U.S.A. and France: Common ground

[Ripsnort]

Both are enemies of Al Queda.

Al Qaeda to Bush: Prepare for More Attacks on U.S.
 
Feb 24, 10:08 AM (ET)

By Andrew Hammond
DUBAI (Reuters) - A top al Qaeda leader warned President Bush in an audiotape broadcast Tuesday to prepare for more attacks on the United States.

In the tape aired by Al Jazeera television, Ayman al-Zawahri said: "Bush, strengthen your defenses and your security measures for the Muslim nation which sent you the legion of New York and Washington has determined to send you legion after legion seeking death and paradise."

Zawahri, Osama bin Laden's right-hand man, also appeared on Tuesday to single out France in its league of enemies, accusing Paris of displaying "Crusader hatred" toward Islam by banning Muslim headscarves from state classrooms.

By turning on France in an audiotape broadcast on Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, Zawahri -- identifiable by his voice and rhetorical style -- went beyond now familiar tirades against the United States, Britain, Gulf Arab states and other supporters of last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

"France is the country of freedom which defends freedom to show the body and to be immoral and depraved. In France you're free to show yourself but not to dress modestly," he said in reference to the headscarf ban newly approved by parliament.

"This is a new sign of the Crusader hatred which Westerners harbor against Muslims while they boast of freedom, democracy and human rights," said the voice on the tape.

The authenticity of both recordings aired on the two Arab televisions could not immediately be verified, but they sounded like previous messages attributed to the Egyptian Zawahri, regarded as bin Laden's deputy and thought to be hiding with him somewhere near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Asked about the tape, a CIA official said: "The CIA is reviewing the tape to determine if it's authentic," adding that it could take a while before a determination was made.

In the Al Jazeera tape, Zawahri said Bush had lied in last month's State of the Union address when he asserted that most of al Qaeda had been crushed and that U.S. troops were spreading freedom and democracy.

"Bush alleged that his troops have spread freedom in the world, that Iraq had achieved democracy thanks to his coalition forces, that his government has crushed more than two-thirds of al Qaeda and that...Afghanistan is secure," he said.

"The leader of the most powerful country on earth is not embarrassed to say these deceptions and lies. It's gotten to the stage that he can ridicule his listeners to this degree."

Bush defended his war on terrorism and policy in Iraq in his State of the Union address that set the tone for his re-election campaign later this year.

DRIVING A WEDGE

Al Qaeda is widely seen as bent on radicalizing Muslims worldwide and encouraging them to rise up against the West in what some analysts have termed a "clash of civilizations."

The network, held responsible for the September 2001 attacks on the U.S. cities and a string of others, has portrayed Bush's "war on terror" as a modern-day crusade against Islam.

By focusing on the French headscarf ban, it appeared to be seizing on a fresh opportunity to promote that agenda and drive a wedge between Islam and the West.

Previous statements attributed to al Qaeda have usually focused on the United States and countries which backed the invasion of Iraq last year. French President Jacques Chirac was one of the war's most vocal opponents.

Along with France, the tape attacked Muslim countries which have made moves to secularize their societies along Western lines. "This is a campaign planned by the Crusader Zionists with their agents in Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia and other Islamic countries," Zawahri said.

His use of "Zionists" referred to supporters of Israel.

He said the French veil ban, which was also accompanied by bans on shows of Christian and Jewish faith in state schools, was part of a series of attacks on Muslims.

He also cited Israel's treatment of Palestinians, the U.S. occupation of Iraq and detention of Muslims in Guantanamo Bay, where foreign terrorism suspects are held by Washington:

"America has given itself the right to kill or detain anyone anywhere and to deport anyone to anywhere for any period, without anyone daring to ask why, who, where or until when."

"Atomic weapons are banned for everyone except Israel," he added, referring to U.S. ally Israel's presumed weapons arsenal.

http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/334453|top|02-24-2004::10:26|reuters.html

[Maverick]

Feb 24th at 10:08 ET huh. Has france surrendered yet? It's at least 12:30 ET now.
































  JK!

[Pongo]

There was never any doubt that they hate all of us Rip(the US most of course). All that is at debate is the best response to the hatred.

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Pongo
There was never any doubt that they hate all of us Rip(the US most of course).  

By turning on France in an audiotape broadcast on Dubai-based Al Arabiya television, Zawahri -- identifiable by his voice and rhetorical style -- went beyond now familiar tirades against the United States, Britain, Gulf Arab states and other supporters of last year's U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

[Spooky]

France has been the target of islamists long before the U.S knew they even existed.

Bombs were going off in the subway, and many innocents died.
Of course, everyone in the U.S was into OJ's trial and Big Bird's BJs at the time, and Osama was a CIA trained operative...

No one saw the writing on the walls...

We've had armed troops patrolling airports for years and special forces stormed an airliner poised to crash on Paris in 94...

So let them make threats, nothing new for us.

[straffo]

bis repetita non placent...

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by Spooky
..and special forces stormed an airliner poised to crash on Paris in 94...

