Come To Jihad, What's Old Is What's New
Infidels come from the strangest places! Osama bin Laden found a lot of them very close to home. In his latest video, OBL declares a holy war on Pervez Musharraf and the military clique ruling Pakistan, after his siege of the Red Mosque produced plenty of martyrs:
Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on Pakistanis to wage a holy war against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in a new recording released Thursday, saying his military's siege of a militant mosque stronghold makes him an infidel.The storming of the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July "demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims ... and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory," bin Laden said in the message. ...
The message, titled "Come to Jihad," was the third from bin Laden this month in a flurry of videos and audiotapes marking the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, a Pakistani army spokesman, said the army will continue its fight against terrorism, regardless of any threats.
These tapes provide a clarifying event for Pakistanis. They cannot escape the effects of their previous support for radical Islamist terrorism. They backed the Taliban in Afghanistan's post-Soviet civil war, and now the same radicals have claimed their stake in Pakistan. Indeed, Osama's use of the phrase "come to jihad" correctly asserts Pakistan's responsibility in stoking Islamist violence before 9/11.
Musharraf knows the Islamists want him dead. He's beaten at least two assassination attempts since he allied himself with the US. He's tried negotiation, appeasement, and flat-out leaving them alone, and nothing works. He and Pakistan have no choice but to fight the Islamists and to kill as many of them as he can.
To that end, he could ask for some assistance. The NATO forces on the other side of the Waziristan border would love to cross in force and conduct offensive operations against the Taliban and AQ bases they know exist there. It would provide a hammer for the anvil of Musharraf's forces invading Waziristan from the south, and the pincers could easily crush the poorly-led Taliban forces.
Will Musharraf get that desperate? If he can gain enough political support from Benazir Bhutto's return, he might. If Osama keeps declaring war on Musharraf, he may lose interest in pacifying the Waziri tribes. Let's hope that happens soon.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on September 20, 2007 12:35 PM | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (1)
Comments (9)
Posted by Joseph Eversole | September 20, 2007 1:48 PM
Oh I wish it were so!
Posted by AnonymousDrivel | September 20, 2007 2:37 PM
Bin Laden's Al Qaeda is looking for a "new" home. Yes, Pakistani provinces have been his refuge for some time, but AQ hasn't felt the need to escalate the tensions outside of the most tribal zones. With Afghanistan's maintained stability and Iraq turning more pro-American (pro-Western?) with natives' cooperation, AQ needs a new place to escape and wage its war. It looks like the chickens are coming home to roost.
Al Qaeda's impotence is beginning to show and this looks to me like evidence that its region of influence is shrinking. Musharraf may have a golden opportunity to rid his lands of poisonous weeds. We'll soon see if he has cultivated enough domestic allies for a purge.
Posted by coldwarrior415 | September 20, 2007 2:47 PM
Perhaps Bin Ladin should relocate to Chechneya, where he still has a large following. I have heard the Russian Spetznaz follows a bit more liberal rules of engagement than those imposed on our Special Forces.
Posted by tomg | September 20, 2007 3:16 PM
This is fascinating. If Musharraf manages to live, bin Laden will be looking mighty impotent. Long Live the Muush!
(unintentional oxymoron there, but had to leave it!)
Posted by exhelodrvr | September 20, 2007 3:36 PM
I agree with TOMG; bin laden is getting desperate.
Posted by E9 RET | September 20, 2007 4:24 PM
Actually, OBL might have made a serious miscalculation. It will not have escaped the notice of other technically illegitimate leaders of Islamic countries that a call to overthrow the existing, technically illegitimate leader of Pakistan is a serious increase in the table stakes.
If the call fails, then his inability to influence what is arguably the most rabid support base he enjoys anywhere will be a serious blow to him and the reputation of AQ everywhere in the Islamic world.
If, on the other hand, his call has a little; some; or a lot of support, then those lip service paying Islamic leaders have just received a wakeup call that this attack dog might actually bite the hand that feed it.
Interesting days ahead.
Posted by hunter | September 20, 2007 4:28 PM
Keep on spamming, ObL.
Everytimne he does it, we are that much closer to ending your sorry sotry.
The most important part of this is the clear dependence of the terrorists on the support they receive from lefties in the west.
Shame on the lefties. But of course they have no shame.
Posted by NahnCee | September 20, 2007 5:06 PM
I wonder why OBL doesn't relocate to Iran or Syria. Maybe they wouldn't welcome him, figuring that if we knew he ws there, we'd kick the doors down and come in after him, diplomacy be damned.
Russia might give him sanctuary for the right about of billions of dollars, both for the money and because Putin would enjoy watching America stomping back and forth outside their borders like a tiger watching its prey hiding inside a cage.
China, not so much. They don't need the money nor the aggravation.
World is narrowing down on Mr. bin Laden, and the list of places he can go to hide is narrowing.
If he's still alive and it's really him calling for Musharref's overthrow.
Posted by MarkJ | September 20, 2007 8:28 PM
Our troops have intercepted a proposed ad slogan for OBL's next video:
"Come to where the flavor is...come to JIHAD COUNTRY."
(Cue theme from "The Magnificent Seven" and fade in soft-focus pics of OBL riding his camel through the deserts of Waziristan)
OBL says that before he decides on this slogan, he's going to "wave this sucker from the minaret and see if anybody prays to it."