[6/26/09]		Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid's Al-Jazeera Interview The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of an Arabic-language interview Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. “Shaykh Saeed”) gave to Al-Jazeera television on June 22, 2009. Asked about Pakistani nuclear weapons, Abu al-Yazid replied, "Allah-willing the nuclear weapons will not fall in the hand of the Americans, and the Muslims take them [weapons] and use them against the Americans Allah-willing.” Commenting on Hezbollah, he said, “Hezbollah, we do not consider it an Islamic Party and it is a rejectionist party as you know, and its loyalty is towards Iran…a complete loyalty. There is no relationship between us and them, and what we mean is the mujahideen from the people of Sunna like Fatah al-Islam in Lebanon; they are the ones we commend and the likes of them.” And addressing Iran, he stated, "Regarding Iran, we consider it a state of hypocrisy and schism, and it is the state that appears Muslim and claims Islam but in fact it fights the Muslims."
[6/16/09]		Usama Bin Laden: "Speech to the Pakistani Nation" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden titled, "Speech to the Pakistani Nation." During the recording, Bin Laden asserted "that Obama and his administration have instilled new seeds to increase the hatred and revenge towards America. The number of those seeds is the number of harmed and destitute people from Swat valley and the tribal regions in Northern and Southern Waziristan, and the number of their sympathizers. And, with that Obama has walked like his predecessors in increasing hostility towards Muslims...establishing long term wars, so the American public must get ready to continue harvesting what is instilled by the leaders of the White House during the next years and decades.“
[6/13/09]		Adam Gadahn: "Let's Continue our Jihad and Sacrifice" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a new video recording of most wanted American Al-Qaida spokesman Adam Yehiye Gadahn, titled "Let's Continue our Jihad and Sacrifice." During the video, produced by Al-Qaida's As-Sahab Media Foundation, Gadahn sharply criticized the Obama administration for its policies towards the Palestinians. According to Gadahn, "The Obama administration is an old/new American administration led by a clique of Zionist Jews and Zionized Christians who respect in a believer neither kinship nor convenant... So, patient Mujahid brothers in Palestine, continue your jihad and heroics against the ferocious Zio-Crusader assault on the lands of the Muslims... Zio-Crusader interests everywhere are legitimate targets for us... the Jewish enemy doesn't abstain from striking us wherever possible... So is it logical after that for us to abstain from striking their interests wherever possible?"
[6/09/09]		Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid Begs for Cash, Again The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of an audio message from Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. “Shaykh Saeed”). In May 2007, Al-Qaida’s official As-Sahab Media Wing identified al-Yazid as “the overall head of al-Qaida Organization in Afghanistan.” According to As-Sahab, al-Yazid “took part in founding al-Qaida in 1989, and is a member of the Shura council of Qaida al-Jihad.” In this message, Abu al-Yazid stated, "Jihad needs a lot of money, and the Jihad battlefields need much money." He continued, "Jihad with money is also an obligation. And here we, in the battlefield in Afghanistan, are lacking a lot of money and a weakness in operations because of lack of money, and many mujahideen are absent from Jihad because of lack or absence of money with which they can carry out Jihad. Even many brothers…who want to sacrifice themselves for the cause of Allah, we cannot prepare them because of lack of money." During the recording, Abu al-Yazid also spoke highly of "our Turkish brothers" and their growing role in the mujahideen in Afghanistan -- noting that several Turkish nationals have recently been "martyred" during jihadi operations along the Afghan-Pakistani frontier.
[6/03/09]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: Message on Obama's Visit to Egypt The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a statement from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri titled, "The Executioners of Egypt and Cooperatives of America Welcome Obama." In the statement, al-Zawahiri said, “The White House has announced that Obama will send, from Egypt, a message to the Islamic World, but they forgot that his message actually arrived when he visited the Wailing Wall, and he put on his head the Jews' Kippah, and prayed their prayer, and he is who claims he is a Christian. And, his message reached the Islamic World when he gave a speech at the Zionist lobby (AIPAC), in which he promised to keep Jerusalem a unified infinite capital for Israel, and he also promised in it full support to Israel…And, his message reached the Muslims when he agreed and confirmed the Zionist hostility over Gaza, and his message reached the Muslims when he promised and threatened sending more troops to Afghanistan, and more raids in the tribal areas in Pakistan, and his message arrived when he managed the bloody campaign against the Muslims in Swat [Valley], and his message reached Muslims in the hidden and public prisons, which his administration supervises, but also expanding the current prisons like Bagram Prison in Afghanistan, to host more Muslim victims."
