy's [US] planes and studied in the enemy's schools. Thus, they did not need training camps [in a reference to Al-Qa'eda's camps in Afghanistan]."
Bin Laden did not deny that what took place in New York and Washington was a form of "terrorism," but he described it as "blessed terrorism" compared to the US "terrorism seen in Palestine, Iraq and other Muslim countries."
He also called upon Muslims to "continue acts of jihad against America on both military and economic levels. The blessed strikes [on 11 September] led to losses that exceeded one trillion dollars. But we need more strikes. What is important is to target the US's economic base because it is the economy that backs the US military. If we target their economy, they [the US] will be preoccupied and won't be able to attack weak nations. Therefore, I emphasise that it is extremely important to target the US economy with all available means."
Referring to another "example of US 'terrorism,'" Bin Laden spoke at length about the extensive bombing in the ongoing military campaign, mentioning the seven-ton bombs. "And when we used less than two tons of explosives in [the bombing of the US embassy in] Kenya, they called us terrorists," he added in his first direct claim of responsibility for the 1998 attacks that left more than 200 people dead, most of them Kenyans.
Clearly trying to appeal to Arabs and Muslims, Bin Laden repeated several times that the lives of the thousands of Arab children killed in Palestine and Iraq were worth no less than the lives of those killed in New York and Washington. He made a specific reference to the 12-year-old Palestinian child, Mohamed Al-Dorra who was shot dead by Israeli occupation troops shortly after the Al-Aqsa Intifada broke out last year, despite his father's pleas and while both were seeking shelter. Bin Laden also referred to the death of more than one million Iraqi children since the UN imposed sanctions on the country more than 11 years ago.
Concluding his speech, Bin Laden warned the United States that it will face worse calamities. "God willing, America's end is near, and this will not depend on the survival of his humble servant, Osama, and regardless of whether he is killed or remains alive."
Shortly after the release of the Bin Laden tape, US officials condemned it as "terrorist propaganda." But it was clear that they were not happy that their "most wanted" enemy managed to make it once again onto the world's television screens. The question now is whether there will be more tapes, or whether the latest videotape proves to be Bin Laden's last words.
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