AL QAEDA'S PSYWAR---AN UPDATE INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR---PAPER NO. 314 B.RAMAN
“O Allah, Pervez, his ministers, his 'Ulama and his soldiers have been hostile to your friends in Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially inWaziristan, Swat, Bajaur and Lal Masjid: O Allah, break their backs, split them up and destroy their unity; O Allah, afflict them with the loss oftheir dear ones as they have afflicted us with the loss of our dear ones; O Allah, we seek refuge in You from their evilness and we place Youat their throats; O Allah, make their plotting their destruction; O Allah, suffice for us against them with whatever You wish; O Allah, destroythem, for they cannot escape You; O Allah, count them, kill them, and leave not even one of them." -----From a recent prayer of Osama binLaden.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Osama bin Laden and his No.2, Ayman al-Zawahiri use periodic video and audio messages (pre-recorded) for motivating their followers, forgiving their perception of the state of the world and the global jihad and for carrying on PSYWAR against their perceived adversaries. Thesemessages are recorded in the tribal areas of Pakistan and then got disseminated through Al Jazeera TV channel of Qatar and through theInternet. Al Qaeda has established a separate propaganda wing called As-Sahab, under the supervision of an American convert to Islam, forhaving these messages recorded and disseminated. In addition to recording and disseminating the messages of Al Qaeda leaders, As Sahabhas also started recording and disseminating the messages of the commanders of the Neo Taliban since the beginning of 2007. During 2007,As Sahab disseminated about 90 video messages.
Zawahiri appears more frequently in these messages than bin Laden, who appears infrequently apparently for security reasons. He prefersaudio to video messages for the same security reasons. He observes long spells of silence.
Throughout the year 2005, bin Laden maintained a strange silence, giving rise to strong rumours of incapacity or death. Zawahiri was the most frequently heard and seen voice of Al Qaeda during this period. bin Laden broke his long silence on January 19,2006,with an audio message addressed to the American people in which he offered them a truce if the American troops were withdrawn from Iraqand Afghanistan and warned of another terrorist strike in the US homeland if his truce offer was rejected.
He subsequently came out with another audio message on April 23,2006, in which, for the first time since the formation of the IIF in 1998,he made direct references to India and the Kashmir issue and spoke of an alleged Crusader-Zionist-Hindu conspiracy against the Muslims.He made the first reference to " a Crusader-Zionist-Hindu war against the Muslims" while talking of the alleged Western conspiracy todeprive Indonesia of East Timor. It was not clear why he referred to India in connection with the separation of East Timor from Indonesia.He then said: “Meanwhile, a UN resolution passed more than half a century ago gave Muslim Kashmir the liberty of choosing independencefrom India. George Bush, the leader of the Crusaders' campaign, announced a few days ago that he will order his converted agent [Pakistan President Pervez] Musharraf to shut down the Kashmir mujahidin camps, thus affirming that it is a Zionist-Hindu war againstMuslims."
His reference was apparently to the remarks made by President Bush during his visit to Afghanistan, India and Pakistan from March 1 to4,2006. Mr. Bush had stated at Delhi that he would be taking up with Musharraf India's complaints that the jihadi terrorist infrastructure in Pakistani territory directed against India remained intact. bin Laden further added:"It is the duty for theUmma with all its categories, men, women and youths, to give away themselves, their money, experiences and all types of material support,enough to establish jihad particularly in Iraq, Palestine, Afghanistan, Sudan, Kashmir and Chechnya. Jihad today is an imperative for everyMuslim. The Umma will commit a sin if it did not provide adequate material support for jihad."
He also referred to the fighting in the Waziristan area of Pakistan between the Pakistani Army and the local inhabitants in the followingwords: " With respect to Pakistan, some Muslims have done a good job by assisting their fellow Muslims, God bless them, but the Pashtuntribes must be aided after the Pakistan army devastated their homes in Waziristan in order to satisfy the US."