[4/19/09]		Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid: "A Message to the People of Pakistan" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a message from Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. “Shaykh Saeed”) titled "A Message to the People of Pakistan." In May 2007, Al-Qaida’s official As-Sahab Media Wing identified al-Yazid as “the overall head of al-Qaida Organization in Afghanistan.” According to As-Sahab, al-Yazid “took part in founding al-Qaida in 1989, and is a member of the Shura council of Qaida al-Jihad.” In this message, Abu al-Yazid stated, "Pakistan will never be defended by a band of generals who have sold their religion and the blood of their brothers and sisters for promotions and crumbs of vile worldly benefits; it will never be defended by the murderers of Muslims of Pakistan. Pakistan will only be defended by the Mujahidoon: those who garrison themselves at enemy lines, the patient, the steadfast, and those who abide by the commandments of Allah." He added, "My Muslim brothers in Pakistan, Pakistan was formed 60 years ago as a homeland for the Muslims, one in which they would establish Islam and rule with Allah’s Shariah, but it has ended up being a host of a corrupt regime which spreads its corruption, actively fighting the Shariah and Jihad, spreading sin and immorality. It has taken democracy as its religion, and it deems itself superior over the implementation of the Shariah, at the same time killing Muslims in Pakistan and Afghanistan and selling Pakistan to the Crusaders in return for some measly crumbs of worldly benefits."
[3/24/09]		New Zawahiri Audio: "Crusade Sets Its Sights on the Sudan" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on March 24 and titled, "Crusade Sets Its Sights on the Sudan." During the recording, Dr. al-Zawahiri insisted, "I am not defending Umar al-Bashir or his regime, nor am I defending what it has done in Darfur and elsewhere; rather, I am asking our Muslim Ummah to look at the matter in a comprehensive way which takes in all of its dimensions. The issue isn’t one of Darfur and solving its problems: the issue is one of making excuses for more foreign interference in the Muslims’ countries in the framework of the contemporary Zionist Crusade. Why aren’t they putting Bush, Blair, Olmert, Barak, Musharraf and Putin on trial? ...Why hasn’t the United Nations moved to protect the Palestinians in Gaza from Israeli barbarity and criminality, while it pretends to cry over the suffering of the people of Darfur? ...I tell our people in the Sudan: the Sudanese regime is too weak to defend the Sudan, so you must do what was done by your brothers in Iraq and Somalia, who defended their countries when the official regimes were powerless to do that, and not only that, but much of them fled or surrendered. So make preparations – by training, equipping, storing and organizing for a long guerilla war, for the contemporary Crusade has bared its fangs at you. I tell our Muslim brothers in the Sudan: we are with you, and all Mujahideen and Muslims are with you, and we shall – with Allah’s help – do all that is in our power to help you." Al-Zawahiri also issued "a message to our people in Darfur. I tell them: don’t allow the Crusade to turn your suffering into a pretext for the occupation of the homelands of Islam."
[3/19/09]		New Bin Laden Audio: "Fight On, Champions of Somalia" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording released on March 19, 2009 of Shaykh Usama Bin Laden, titled "Fight On, Champions of Somalia." During the recording, produced by Al-Qaida's As-Sahab Media Foundation, Bin Laden condemned the decision of former Somali Islamic Courts Union (ICU) president Shaykh Shareef to join in a peace initiative with the interim Somali government. According to Bin Laden, "as a result of inducements and offers from the American envoy in Kenya", Shaykh Shareef "changed and turned back on his heels [as an apostate], and agreed to partner infidel positive law with Islamic Shari’ah to set up a government of national unity, and this partnering is greater polytheism which expels one from Islam. How can intelligent people believe that yesterday’s enemies on the basis of religion can become today’s friends? This can only happen if one of the two parties abandons his religion. So look and see which one of them is the one who has abandoned it: Shaykh Shareef or America? ...These sorts of presidents are the surrogates of our enemies and their authority is null and void in the first place, and as Shaykh Shareef is one of them, he must be dethroned and fought."
