By Evan Kohlmann
The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a copy of a May 15, 2008 audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden, titled, “A Message to the People of the West from the Shaykh Usama Bin Laden: The Reasons for the Conflict on the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Israeli Conquest.” During his speech, Bin Laden sought to “reassure” the world that “the Palestinian issue is the primary central issue of our movement. Thus, it has been an important factor in motivating me since childhood and providing the nineteen liberators [the 9/11 hijackers] with a major longing to aid the oppressed and punish the tyrannical Jews and their supporters.” Further on in his address, Bin Laden attempted to deflect criticism of Al-Qaida’s own controversial terrorist tactics, insisting: “The real terrorism and the armed assaults are being carried out by a leader who is the most terrible instrument of war humanity has ever seen… What really causes revulsion in us is that—in the wake of all this killing, destroying, pillaging, plundering, and decadence—your leaders have arisen intent on discussing certain [shared] principles, and this is simply not possible—so do not combine these two injustices… You have designated Palestinian organizations as terrorist organizations, and they were punished and boycotted as a result. Whereas, on the other hand, the Israelis have actually killed civilians—women and children, with car bombs, too—in Jaffa, Haifa, and [elsewhere].”
The English transcript of Bin Laden's message can be downloaded from the NEFA Foundation website.
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