This message was addressed to the Islamic world and not to the US and other Western countries. It did not repeat his earlier warning ofplans for another terrorist strike in the US. The message of April 23, 2006, seemed to have been triggered off by a concern over the lack ofany significant anger in the Islamic world over the suspension of Western assistance to the Hamas-led Government in the area under thecontrol of the Palestinian Authority and over the developments in the Darfur region of the Sudan and the plans to send an internationalpeace-keeping force there. He projected these developments as evidence of the continuing conspiracy by the Crusaders and the Zionistsagainst the Muslims.
His reference to the American opposition to the Hamas was a casual rhetoric, without any indication of any action to be taken by theMuslims in this connection. However, his references to the alleged American designs in the Sudan and to the need to counter the Crusaders'in southern and Western Sudan were more detailed and called for specific action such as storage of weapons for waging a jihad before therains started hindering transport in the interior. He said: " I am inviting the mujahidin and their supporters in the Sudan and other countriesaround, including the Arabian peninsula in particular, to prepare all that is needed for a long-term war against the Crusaders and thieves inwestern Sudan. Our objective is obvious, that is defending Islam, the people and the land but not Khartoum government since ourdifferences with them are so enormous, mostly when it backtracked in implementing the Sharia law and abandoned south Sudan. I urge themujahidin to get acquainted with Darfur state tribes and land and its surroundings, keeping in mind that the region is about to face the rainyseason that hampers means of transport. This is one of the reasons why the occupation was adjourned for six months. So it is imperative tospeed up action and benefit from the time factor by stocking a large amount of landmines and anti-armour grenades such as RPGs [rocketpropelled grenades]."
This message, which lacked focus, referred to the so-called conspiracies against the Muslims all over the world, but interestingly did notrefer to the opposition of the West to Iran's nuclear programme as another indicator of the Crusaders' conspiracy against Islam. It was silenton this subject.
Despite the re-emergence of the voice of bin Laden in the air waves, Zawahiri continues to dominate the propaganda war of Al Qaedadirected at the Ummah and the rest of the world. He does not miss a single important occasion for the Muslims to give expression to hisviews and to make tall claims regarding the successes being scored by the jihadis all over the world in general and in Iraq in particular.Security considerations do not inhibit him from using video recordings for propaganda purposes
Zawahiri has almost become the chatter-box of al Qaeda. The frequency of his messages and the rapidity of his responses to situationssuch as the failed US attempt to kill him through a Predator missile strike on January 13,2006, in the Bajaur agency area of Pakistan and hisuse of the Internet as well as al Jazeera for dissemination indicate his presence in an area with modern facilities for recording anddissemination and the availability of expert assistance to him. Where bin Laden is located does not seem to enjoy such advantages.
The chatter-box syndrome has started affecting Zawahiri. The more he speaks and the more virulent he is, the less the attention he gets inthe Islamic world. In fact, some commentators and analysts in the Islamic world have started referring to his messages with some sarcasmand taunting him for sitting in some well-protected area of Pakistan and claiming credit for the sacrifices made by the Iraqi resistance-fighters.
The messages of both bin Laden and Zawahiri have been increasingly critical of Musharraf for his perceived co-operation with the US.However, till July,2007, bin Laden was guarded in his criticism and avoided remarks which could have been interpreted as instigation of acoup against him or an attempt to have him assassinated. He has given up this caution after the Lal Masjid raid of July,2007, by thePakistani Army commandoes.Zawahiri's attacks on Musharraf have always been virulent and his appeals to the Pakistan Army and peopleto act against Musharraf instigatory.
This would indicate that till July,2007, bin Laden was probably still dependent on Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for his safety,but not Zawahiri. In fact, Zawahiri's instigatrory attacks on Musharraf started in 2003 after the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. Thesehave since grown in virulence.
Zawahiri's references to India and the Hindus have been more virulent than those of bin Laden. Why so? One possible reason is he livesunder the protection of Pakistani jihadi organisations such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), theHarkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad and his messages are increasingly influenced by their views on India and theHindus.
