ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL (AKI): Dubai - Barack Obama's election as US president has failed to lift America's status in the Muslim and Arab world, and is a victory for Al-Qaeda, according to a new audio message allegedly from the terror network's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The video was posted on key jihadist websites on Monday.
The authenticity of the tape is yet to be verified. The purported message is in Arabic and, unlike previous ones, contains no English subtitles. The message is edited with extracts from recent Arabic TV interviews with Arab political analysts.
"In our view, America is still the country that kills Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. It is the country that steals our assets and occupies our lands, and which props up thieving and corrupt Arab regimes.
"The Islamic nation has opted to revive Islam and refuses to give in to oppression. Killing or capturing people casts the US in an even worse light. The US airstrikes in Pakistan pour oil on the flames and will lead to further defeats for that country," al-Zawahiri says.
Obama's election was actually a political triumph for Al-Qaeda and the result of US defeat in Iraq, the message says.
"Obama's victory is nothing more than the recognition by the American people that (former president George W.) Bush's policies had failed, and that the administration was lying when it claimed to have defeated the mujadeen (holy warriors)," al-Zawahiri says. >>> | Monday, April 20, 2009
