 |
|
"Bush's allegation that his troops have arrested more than two-thirds of Al-Qaeda....is full of lies," said the speaker
|
DOHA/DUBAI,
February 24 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - In apparently two
separate audiotapes aired by Arab news televisions on Tuesday,
February 24, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, the right hand of Osama Bin Laden,
accused the U.S. of spreading "repression and fear" and
scolded France for banning hijab.
In
a recording broadcast by Al-Jazeera, Egyptian-born Zawahiri accused
U.S. President George Bush lying to people in his State of the Union
address, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He
repudiated Bush's claims of crushing two-thirds Al-Qaeda,
threatening new attacks on the U.S.
"Bush's
allegation that his troops have arrested more than two-thirds of
Al-Qaeda....is full of lies."
"Three
other allegations by Bush (are) that his forces are spreading peace
and freedom in the world, that Iraq has found freedom thanks to
‘coalition forces’ and that the situation in Afghanistan is
stable," said the voice.
"His
forces are not spreading peace and freedom but fear and repression and
appointing corrupt governments and protecting them," he added.
"Iraq
does not enjoy freedom and security but has gone from the tyranny of a
secular dictator and enemy of Islam ... to that of a crusader occupier
hostile to Islam who kills, tortures and steals what he wants while
claming that American forces are hunting illusory weapons of mass
destruction, "added the speaker.
"As
for the situation in Afghanistan, it is not stabilized (...).
Otherwise from where are we carrying out attacks against your forces
and your agents, from where are we sending our messages which defy you
and reveal your lies," he asked.
"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," said the voice.
In
his election-year State of the Union speech in January 2004, Bush defiantly
defended the U.S.-led invasion and occupation of Iraq
and his war on terrorism.
Hijab
Ban
Another
tape purported to also be from Zawahiri emerged earlier in the day on
the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya TV and lambasted France's decision to ban
hijab.
"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.
France's
National Assembly adopted
Tuesday, February 10, with an overwhelming majority a
controversial bill that would ban hijab and religious insignia in
state schools.
"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 speaker.
"The
headscarf ban in France falls in the same category as the torching of
villages and their inhabitants in Afghanistan, the destruction of
houses over the heads of their occupants in Palestine, the massacre of
children and the theft of oil in Iraq.
"The
hijab ban is not restricted to France, but a policy implemented by the
crusader-Zionists through their agents in Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia and
elsewhere in the countries of Islam," he asserted.
Neither
Dubai-based al-Arabiya nor Al-Jazeera said how they obtained the
recordings nor how they were authenticated.
Both
Bin Laden and Zawahiri have been heard on a number of audio and video
tapes since the toppling of their Afghanistan host, Taliban regime, by
U.S.-led forces in 2001.
The
British daily Sunday Express reported on Sunday, February 22,
that U.S. and British special forces have cornered Bin Laden in a
mountainous area in northwest Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border.
Pakistani
troops Tuesday arrested several foreign
suspects in an operation launched to track down Al-Qaeda
fighters hiding in the rugged tribal terrain bordering Afghanistan.