In a message of April 29,2006, Zawahiri said: "Musharraf is fighting Islam in Pakistan...threatens national security in Pakistan...has placed Pakistan's nuclear programme under American, therefore Jewish and Indian, control....He (Mr.Bush) gives a strongimpetus to the Indian nuclear programme, while doling out orders to Pakistan.Every soldier and officer in the Pakistani military should knowthat Musharraf is throwing them into the burner of civil war in return for the bribes he is getting from the United States."
Zawahiri urged the Pakistanis "to remove this traitor from power" and told soldiers to disobey the orders of their commanders "to killMuslims in Pakistan or Afghanistan"....."The West which claims to support democracy ... is encouraging Musharraf to stay in power by anymeans after he demonstrated his aptitude at killing Muslims," he said
The apparent aims of the renewed propaganda offensive of Al Qaeda since the beginning of 2006 were: • To project bin Laden as still in charge of Al Qaeda's jihad world-wide. • To project the jihadis as on their way to victory in Iraq. • To call for foreign volunteers to strengthen the operations of the Taliban in Afghanistan. • To project India and the Hindus as the third component of the alleged conspiracy against the Muslims.
However, this renewed PSYWAR offensive continued to be surprisingly muted on the US-led attempt to denuclearise Iran, which is notprojected as part of the conspiracy against Islam. Is Al Qaeda as concerned as the US and Israel over the prospects of a Shia atomic bomb?Possibly.
Al Jazeera TV channel disseminated on December 20,2006, extracts from a video recorded message of Zawahiri titled "The Realities of theConflict Between Islam and Unbelief." Though the unedited message did not say so, it read like a year-end review of the state of globaljihad by Zawahiri. Its special focus was on the situation in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon, but it also touched upon other areassuch as Somalia, Sudan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Algeria etc. It touched upon a number of events such as the raid on a madrasa inthe Bajaur agency of Pakistan on October 30, 2006, the US Congressional elections of November 5, 2006, and the talk of a fresh election inthe Palestinian territory.
From the point of view of India, a significant aspect was the absence of any critical reference to the Hindus and Hinduism and to India'srelations with the US. Previous comments in Al Qaeda propaganda that the global jihad was directed against the joint anti-Islam conspiracyof Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism did not find repetition. When it talked of the on-going global jihad against what it described as theCrusaders and the Jewish people, it referred to only Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Chechnya and Somalia. It did not seem toproject the on-going jihadi terrorism in India, Southern Philippines, Indonesia and Southern Thailand as part of the global jihad against the Crusaders and the Jewish people. It seemed to look upon them as purely local jihadi phenomena unconnected with what it projected as theglobal crusade against Islam and the Ummah.
It cautioned against any tendency on the part of the Muslims to regard what was going on in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Chechnya and Somalia as separate conflicts unconnected with each other. It projected them as intrinsic parts of the global Crusade againstIslam and, therefore, stresseed the need for the Muslims all over the world to join hands to defeat this Crusade. It stressed the importanceof the armed as well as the unarmed components of the jihad against the so-called Crusaders and Zionists.
While talking of the unarmed components of the jihad, it said: “The Muslim Ummah must exploit all methods of popular protest, likedemonstrations, sit-ins, strikes, refusing to pay taxes, preventing cooperation with the security forces, refusing to provide the Crusaderswith fuel, hitting traders who supply the Crusader forces, boycotting Crusader and Jewish products, and other ways of popular protest. Thestudents must take their anger to the streets, and they must make the mosques, universities, colleges and high schools centers of supportfor Jihad and resistance." It was strongly critical of not only the US, but also the UN, which it projected as anti-Islam for giving membership to Israel and for legitimising through its Charter what it described as the occupation of historic Muslim lands by non-Muslims. In its criticism of the UNCharter, it said: " It (the Charter) also obligates them to recognize Russia’s occupation of Chechnya and the Muslim Caucasus, China’soccupation of East Turkistan, Spain’s occupation of Ceuta and Melilla and the occupation of other Muslim lands by non-Muslim governmentswhich are part of the UN."
There was no specific reference to J & K in this context. J&K, however, figured in another part of the message, which appealed to thePalestinians to support the cause of the Kashmiri Muslims. It appealed to the Palestinians in the following words: " My Muslim brothers in Palestine: all Muslims stand with you, and wish to offer their lives in exchange for the liberation of al-Aqsa, so stand withyour Muslim brothers in Islam in Chechnya, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Iraq, and let the world hear your support of them."