[3/14/09]		New Bin Laden Audio: "Practical Steps to Liberate Palestine" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden titled, "Practical Steps to Liberate Palestine." During the recording, Bin Laden asks, "how long must our family in Palestine live in fear, while we enjoy security – albeit a false, temporary security? For how long must the people of Gaza live under siege, while we live in comfort and luxury – at least for the time being? And for how long will we sit while their hearts burn for their children, who were burned by the white phosphorous bombs with the collusion of Arab rulers, which caused even brave and mighty men to cry, due to the enormity of the event." He continued, "the holocaust of Gaza in the midst of this long siege is an important and historic event and an articulate tragedy which affirms the need for detachment of the Muslims from the hypocrites. It is not right that our condition after Gaza be like our condition prior to it: rather, the order of the day is serious action and preparation for Jihad, to bring about truth and cancel falsehood."
[2/22/09]		New Zawahiri Audio: "From Kabul to Mogadishu" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on February 22 and titled, "From Kabul to Mogadishu". During the recording, Dr. al-Zawahiri congratulated the Shebaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia on their recent victories against Ethiopian and AU peacekeeping forces, and warned them to avoid any negotiations sponsored by the United Nations or United States. Al-Zawahiri appealed, "why, O Muslims in Somalia, did you sacrifice thousands of martyrs in order to purify Muslim Somalia from the infidel invaders, then someone comes to you today wanting to deceive you by changing the names and forms of the invaders, but the invasion is the invasion and the occupation is the occupation… And why did you sacrifice thousands of martyrs to expel the American invasion hiding behind the cloak of the United Nations, then someone comes to you today wishing to deceive you by telling you that you must respect the principles of the United Nations?" Dr. al-Zawahiri also directed a message to "the growing Jihadi awakening on the Arabian Peninsula in general and in the Yemen in particular... don't be less than your brothers in the defiant Pushtun and Baluch tribes who aided Allah and His Messenger and made America and the Crusaders dizzy in Afghanistan and Pakistan... Be helpers of Allah, and don't be helpers of America. Be helpers of Allah, and don't be helpers of Ali Abdullah Salih, the agent of the Crusaders, and be a help and support to your brothers the Mujahideen and don't be a support to the Crusaders and their campaign which kills the Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine."
[2/3/09]		New Audio From Zawahiri on "Sacrifices of Gaza and the Plotting Against It" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on February 3 and titled, "Sacrifices of Gaza and the Plotting Against It." During his address, Dr. al-Zawahiri expressed his solidarity with embattled Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip: "we are standing with them, and we are avenging them in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Algeria by confronting the ongoing crusader campaign stretching from Chechnya to Somalia, and from Afghanistan to the Islamic Maghreb. I give them the good news that while Israel was bombing resolute Gaza, the treacherous Pakistani Government was forced to cut-off the NATO supply route between Karachi and Jalalabad under the pressure of your brothers, the mujahideen in Pakistan." Once again, al-Zawahiri was sharply critical of U.S. President Barack Obama, mocking his professed "concern" for the "the killing of civilians in Gaza." Dr. al-Zawahiri taunted, "Concerned! We are very thankful for your concern, Mr. Obama. Your concern has reached us, accompanied by thousands of bombs and tons of white phosphorus, mixed with the blood, corpses, and tears of Muslims in Gaza... In his inauguration speech, he failed to mention a single word about what happened in Gaza." Al-Zawahiri once again called upon faithful Muslims to volunteer service with mujahideen organizations or else contribute the necessary financing for mujahideen operations. He implored, "if the Zionist-Crusader campaign confronts us everywhere, and attacks Islam and Muslims across the entire world in the so-called ‘war on terrorism’—but in reality, it is the ‘war on Islam’—why would we not attack them everywhere? Why wait for the enemy to choose for us the battlefield, the time, the place, and the method with which we shall fight him?"
