Al Qaeda Deputy: Iraq War Is A Failure
Alleged Al-Zawahri Recording Says Bush Is Passing The "Problem" On To The Next President
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A screen shot of al Qaeda figure Ayman al-Zawahiri from a video released in July 2007. In a new audio recording, Zawahiri calls on Muslims to strike Israeli and American interests in revenge for Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip earlier this month. (AP Photo/via InterCenter)
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Tales Of The Tapes
Excerpts and analysis of messages believed to have been recorded by Osama bin Laden.
In the recording, Ayman al-Zawahri alleged that by acting on the advice of his top commanders in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and halting further U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq until after July, U.S. President George W. Bush was "covering up for the failure" of his Iraq policies.
The authenticity of the recording, posted on a Web site known for militant messages, could not be independently verified. It bore the logo of al Qaeda's media wing and was the second recording in April by al-Zawahri, considered the terror network's chief strategist.
The first part of the recording, entitled, "Five years of the invasion of Iraq and decades of injustice by tyrants," deals with Iraq and calls for Muslim support of jihad, or holy war, and for backing al Qaeda's affiliate there, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq.
That part of the recording referred to Bush's statement that he would give Petraeus all the time needed to evaluate the security situation in Iraq after the current drawdown of U.S. troops ends in July and reassess U.S. troop strength.
That stance by the American president guarantees a heavy U.S. military presence in Iraq for the rest of Bush's presidency as the war grinds through its sixth year. The current total of 160,000 troops is scheduled to shrink to about 140,000 by the end of July.
"Bush declared that he will grant Petraeus all the time he needs, a ridiculous show to cover up for the failure in Iraq and to allow Bush to evade the decision to withdraw the forces, which is an admission of the failure of the crusader invasion of Iraq, by passing the problem on to the next president," al-Zawahri said.
"The truth is that if Bush keeps all his forces in Iraq until doomsday and until they enter hell, they will only see crisis and defeat by the will of God," al-Zawahri said. "If the American forces leave, they will lose everything. And if they stay, they will bleed to death."
Al-Zawahri also blasted Sunni fighters who switched sides and joined the American push to pacify Sunni areas of Iraq, the so-called "Awakening Councils," echoing similar comments posted earlier in April by al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq.
"Weren't these Awakening (Councils) supposed to hasten the departure of the American forces, or are these Awakenings in need of someone to defend them and protect them," al-Zawahri asked.
He also reiterated a recent statement allegedly by Osama bin Laden, that from Iraq the mujahideen will launch a fight to "liberate" Jerusalem.
"Iraq nowadays is the most important battlefield on which our mujahideen are waging a war against the forces of the Zionist-Christian Crusade," al-Zawahri said. "Therefore, supporting the mujahideen in Iraq and especially the Islamic State of Iraq is a most important duty."
The Iran-backed Mahdi Army Shiite leader in Iraq, Muqtada al-Sadr, who has ordered his troops to halt attacks on American and Iraqi forces, "has become the laughing stock of the world" and is a "toy" in Tehran's hands, al-Zawahri said.
In the second part of the almost 16 minutes-long recording, al-Zawahri pontificated on the "exploitation of Muslims" in Egypt, his homeland, and mentions rioting in a northern industrial Egyptian town amid a nationwide strike this month and economic troubles spurred by rising bread-prices, as well as the plight of Palestinians in the Israel-besieged Gaza.
He asserted that those "starving the people of Egypt" are the same as those "who are denying food to the people of Gaza" and claimed this was allegedly all "part of a Zionist-American plot to humiliate the Muslim nation."
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



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See all 619 CommentsThe war in Iraq has become "a major debacle" and the outcome "is in doubt" despite improvements in security from the buildup in U.S. forces, according to a highly critical study published Thursday by the Pentagon''s premier military educational institute.
libagenda
A new Pentagon report is also calling Iraq a major debacle. The majority of the country thinks Iraq is a colossal failure. The whole world thinks Iraq is a giant boondoggle that is bringing down the U.S.A. Anyone with any objectivity at all sees what an embarrasing failure Iraq has become. O
Only you and your fellow nutjobs disagree.
libagenda
By the way, why the **** is Al Qaeda giving press conferences from Pakistan while were wasting 3 trillion dollars in Iraq!
I''m sorry that you are a moron.
lol!
Well, I agree with the old turban guy on one thing: the Iraq war is a failure.
* 4050 Americans dead
* 1 million Iraqis dead
* $1 Trillion of taxpayer money wasted
* $115 per barrel oil
* no "weapons of mass destruction"
= FAILURE
Al Qaeda has a media wing with their own friggin'' logo???!
I think history has already claimed bush as the worst president in our history.I hope we can outlive the shame.
Posted by corey2444 at 06:52 AM : Apr 18, 2008
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Believing in Unfettered Capitalism must be one too, that or being possessed by the ghost of Ken Lay.
WANT SOME KOOL AID?
You bet they are and who would do such a thing? Central bankers, Oil companies, Israel and the jew lobby?
You better believe it. You live in FEMA continuation of government. There is nothing in the constitution that allows the president to sign an emergency order every year. You do no live in the United States of America. The US went broke and nobody noticed but then the mass media controlled by 7 zionist jews isn''t going to tell you about it.
whatreallyhappened.com is a good place to learn more.
