Bin Laden blasts middle east peace efforts

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden urged Muslims to continue fighting a holy war rather than co-operating with Middle East peace efforts, in a new tape aired on Al Jazeera satellite channel.

In a voice purported to be bin Laden, the speaker, who referred to recent events, called on Muslims to “continue the jihad to check the conspiracies that are hatched against the Islamic nation”.

Ibrahim Hilal, Al Jazeera’s editor-in-chief, said the network received the message yesterday. He declined to reveal how it was delivered.

Hilal said the original message was 47 minutes long, of which the network aired only 14, 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 Middle East peace plan dubbed the Geneva Accord was launched on December 1 by Italian and Palestinian negotiators. The road map refers to a US-backed plan for a Palestinian state.

“We have to liberate the Islamic world from the military occupation of the Crusaders by raising up the banner of jihad for God’s sake,” the speaker said.

He called the Middle East issues part of a religious and economic war, saying 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.”

The last audiotape purported to be bin Laden was broadcast by Al Jazeera last October. CIA analysts who examined that tape concluded it was probably authentic.

Bin Laden criticised the leaders of Muslim nations for refusing to stand against the United States for a fair settlement of the Palestinian issue and for not supporting the Palestinian resistance.

He also criticised Gulf countries for receiving members of the Iraqi Governing Council.

“The deterioration of the situation of Arabs and Muslims is in ignoring Islam as a basic programme for rule,” the speaker said.

He called for establishing a council to replace the Arab rulers and take on the role of unifying Arab positions and raising the banner of jihad.

Hilal said the voice and language made him certain it was bin Laden.

“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 CIA and appropriate intelligence authorities are reviewing the tape to check for its authenticity,” Allen Abney, a White House spokesman said last night.