[1/15/09]		Usama Bin Laden: “A Call for Jihad to Stop the Gaza Assault” The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new Arabic-language audio recording of Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden titled, "A Call for Jihad to Stop the Gaza Assault." During the recording, Bin Laden called upon Muslims around the world "to mobilize the youth into jihadi fighting units in the cause of Allah against the Zionist-Crusader alliance and their agents in the region—and not to waste the energy of the youth in street demonstrations without carrying any weapons." Bin Laden blamed the Israeli invasion of Gaza on the sagging U.S. economy: "Today, the U.S. is staggering under the attacks of the mujahideen and their consequences. [It is suffering from] a human, political, and financial drain. It is drowning in a financial crisis, so much so that it is begging from big and small countries alike. Now, its enemies are no longer in fear of it and its friends have no respect for it... The dramatic and rapid decline of U.S. power was one of the important motivations for the Israelis to launch this brutal attack on Gaza, in a desperate attempt to make use of the last days of the two terms of Bush and the neoconservatives." During his address, Bin Laden also demanded that faithful Muslims contribute financing to help support jihadi operations: "the religious donations of a single prominent Muslim businessman are enough to cover the entire expenses of jihad on all active frontlines with our enemies today… I know that greed does not prevent many of the Muslim merchants from spending money in the cause of Allah, but rather they are prevented by their fear of the United States and its agents in the region... Can one not find a place to hide somewhere? Is the land of Allah not vast enough to carry out the religious duty of financial jihad?"
[1/8/09]		Zawahiri Issues Orders to “Strike Everywhere” in Revenge For Gaza The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on January 6 and titled, “The Massacre of Gaza and the Siege of the Traitors.” During his address, Dr. al-Zawahiri condemned the ongoing Israeli raids in Gaza and blamed the actions of Israel on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and incoming U.S. President Barack Obama: “These attacks are the gift of Obama to you, before he shall receive his position… this is Obama, whom the American machinery of lies attempted to portray before the world as the deliverer, who would change the policy of the U.S. He is killing your brothers and sisters in Gaza without any mercy or compassion.” As a consequence of the U.S. role in the events in Gaza, al-Zawahiri called upon Al-Qaida supporters around the world to carry out indiscriminate revenge attacks on American and Israeli interests: “O’ Muslims everywhere, fight against the Zionist-Christian campaign, and strike its interests wherever you encounter them… attack the Zionist-Christian alliance and its interests. O’ lions of Islam everywhere, the leaders of the Muslim lands are the protectors of the interests of the Americans and Zionists… so thwart the efforts of these traitors by striking the interests of the enemies of Islam—namely, the Christians and the Jews—wherever and by whatever means you can.”
[12/10/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "The Lions of Al-Azhar" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new video interview of Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri produced by Al-Qaida's As-Sahaab Media Foundation and titled "The Lions of Al-Azhar." During the interview, al-Zawahiri called upon fellow Egyptians to observe a general strike in honor of besieged Palestinian Muslims in the Gaza Strip: "Our people and brothers in Egypt want the embargo on Gaza to be lifted, and I tell them that the lifting of the embargo is in your hands...And know that your remaining in your houses until the siege is lifted is a direct strike against Israel and a step towards the liberation of al-Aqsa. And I call on my brothers in the Islamic and Jihadi sites on the Internet to adopt this call and expand on it." Dr. al-Zawahiri was pointedly asked by the As-Sahaab interviewer about "a misconception which the media often repeats... the misconception that al-Qaida is an American creation which America financed and trained. What's your comment on that?" He responded simply, "My comment is the American Congress's official recognition of the falseness of the misconception in its report on the events of September 11th." When asked about the significance of the U.S. presidential elections, al-Zawahiri explained, "These elections confirm the extent of the American peoples' animosity to Islam and Muslims. Both candidates are competing to curry favor with Israel, and one of them believes that America must stay in Iraq until it eliminates all resistance there to the American Crusader project, while the other believes that they must pull out of Iraq in collusion with Iran in order to free themselves up to strike Afghanistan and eliminate all opposition there to the Western Crusader project. Thus, we are looking at a nation hostile to Islam. This is a fact from which we mustn't flee, lest we lose our way." In his concluding remarks, Dr. al-Zawahiri also appeared to offer some comment on the mysterious attacks and blackouts which have recently plagued Al-Qaida's principle Internet websites and forums-offering "a special greeting and message to the unknown soldiers on the frontlines of Jihadi media, whom I tell... now, after you have established your feet in the field of invitation and communication - in spite of the enemies of Islam - you must strive to raise the quality of your work, so that it appear in the best form and look its best. So you must develop further and raise the level of communication."