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Posted by underdogus at 07:03 AM : Apr 18, 2008
+ report abuse
ROFLMAO Really??? How many "Lib''s" voted for the Worst in our History? The Guy who attacked the WRONG Country, leaving this radical religious nut out there to make fun of us?? Maybe YOU should take off the Swastika Sparky and join us in the REAL world!! Sieg Heil Bush
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3764160.ece
-thanks to www.whatreallyhappened.com
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Posted by jamesm12341 at 07:41 AM : Apr 18, 2008
-jamesm12341, well to encourage you a bit here today, Zawahri must be reading our thread on CBS News, I guess. We''ve always been saying the War in Iraq IS a FAILURE by a FAILED president for failed people such as you. Enjoy!
With dreams to being a king, first one should be a man.
I call about and charge them all with a life that is a lie and in their final hour they shall confess before they die.
The war on terror has no end !!!!!
A typical right wing attempt to cast aspersions where none are.
If what Mr. Al Zawahri allegedly says is true, then agreeing with it does not mean one supports Mr. Al Zawahri.
If a staunch hard line extremist says that Bush lied to invade Iraq, will you, simply because you might not like hardliners, deny the truth of his statement?
Anyone denying the truth, even if it comes from one you consider an enemy, supports that enemy because you prove the enemy to be correct.
When is Jimmy Carter scheduled to meet with this guy?
They left out the part where he endorsed either Obama or Clinton.
LIBS JUST DON''T GET IT!
Alleged Al-Zawahri Recording Says Bush Is Passing The "Problem" On To The Next President. Democrats who support a failure in Iraq agree with the enemy.
Posted by hillaryin012 at 08:27 AM : Apr 18, 2008
The terrorist is just noting that he''s received a copy of Bush''s "strategy".
Nothing like "sending a message" to the enemy, huh?
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Posted by johnpatrick9 at 08:30 AM : Apr 18, 2008
LIB traitors. No joke.
Many of us cannot identify with whatever the ''''Zionist-Christian Crusade'''' is. It''''s not our crusade!
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Posted by jh6379 at 08:54 AM : Apr 18, 2008
I really don''t care what you terrorist sympathizers have to say.
When is Jimmy Carter scheduled to meet with this guy?
Posted by payasyougo at 08:42 AM : Apr 18, 2008
He doesn''t have to. Al Qaeda already told us what they want to end the war. Quit supporting Israel in their genocide / apartheid against the Palestinians, and take ALL of our troops out of Saudi Arabia.
A very small price to pay for our safety and security, if you ask me.
LIBS JUST DON''''T GET IT!
Posted by mbcsmith at 08:53 AM : Apr 18, 2008
You''re right - we don''t get it!!
They want us to stay in Iraq, mired down, weakening our forces and wasting all of our money, until we eventually go home broken and beaten like the Soviets did from Afghanistan.
And Bush is perfectly willing to play right into THE EXACT SAME STRATEGY THAT BEAT RUSSIA!!
You''re right - I don''t get it!!!
Regards,
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Posted by Nancy_Naive at 08:58 AM : Apr 18, 2008
And tell us please Nancy, why you are a terrorist sympathizer who wishes to surrender to these brutal animals
Its over for you hungry1968, Hail to the Chief: John McCain
Posted by hillaryin012 at 09:04 AM : Apr 18, 2008
Uh huh.
Conservatives hate him, liberals hate him, democrats hate him, independents are moving to Obama by the thousands, many republicans won''t vote for him and are going to stay home on 11/4.
74% of polled military members said that they''re going to vote for either Obama or Clinton.
Exactly how do you expect him to become a president with NO campaign financing, no platform except "everything stays the same", and no one planning on voting for him? That will definitely be a neat trick.
Posted by mbcsmith at 09:04 AM : Apr 18, 2008
Disagreeing with policies that are PROVEN FAILURES, does not make anyone a sympathisizer or a surrenderer.
It makes that person smart enough to realize that something DIFFERENT must be tried.
That''s just another reason McClone is going to lose in Nov.
If the "terrorists" know, as they should, that their pronouncements are helping the party that lied us into Iraq gain four more years of power, it should be clear to all who they are really working for.
Funny how Bush, and "Al CIAda" both want the same thing, isn''t it...
But with the Bush administration and the GOP playing RIGHT into their hands, they are happy to make the brain-dead rightwingers believe the opposite. After all, it''s in their bext interest to have the GOP doing their work for them and at the American taxpayer''s expense.
Posted by hillaryin012 at 09:14 AM : Apr 18, 2008
Correct - McCain will lose, Bush''s policies are gone, and with it goes the neo con hope of Marxism in America.
Posted by hillaryin012 at 09:15 AM : Apr 18, 2008
Oh really? From where I''m standing the war-loving, fear mongering GOP have been the best allies Al-Qaeda could have had. They have built up a co-depedent relationship, with moronic, clueless cheerleaders like yourself totally fooled into supporting them _both_.
It makes that person smart enough to realize that something DIFFERENT must be tried.
That''''s just another reason McClone is going to lose in Nov.
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Posted by hungry1968 at 09:11 AM : Apr 18, 2008
LIBS are soooo funny. They try to spin SURRENDER but it is still SURRENDER.
They want us to stay in Iraq, mired down, weakening our forces and wasting all of our money, until we eventually go home broken and beaten like the Soviets did from Afghanistan.
And Bush is perfectly willing to play right into THE EXACT SAME STRATEGY THAT BEAT RUSSIA!!
You''''re right - I don''''t get it!!!
Posted by hungry1968
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I hate agree with hungry in anything! But this is insightful.
We are exhausting our capabilities in Iraq when it is obvious by now that our economy cannot sustain many more years of war.
Meanwhile, Iran, Syria...with the support of Russia are polishing in ammunition, training and brainwashing...using US defeat in Iraq as one of their weapons
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