It praised the poor Muslims of Afghanistan for relentlessly waging a jihad for three decades---- initially against one super power (the USSR)and now against the other (US) and called upon the Muslims of the world to emulate them. It said:" The Afghan people, in a quarter of acentury, have defeated – by the grace of Allah – the two superpowers in this world, so may Allah grant long life to this poor, steadfast,Mujahid people. It is the duty of the Muslim Ummah to back them, and this is the least it can do to fulfill the duty it owes to them. Thereligious, military and political history of mankind shall bear witness that the strongest power in history was defeated by a power much stronger, greater and purer than it: the power of Mujahid Islam."
It projected the jihad in Afghanistan as being jointly waged by the Pashtuns of Afghanistan and Pakistan and said: "The Pashtun tribes onboth sides of the border declared their allegiance to the Taliban, joined the Jihad against the Crusade and stood firm in the face of thecombined bombing of the Americans and Crusaders…And the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and Pakistan wrote an honorable chapter in thehistory of Islam. And in this regard, I hail our Muslim brothers in Pakistan on their demonstrations against the traitorous Musharrafgovernment after the treacherous aggression against the religious school in Bajaur, and I hail the Mujahideen of Pakistan on their heroic, martyrdom-seeking confrontation of the Crusaders’ agents in Pakistan. And I remind them that the way to deliverance is in supporting theforces of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan with their persons and wealth, and not through parliamentary ruses or elections polluted withbribery, cheating and manipulation…"
It sought to counter the impression that Al Qaeda was anti-Shia and pro-Arab in an intriguing reference, which read as follows: "And I tellthem that the secularist traitors are striving to sow discord between you and your brothers the Mujahideen, who sympathized with you whenyou were hit by the crimes of the criminal, pagan Ba’athists. And you know that your Mujahid brothers, especially in Qaida al-Jihad, are – bythe grace of Allah – the farthest people from ethnic fanaticism. They have pledged allegiance to the Commander of the Believers, MullaMuhammad Umar (the Amir of the Taliban), as their commander, and he isn’t an Arab." Whom was Zawahiri referring to when he talked ofthe victims of the crimes of the Baathists---the Shias or the Kurds or both?
It projected the objectives of the on-going global jihad as the recovery of all historic Muslim lands now under the occupation of non-Muslimpowers and the formation of an Islamic Caliphate ruled in accordance with the Sharia. It debunked the idea of Western style democracywith elections for empowering the people and warned the people of Palestine against falling into the trap of elections. It questioned theright of Israel to existence in Palestrinian territory and cautioned the Palestinians against being satisfied with the restoration of thepre-1967 position.
It claimed that the results of the US Congressional elections in November,2006,represented the victory of not the Democrats, but of theMujahideen of Afghanistan and Iraq. It said that the fate of Islam was being decided in the battle-fields of Iraq and Afghanistan and appealedto the Ummah to continue waging their jihad till the Crusaders were defeated and the non-Muslims in occupation of Muslim lands weredriven out.
It projected the jihadi acts of terrorism in non-Muslim territory as justified acts of reprisals in retaliation for the attacks on the Muslims andwarned the Americans: “The formula for your safety is “You shall never dream of security until we truly experience it in Palestine and alllands of Islam,” and not the fallacious formula with which Bush deceives you when he says, “We strike the terrorists in their countries sothat they don’t strike us in ours.” On the contrary: if we are struck in our countries, we shall never stop striking you in your countries, withAllah’s power and permission.And as our commander, Shaykh Usama bin Ladin told you, “As you bomb, you will be bombed, and as you kill,you will be killed.”