[12/8/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "The Death of Our Heroes and Betrayal of Our Rulers" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a new Arabic-language audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on December 1. During the recording, titled "The Death of Our Heroes and Betrayal of Our Rulers", al-Zawahiri hailed the recently-executed culprits behind the 2002 nightclub bombings on the island of Bali—who "did not change, did not substitute, and did not compromise an inch in their ideology and in their determination to perform jihad on behalf of Allah and to drive the enemies of Islam away from the lands of Islam. They knew the price, and they paid it willingly and did not spare anything in paying it." Zawahiri also strongly criticized conferences aimed at interreligious dialogue organized by the government of Saudi Arabia: "[The Saudis] are prepared to conduct discussions with anyone who the U.S. orders them to, but they are not prepared to approach their own people and the Muslims and have a discussion with them-like they discuss with the Jews, the Christians, and the servants of trees and stones." Interestingly, there is no apparent mention in the Zawahiri audio recording of the recent terrorist attacks in the city of Mumbai, India.
[11/19/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "On the Parting of Bush and the Arrival of Obama" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a new audio recording from Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on November 19, 2008, titled "On the Parting of Bush and the Arrival of Obama.”  During the recording, al-Zawahiri issued a message to U.S. President-Elect Obama, warning him of the "heavy legacy of failure and crimes [which] awaits you" and accusing Obama of having the "same criminal American mentality towards the world and towards the Muslims" as the Bush administration.  Zawahiri added, "in you, and in Colin Powell, Rice, and your likes, the words of Malcolm X (may Allah have mercy on him) concerning 'House Negroes' are confirmed.  You... must appreciate, as you take over the presidency of America during its Crusade against Islam and Muslims, that you are neither facing individuals nor organizations, but are facing a Jihadi awakening and renaissance which is shaking the pillars of the entire Islamic world."
[10/8/08]		Adam Gadahn: "The Believer Isn't Stung from the Same Hole Twice" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and transcribed a copy of the latest English-language video message from American Al-Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn (a.k.a. “Abu Azzam al-Amriki”) released on October 3, titled “The Believer Isn’t Stung from the Same Hole Twice.” Breaking his silence after a nearly ten-month unexplained absence from Al-Qaida propaganda videos, Gadahn sharply criticized the Pakistani government and military under the leadership of, respectively, President Asif Ali Zardari and General Ashfaq Kayani. In addition to his analysis of the increasingly unstable situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan, Gadahn also commented on “the looming meltdown threatening the crusaders economic system”—whose “primary cause”, according to Gadahn, is Americans “turning their backs on Allah’s revealed laws, which forbid interest-bearing transactions, exploitation, greed, and injustice in all its forms, and demand the worship of Allah alone to the exclusion of all false gods, including money and power.”
[9/19/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "In Lamentation of a Group of Heroes" The NEFA Foundation has released a transcript of an audio recording of Al-Qaida Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released on August 24, titled “In Lamentation of a Group of Heroes.” During the brief recording produced by Al-Qaida’s official As-Sahab Media Wing, al-Zawahiri mourned the recent killings of senior Al-Qaida commander Abu Khabaab al-Masri and several noteworthy companions in a U.S. airstrike inside Pakistan. According to al-Zawahiri, “Abu Khabaab has left us—this proud mountain and generous man for the sake of Allah—after a life with abundant and continuous contributions, and after he taught generations the tactics of jihad for the sake of Allah, which they would apply against the enemies of Allah… He asked his brothers to prepare for him a martyrdom operation.”
[9/8/08]		(Al Somood) Sheikh Abu Yahya al-Liby: "The Truth About What Happens Behind the Bars" The NEFA Foundation is releasing additional content drawn from Al-Somood, a monthly Islamic magazine published by the Taliban’s media center. In this piece, dated August/September 2006, Sheikh Abu Yahya al-Liby reveals "The Truth About What Happens Behind the Bars." Al-Liby, who was being held by the U.S. government, escaped from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan in July 2005. Dell Dailey, the State Department’s Coordinator for Counterterrorism, has said that “Abu Yahya is a senior Al-Qaida member, a top strategist for the group, and trusted and presented as one of the group’s most effective promoters of jihad.” Al-Liby's article provides insights into his time in U.S. custody. For instance, he writes that authorities focused on a number of questions, including whether there was "any information about new operations that the Mujahidin are preparing for against American interests" and "where Sheikh Osama Bin Laden, Doctor Ayman Al-Zawahiri and other leaders are hiding..."