Wow, that must have been special! Did they lower them in with a helicoptor?

[Frogm4n]

They were not with us to remove the wmds from iraq. SO they are obviously working with alqeada.

[boxboy28]

Just imagine a plane smashing into the Effiel tower and the big hunk of scrape metal crushing the city around it......................

[straffo]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Wow, that must have been special! Did they lower them in with a helicoptor?

won't have been very stealth

[Thrawn]

How's your french Rip?

[Spooky]

Originally posted by Ripsnort
Wow, that must have been special! Did they lower them in with a helicoptor?

The plane was on the ground, landed in Marseille from Algiers, on the way to Paris.

There was no way the authorities would have let them take off again.

The GIGN (Special forces) performed wonderfully that day, bugged the plane, pinpointed the tangos and stormed the plane without any fatal losses in their ranks,nor in the passenger's but killing all the terrorists armed with grenades, AKs and dynamite.

sniper fire (hecate II 0.50 heavy rifle) through the cockpit windows, flashbangs, many officers used only their MR73 revolver for better accuracy, and MP5s with laser aimpoints.

the whole assault was filmed by a news crew , live !

Google for it ...

[cpxxx]

France is hardly a new target. Remember with Al Qaeda almost everyone is their enemy mainly because no country supports them just a rump of fanatics.
France has been on the front line of Islamic terrorism for many years and were warning anyone who cared to listen about the danger.

But no one was listening.

Meanwhile the terrorists moved about freely in London leading the French to refer to it as 'Londonistan'.

Make no mistake about it the French are seasoned and effective in the anti terrorism war. Others could learn lesson from them if their pride didn't get in the way.

[GRUNHERZ]

Not quite as clean as you made it sound, but neat anyway.

http://www.fact-index.com/a/ai/air_france_flight_8969.html

"Suddenly, the distinctive sound of an AK-47 erupted from the cockpit of the Airbus, shattering glass in the control tower.

Captain De Favior gave the signal and the Special Forces moved in towards the Airbus onboard mobile staircases and catering equipment. Snipers already positioned in the tower began to return fire, being careful not to hit any of the crew in the cockpit. As the mobile staircases reached the right hand door to the first class area, one of the GIGN commandos manipulated the hatch's exterior mechanism as bullets riddled the thin aluminum exterior of the aircraft.

The pilots had crouched down in the cabin as far as they could, the commandos tossed stun grenades into the cockpit and first class section as they boarded the aircraft. They caught the first hijacker off guard as he was sprinting down the aisle, but the other hijackers in the cockpit area returned a barrage of automatic weapons fire that struck an officer in the Chest. Suddenly one of the hijackers tossed a grenade down the aisle, as GIGN commandos scrambled to get out of the way and provide cover for the passengers, the device exploded sending shrapnel into the legs of nearly everyone in the first class compartment.

The ensuing firefight would injure nine GIGN operatives, thirteen passengers and three members of the crew. The thousands of rounds of automatic weapons fire was so fierce that the co-pilot of the Airbus decided to take his chances and jumped out of the cockpit window to the unforgiving concrete some twenty-five feet below breaking his leg. The GIGN deployed all of the emergency escape chutes to allow the people to evacuate the aircraft during the firefight that lasted nearly twenty minutes.

The four hijackers were shot dead by the French commandos."

[Ripsnort]

Originally posted by GRUNHERZ
Not quite as clean as you made it sound, but neat anyway.

http://www.fact-index.com/a/ai/air_france_flight_8969.html

"Suddenly, the distinctive sound of an AK-47 erupted from the cockpit of the Airbus, shattering glass in the control tower.

Captain De Favior gave the signal and the Special Forces moved in towards the Airbus onboard mobile staircases and catering equipment. Snipers already positioned in the tower began to return fire, being careful not to hit any of the crew in the cockpit. As the mobile staircases reached the right hand door to the first class area, one of the GIGN commandos manipulated the hatch's exterior mechanism as bullets riddled the thin aluminum exterior of the aircraft.

The pilots had crouched down in the cabin as far as they could, the commandos tossed stun grenades into the cockpit and first class section as they boarded the aircraft. They caught the first hijacker off guard as he was sprinting down the aisle, but the other hijackers in the cockpit area returned a barrage of automatic weapons fire that struck an officer in the Chest. Suddenly one of the hijackers tossed a grenade down the aisle, as GIGN commandos scrambled to get out of the way and provide cover for the passengers, the device exploded sending shrapnel into the legs of nearly everyone in the first class compartment.

The ensuing firefight would injure nine GIGN operatives, thirteen passengers and three members of the crew. The thousands of rounds of automatic weapons fire was so fierce that the co-pilot of the Airbus decided to take his chances and jumped out of the cockpit window to the unforgiving concrete some twenty-five feet below breaking his leg. The GIGN deployed all of the emergency escape chutes to allow the people to evacuate the aircraft during the firefight that lasted nearly twenty minutes.

The four hijackers were shot dead by the French commandos."

Still...that was an impressive mission!  Were they Al Queda?