It described the Mujahideen leaders as the real leaders of the Ummah and told the US that if it wanted peace it had to negotiate with them.It told the pro-US leaders of the Ummah that their days were gone and that the present era was that of the Mujahideen heroes. It said: "Youmust realize that a new period of world history has begun. The period of the offspring of Abd al-Aziz Al-Sa’ud, the grandsons of the SharifHusayn and Sadat, Mubarak and Arafat has passed, and the period of Khalid Islambouli, Abdullah Azzam, Abu Hafs the Commander, Khattab,Muhammad Atta, Muhammad Siddique Khan, and Shehzad Tanwir has begun. And if you are unable to comprehend this transformation, thenblame no one but yourselves."
Significantly, the message kept up Al Qaeda's past policy of not criticising the US campaign against a nuclear Iran and not projecting it aspart of the Crusaders' and the Zionists' conspiracy against Islam. Al Qaeda, the Taliban and the International Islamic Front continued toshow signs of not being comfortable with the idea of a Shia bomb.
Taking advantage of the wave of Pashtun anger against Musharraf and the Pakistani Army in the wake of the commando action in the LalMasjid of Islamabad from July 10 to 13, 2007, and the killing of Abdullah Mehsud, a pro-Taliban tribal leader of South Waziristan and a formerdetenu at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba, at Zhob in Balochistan on July 23, 2007, Al Qaeda stepped up its jihadi PSYWARnot only against Musharraf personally, but also against the Pakistani Army as an institution. The stepped-up PSYWAR was also timed toexploit the weakening of Musharraf's image and political position in the wake of his confrontation with the judiciary and his manipulation ofthe laws relating to elections in order to have himself re-elected as the President for a second term.
In the latest PSYWAR offensive, which started in September, 2007, the language used was more virulent, the arguments used were drawnfrom the history of Islam as well as that of Pakistan, the examples drawn were from the recent history of Pakistan and the distinction sought to be made in the past between Musharraf and the Army started disappearing. This reflected the exasperation of Al Qaeda over thecontinued solidarity of the senior officers of the Pakistan Army with Musharraf despite the decline in his popularity and the publiccontroversy over some of his questionable actions.
There were reasons for Al Qaeda's restraint in its criticism of the Pakistan Army as an institution in the past. Firstly, it was dependent on thecontinued inaction of the Army for maintaining its sanctuaries in the Pakistani territory. Secondly, the success of the Neo Taliban'soperations against the US-led coalition and the Afghan army in Afghan territory depended on the continued collusion of the Pakistan Armyand its Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) with the Neo Taliban.
The importance of such inaction and collusion for Al Qaeda and the Neo Taliban has not disappeared. Despite this, Al Qaeda has chosen toattack the Army as an institution. This reflected its confidence that it has established itself so firmly in South and North Waziristan throughits own efforts and with the support of the local tribals and the police and para-military forces that the Pakistan Army would not be able todo much damage to it. Moreover, in the perception of Al Qaeda, the anger of the Pashtun and other tribal elements at the lower levels of the army against Musharraf would ensure that the Army as an institution cannot pose a major threat to the presence of Al Qaeda and the NeoTaliban in Pakistani territory.
It is not yet clear whether the stepped-up PSYWAR offensive presaged a stepped-up ground offensive in Pakistan, to make it a third front inAl Qaeda's global jihad against the US and Israel and for the supremacy of Islam--- to add to the Afghanistan and Iraq fronts.Al Qaeda'spresent ground support in Pakistan is confined to sections of the tribals in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and in theNorth-West Frontier Province (NWFP). It has very little ground support in other areas of Pakistan and among non-Pashtun ethnic groups.Even the Pakistani jihadi organisations such as the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HUJI), the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET) and the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), which support Al Qaeda's pan-Islamic ideology and have joined its International Islamic Front (IIF),would not like to help it spread its influence to the non-tribal areas of Pakistan. Moreover, these organisations, which do not have much lovefor Musharraf, would nevertheless be averse to any Al Qaeda attempts to weaken the Pakistan Army as an institution. So too, the NeoTaliban whose criticism of Musharraf and the Army has been proforma without any undue virulence. The Neo Taliban and the Pakistani jihadi organisations know they would continue to need the covert support of the Army and the ISI--- the Neo Taliban in Afghanistan and thePakistani jihadi organisations in India. They may not like to bite the hand that feeds them.