[8/20/08]		Ayman al-Zawahiri: "To Pakistan Army and the People of Pakistan" The NEFA Foundation has released a transcript of the latest audio message from Al-Qaida’s Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. Addressing his plea to the Pakistani military, al-Zawahiri spoke for the first time in English and called upon low and mid-ranking soldiers to violently revolt against the leadership of Pervaiz Musharraf and his alliance with the United States. Al-Zawahiri also discussed at length his own experiences and knowledge of Pakistan, though he also conceded that his unfamiliarity with Urdu was forcing him to adopt English, the language of the “enemies of Islam.”
[8/11/08]		Transcript of Geo TV (Pakistan) Interview of Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid The NEFA Foundation has obtained a transcript of a Pakistani television interview of Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid (a.k.a. “Shaykh Saeed”). In May 2007, Al-Qaida’s official As-Sahab Media Wing identified al-Yazid as “the overall head of al-Qaida Organization in Afghanistan.” According to As-Sahab, al-Yazid “took part in founding al-Qaida in 1989, and is a member of the Shura council of Qaida al-Jihad.” Interviewed by Geo television, al-Yazid was asked, "is there any Muslim government who you hold responsible for damaging your cause the most?” He responded, "Sadly it is the government of Pakistan which has caused most damage to our cause. President Musharraf violated the trust of Muslims and contributed to destroying the Islamic government of Afghanistan.”
[8/6/08]		Al-Qaida Acknowledges "Martyrdom" of "Abu Khabab al-Masri" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a copy of the statement from Al-Qaida leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid acknowledging the “martyrdom” of most wanted Egyptian Al-Qaida commander “Abu Khabab al-Masri” (a.k.a. Midhat Mursi al-Sayyid Umar) in a U.S. airstrike targeting a lawless region of northwestern Pakistan. According to the communiqué, the airstrike also killed Abu Mohammed Ibrahim Bin Abu al-Faraj al-Masri, the son of the former Chief Shariah Judge of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad Movement. The document further threatened, “Although Abu Khabab has departed from us, he has left behind him-by the mercy and grace of Allah-a generation of honorable young men who will cause you torment and avenge him and his brothers, with the support of Allah. Although an expert has left us, he has left in his wake-thanks to Allah-new experts who have trained under him and learned from him over the years to volunteer, to sacrifice, and to be patient and tolerant on the path of righteousness.”
[6/7/08]		New Zawahiri Recording: "Lift the Siege of Gaza!" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a copy of an audio recording of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri released by Al-Qaida’s official As-Sahab Media Wing on June 4, titled “On the Anniversary of the Disaster – A Call to Help Our People in Gaza.” During the recording, al-Zawahiri once again called upon “the sons of the Islamic nation [to] break the chains of the treacherous regimes and the impotent authorities [surrounding Israel] and set forth to join the battle and aid the mujahideen.” Dr. al-Zawahiri directed a specific call to “my Muslim brothers in Sinai: help your brothers in Gaza. Join in their battles… and if they start to break down the wall of betrayal, join them.” Al-Zawahiri also appealed to Palestinian Muslims to “increase your martyrdom operations, your rockets, and your ambushes... Keep to your Qurans and your battle trenches, and do not abandon the mission of establishing the rule of Islamic law.”
[6/5/08]		Al-Qaida's Abu al-Yazid Claims Denmark Embassy Bombing in Pakistan The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a communiqué issued by senior Al-Qaida commander Mustafa Abu al-Yazid claiming responsibility for the June 2 suicide bombing attack on the Danish embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. According to al-Yazid, “one of the courageous heroes from Al-Qaida executed a martyrdom operation… targeting the Danish Embassy in Islamabad… We will soon publish more information… as well as [identify] the martyred brother who was responsible for carrying out the operation.” Al-Yazid further indicated that the bombing was carried out “in retaliation for what the infidels from the so-called state of Denmark have published: the insulting cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him—which they refused to apologize for publishing, even though they had many opportunities… This should serve as a warning to the infidel countries regarding their crimes against our Prophet Mohammed… They must apologize immediately, or else this will only be the first step in our struggle.”