Pakistan is not Iraq or Afghanistan. It has a fairly liberal civil society outside the tribal areas. It has a vigorous political class. It has abureaucracy, which is much more efficient than those of Iraq and Afghanistan. It has a well-trained, well-armed and well-motivated Army.The people of Pakistan are patriotic and would not like their country to become the battle ground of foreign forces----whether the Americansor the jihadis of Al Qaeda brand. If Al Qaeda tries to extend its influence and activities beyond the tribal areas, it is likely to get a strongriposte from the Pakistan Army.
The key question is how to rid the tribal areas of the presence and stranglehold of Al Qaeda and the Neo Taliban. The Pakistan Army hasshown a disinclination to do so. Any overt US intervention will be provocative and counter-productive. The weakening of the US' covertaction capability over the years has partly contributed to the present dilemma. Over-reliance on overt highly-militarised counter-terrorismoperations has contributed to the resurgence of the Neo Taliban and Al Qaeda. It is time to work out an appropriate covert action strategy,which would enable the US to act effectively without seeming to act. There is also an urgent need to totally revamp the US' PSYWAR and Counter-PSYWAR strategy, which hardly exists now. As a result, Al Qaeda and pro-Al Qaeda organisations have managed to create animpression of their being everywhere----on the ground, in the world wide web and elsewhere. It is amazing and disquieting that even sixyears after the start of the so-called war against global jihadi terrorism, the international community in general and the US in particular arenot able to counter effectively the PSYWAR of Al Qaeda. The war will be ultimately won or lost not only by the force of arms, but also by the force of words, images and imagination.
Between September 7 and 20, As-Sahab disseminated three messages of bin Laden.Of these, the first, a video message probably recordedin the second fortnight of August, 2007, was addressed to the American people on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terroriststrikes in the US. The second, an audio message of recent recording with old visuals, was addressed to the Muslims in general and wasmeant to glorify the Islamic concept of martyrdom. The third was in the form of a fatwa against Musharraf and his Army and was addressedto the people of Pakistan. It was titled: "Come to Jihad: A Speech to the People of Pakistan".
The sudden increase in the frequency of his messages reflected his confidence that he was now in a safe position where the American intelligence agencies and security forces would not be able to reach him and where there would be little likelihood of his beingbetrayed by those tempted by the American offer of huge cash rewards for anyone helping in having him killed or captured.
The fatwa against Musharraf and his Army was very bluntly worded. It said in its concluding paragraphs: "It is obligatory on the Muslims inPakistan to carry out Jihad and fighting to remove Pervez, his government, his army and those who help him." It carried the following pledgeon behalf of Al Qaeda: "We in al-Qaida Organization call on Allah to witness that we will retaliate for the blood of Maulana Abd al-Rashid Ghaziand those with him against Musharraf and those who help him, and for all the pure and innocent blood, foremost of which is the blood of thechampions of Islam in Waziristan - both North and South - among them the two noble leaders, Nek Muhammad and Abdullah Mahsud." (Mycomment: Maulana Ghazi died in the Pakistan Army commando raid into the Lal Masjid of Islamabad between July 10 and 13, 2007)
Bin Laden encourageed suicide missions by underlining that jihad was an individual obligation of every true Muslim. He gave the followingreasons for his fatwa: "Pervez's invasion of the Lal Masjid in the City of Islam, Islamabad, is a sad event, like the crime of the Hindus in theirinvasion and destruction of the Babari Masjid. This event demonstrated Musharraf's insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissivenessand aid to America against the Muslims."
He quoted from a fatwa issued by the late Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai of the Binori madrasa of Karachi after the 9/11 terrorist strikes asfollows: 'If any ruler of an Islamic state provides aid to an infidel state in its aggression against the Islamic states, it is the legal obligation of the Muslims to remove him from power and consider him to be legally a traitor to Islam and Muslims.'
Bin Laden blamed the rulers of Pakistan and the US for the subsequent murder of Shamzai in Karachi. "The government's showing ofMaulana Abd al-Aziz Ghazi in women's clothing in the media is clear evidence of the extent of the great hostility, hatred and contempt held by Pervez and his government towards Islam and its sincere 'Ulama. " (My comment: The reference is tothe brother of Abdul Rashid Ghazi, who tried to escape from the Lal Masjid covering himself up as a woman. He was detected and arrestedby the Commandoes. The Pakistan TV subsequently interviewed him dressed as a woman. This created an outcry as an attempt to discreditthe clerics. Musharraf ordered the immediate withdrawal of the TV programme).
Bin Laden further said:"The purpose of the army - or so they say - is to protect the Muslims against the Kuffaar (kafirs), but now we see thearmies becoming tools and weapons in the hands of the Kuffaar against the Muslims. Pervez threw away the cause of Kashmir andrestrained those fighting to liberate it, in accordance with the wishes of the Hindus. Then he opened his bases and airports to America forinvading the Muslims in Afghanistan, and as you've seen before, the army attacked the people of Swat who also demanded the rule ofShari'ah, and attacked the people of Waziristan, in addition to betraying and extraditing hundreds of Arab Mujahideen from the grandsons ofthe Sahabah (Companions), with whom Allah was pleased, to the head of Kufr, America. So Pervez, his ministers, his soldiers and those whohelp him are all accomplices in the spilling of the blood of those of the Muslims who have been killed. I tell the soldiers who perform theSalaat (prayer) in the military organs: you must resign from your jobs and enter anew into Islam and dissociate yourself from Pervez and hisShirk (polytheism)."
"I tell Pervez and his army: your betrayal of your nation and people has been exposed, and the people are no longer fooled by your showingoff militarily by launching some missiles after every disaster and massacre you commit against the populace, as has occurred repeatedly inthe border regions, or after the biggest massacre in Lal Masjid most recently. How is the nation benefited by these weapons and tests ofyours? The same goes for the nuclear bomb itself. When the American foreign minister Powell came to you, you cowered, bowed andsubmitted to him like a lowly slave, and you permitted the American Crusader forces to use the air, soil and water of Pakistan, the country ofIslam, to kill the people of Islam in Afghanistan, then in Waziristan. So woe to you and away with you."(My comment: This was an interestingattempt by bin Laden to project that Musharraf is in the habit of frequently carrying out missile tests in order to divert the attention of thePakistani people away from his collusion with the US in its war against Islam and the Ummah.)
"When the capability is there, it is obligatory to rebel against the apostate ruler, as is the case now. And the one who believes that thestrength required to rebel has not yet been completed must complete it and take up arms against Pervez and his army withoutprocrastination. Pervez and most of the Muslims' rulers jumped to power and usurped it and ruled us by other than what Allah sent down byforce of arms, and the situation will not return to normal through elections, demonstrations and shouting. So beware of the polytheisticelections and futile actions, for iron is only dented by iron, and it is through fighting in Allah's path and exhorting of the believers that themight of the Kuffar is restrained."
Bin Laden ended the message with the following prayer to God: “O Allah, Pervez, his ministers, his 'Ulama and his soldiers have been hostileto your friends in Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially in Waziristan, Swat, Bajaur and Lal Masjid: O Allah, break their backs, split them upand destroy their unity; O Allah, afflict them with the loss of their dear ones as they have afflicted us with the loss of our dear ones; O Allah,we seek refuge in You from their evilness and we place You at their throats; O Allah, make their plotting their destruction; O Allah, suffice forus against them with whatever You wish; O Allah, destroy them, for they cannot escape You; O Allah, count them, kill them, and leave not even one of them." (My comment: He called also for reprisals against the clerics who do not accept Al Qaeda's ideology andmethods)

BLASTS IN UTTAR PRADESH INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM MONITOR--PAPER NO.312 B.RAMAN
Thirteen persons were killed in seven well-synchronised explosions near court premises in three cities of Uttar Pradesh---Lucknow,Varanasi and Faizabad---on the afternoon of November 23,2007.