[5/30/08]		Exclusive: Further Responses from the Second Round of Q&A with al-Zawahiri The NEFA Foundation has translated further excerpts from Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s second round of answers to some of the hundreds of questions recently submitted on extremist web forums by Al-Qaida supporters and other interested parties. In response to various questions regarding the structure and relationship between the various “Emirates” in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, al-Zawahiri explained, “the Islamic State of Iraq, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan-and I would add to them the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus-are individual Islamic emirates that do not yield to a single ruler… Shaykh Usama Bin Laden is a soldier of the Emir al-Mumineen, Mullah Mohammed Omar, may Allah protect him, and all of those you have cited help and cooperate with each other in order to support Islam and the jihad." Al-Zawahiri was also quick to defend Al-Qaida factions in Iraq, Algeria, and Afghanistan in the face of various critics. According to Dr. al-Zawahiri, “the methodology of the Islamic State of Iraq [is] among the purest banners and methodologies in Iraq… I ask those who have doubts about the Islamic State of Iraq: what is the point of destroying an Islamic state that has arisen after such a long wait in the heart of the Muslim world?” Regarding recent events in Algeria, al-Zawahiri insisted, “I assure you that your brothers from Al-Qaida's Committee in the Islamic Maghreb sincerely care about your lives, property, and honor… They consider guarding your safety as one of their most important religious obligations and they never intend to kill a Muslim unlawfully… Sometimes, mistakes can happen during times of war, which should be corrected and dealt with according to the Shariah. But this doesn't mean that the jihad should simply be stopped.”
[5/29/08]		Usama Bin Laden: "A Message to the Islamic Nation" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a copy of a May 18 audio recording from Al-Qaida Usama Bin Laden titled “A Message to the Islamic Nation.” During his speech, Bin Laden called upon Muslim youths—particularly those living in countries neighboring Israel—to immediately take up arms in defense of their Palestinian “brothers” in the embattled Gaza Strip. According to Bin Laden, “It is very clear what our brothers, the heroes of Egypt, must do in order to lift that siege, since they are the only ones on the borders [of Gaza]. They should move towards lifting this siege and bringing down this haughty, cruel tyrant [Hosni Mubarak], who has a heart of stone and is the murderer of the children of Gaza… The only way to reach Palestine is to fight the governments and factions that surround the Jews, for they stand between us and them… So, rush towards the battlefields of Jihad, and in particular, those which are closest to Palestine.” Once again, Bin Laden also addressed recent condemnations of Al-Qaida for the killing of fellow Muslims, dismissing these critics as “ignorant of their own religion.”
[5/22/08]		Usama Bin Laden: "A Message to the People of the West" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a copy of a new 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].”
[5/11/08]		Al-Qaida Reports "Martyrdom" of Senior Saudi Terrorist Abu Sulaiman al-Otaibi The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of new letter from Al-Qaida leader Mustafa Abu al-Yazid confirming the death of Al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Sulaiman al-Otaibi (a.k.a. Mohammed al-Thibaiti) during clashes with the "crusaders and apostates" in the Paktika province of Afghanistan.  According to Saudi media, Abu Sulaiman was a former student at Imam Mohammed bin Saud University and had close contacts with influential Muslim clerics in Saudi Arabia.  Upon leaving Saudi Arabia and arriving in neighboring Iraq, he was appointed by Al-Qaida to be the ‘Justice Minister’ of its so-called ‘Islamic State of Iraq’ (ISI)--even making rare personal appearances in Al-Qaida propaganda videos.  In late 2007, al-Otaibi traveled on from Iraq to Afghanistan, where he spent six months fighting on the frontline there.  According to Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, "Allah bestowed [him] with dedication and victory and [he] is an example of courage, sacrifice, and valor… We offer our condolences to… to brothers of Abu Sulaiman especially in Iraq and in the Arabian Peninsula.’”