2. The explosions took place within about five minutes of each other. The improvised explosive devices (IEDs), attached to bicycles, do notappear to have been of a sophisticated kind. Initial reports indicated the possible use of ammonium nitrate, which has been increasinglyused in different terrorist incidents in many parts of the world since the explosion in the New York World Trade Centre in February 1993. Butthe synchronisation of the blasts in three different cities around the same time indicate a certain sophistication in planning and execution.We have had well-synchronised multiple explosions in Mumbai in March 1993 by the mafia gang of Dawood Ibrahim and in July, 2006,allegedly by the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LET), and in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu in February,1998 by Al Ummah. We have not had well-synchronisedmultiple blasts in different cities since 1993, when the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) carried out synchronised explosions indifferent trains. But its synchronisation was not of a high order. The Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen (JUM) of Bangladesh carried out nearly 400synchronised blasts all over Bangladesh in August,2005.
3. Though 13 persons, mostly lawyers, were killed, causing mass casualties does not apear to have been the objective. As in the case of the400 blasts of Bangladesh, which caused not more than 10 fatalities, the purpose seems to have been to intimidate and demonstrate thereach and capability of the perpetrators.The explosions were synchronised to take place after the Friday prayers. Jihadi terroristorganisations prefer to organised their terrorist strikes on Fridays.
4. The explosions have come in the wake of the judgements delivered recently in respect of the Mumbai serial blasts of March 1993 and theCoimbatore serial blasts of February,1998. In both the cases, a number of jihadi terrorists have been found guilty and sentenced to variousterms of imprisonment. They have also come after the arrest of three suspected members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM) in UP, who werealleged to have planned to kidnap a dignitary in order to secure the release of Afzal Guru, who has been sentenced to death for his role inthe attack on the Indian Parliament in December,2001. His mercy petition is under examination by the Government of India.The arrestedJEM terrorists were alleged to have been beaten up by some lawyers when they were brought to court. The local lawyers have alsoreportedly refused to defend terrorists in future.From these circumstances, it is likely that the explosions were meant to intimidate thecriminal justice community, particularly the lawyers.
5. It has been reported that an E-mail message purported to be from "indian Mujahideen" received by some TV channels before theexplosions indicated that these explosions were about to take place. However, it referred to explosions in two and not three cities. "IndianMujahideen" does not refer to any organisation, but it refers to Indian Muslims in general and says that the Indian Muslims have decided totake the offensive and wage a jihad. In justification of this decision, it refers to the severe penalties awarded to the accused in the Mumbaiblasts of March,1993, and the lack of action against Hindu police officers, who committed atrocities on Muslims. It also refers to the Gujratriots of 2002 and the recent assault on arrested JEM suspects by some lawyers. The message is not only a warning of their intention to act,but also an explanation of why Indian Muslims have decided to act. The main point, which the sender of the message has sought to convey,is that the criminal justice system treats the Muslims severely, but is lenient to the Hindus. The language used is typically Indian, thecontext and arguments used are typically of Indian Muslims and the issues raised are those which have been agitating the minds ofsections of Indian Muslims such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December,1992, lack of action against the Hindu police officers ofMumbai who were found guilty of excesses by the Sri Krishna Enquiry Commission, the severe penalties awarded to Muslims who hadretaliated in March,1993, and the Gujrat riots.
6.It admits that the Muslims were responsible for the explosions in Varanasi, Delhi, Mumbai and in a restaurant and park in Hyderabad, butsays they were not responsible for the blasts in Malegaon in September,2006, in the Samjauta Express and the Mecca Masjid of Hyderabadthis year. It is silent on the recent blast in the Ajmer Sharif, a Muslim holy place famous for its tolerant Sufi tradition..
7. It says that the Indian Muslims have decided to wage a jihad for Islamic rule and talks of a "war for civilisation." It warns that their nexttargets will be police officers. Keeping in view that the 15th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid is just a fortnight away, weshould be alert to the possibility of more explosions in the days to come, possibly directed against the police.(23-11-07)
(The writer is Additional Secretary (retd), Cabinet Secretariat, Govt. of India, New Delhi, and presently, Director, Institute For Topical Studies,Chennai. E-mail: seventyone2@gmail.com )