[5/6/08]		Exclusive: Selected Responses From the Second Round of Q&A with al-Zawahiri The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri’s second round of answers to some of the hundreds of questions recently submitted on extremist web forums by Al-Qaida supporters and other interested parties. Exclusive English translations of selected questions and answers are now available for download. When asked by one critic, “Is jihad only about killing and spilling blood, or are there other ways and means to reach the goals of jihad, without being repulsive”, al-Zawahiri demanded in reply, “if a criminal were to break into your house, hurt your family and kill them, steal your furniture, burn down your home, and then moved on to wreck the houses of your neighbors, would you deal with him gently in order to avoid becoming a member of a band of people who only seek revenge through bloodshed?” In defense of the authority of Al-Qaida’s “Islamic State of Iraq”, Al-Zawahiri insisted, “the Islamic State [of Iraq] is a step towards the establishment of the caliphate, and is superior to the other armed jihadi movements. Thus, it is these groups that are obliged to acknowledge [the authority] of the Islamic State and not vice versa… As for the storming of mosques and markets [by suicide bombers]—this is American propaganda and the Saudi media.”
[4/21/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "On the Fifth Anniversary of the Invasion and Torture of Iraq" The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated a copy of a new audio recording released on April 17 of Al-Qaida's Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. During the audio recording, Dr. al-Zawahiri boasted, "the first signs of victory have already appeared… Soon, Iraq will become a fortress of Islam, from whence the squadrons and regiments tasked with liberating the Al-Aqsa mosque [in Jerusalem] will burst forth, with the help of Allah. Iraq today is the most important frontline for the participation of our Islamic nation against the forces of the crusader zionist invasion. Due to this, providing assistance to the mujahideen in Iraq—at their head, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)—is one of the most important duties required of the Islamic nation today.” Al-Zawahiri further warned that Muslims "should act now before it is too late. The vanguard should act before we see General Petraeus riding into the streets of Cairo and Riyadh leading ‘Awakening movements’ seeking to spill blood, and storm and violate the holy places.”
[4/2/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "The Open Meeting" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a new 90-minute audio recording released today of Al-Qaida's Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. During the audio recording, Dr. al-Zawahiri responded to many of the hundreds of questions recently submitted on extremist web forums by Al-Qaida supporters and other interested parties. When criticized for killing innocent civilians in terrorist attacks, al-Zawahiri insisted, "We haven't killed the innocents, not in Baghdad, nor in Morocco, nor in Algeria, nor anywhere else… If there is any innocent who was killed in the mujahedeen's operations, then it was either an unintentional error or out of necessity… The enemy intentionally takes up positions in the midst of the Muslims for them to be human shields for him."
[3/24/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "A Call to Help Our People in Gaza" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida’s Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, titled “A Call to Help Our People in Gaza.” During his speech, Zawahiri called upon Muslims everywhere to “attack the interests of the Jews and the Americans… Select your targets, collect the appropriate funds, assemble your equipment, plan [your attacks] accurately, and then charge towards your targets… There is no place today for those who claim that the battlefield with the Jews is limited to Palestine… Let us hit their interests everywhere.”
[3/21/08]		Usama Bin Laden: "The Way for the Salvation of Palestine" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden, titled, "The Way for the Salvation of Palestine." During his speech, Bin Laden insisted that control of Palestine shall only be reclaimed "with iron and fire" and admonished Muslims that "the nearest field of jihad today to support our people in Palestine is the Iraqi field, so it is necessary to be concerned with it, focus on it, and support it."  Appealing specifically to Al-Qaida supporters living in the Levant, Bin Laden described how "great an opportunity" it would be for "arriving brothers from Palestine--who were prevented from waging jihad on the hills of Jerusalem--to... hasten to take their positions among the ranks of the mujahideen in Iraq... Then, there shall be a move towards the blessed al-Aqsa... The mujahideen coming from outside shall encounter their brothers within... and the Muslims shall delight in their clear victory."
[3/19/08]		Usama Bin Laden: "May Our Mothers Be Bereaved Of Us If We Fail to Help Our Prophet" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden, titled, "May Our Mothers Be Bereaved Of Us If We Fail to Help Our Prophet." During his speech, Bin Laden once again condemned the publication of cartoons in Denmark deemed offensive to Islam, and the subsequent defense of their publication on free speech grounds. According to Bin Laden, "if there is no check on the freedom of your words, then let your hearts be open to the freedom of our actions...The answer is what you see, not what you hear."
[3/2/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "The Exoneration" On March 2, 2008, a lengthy book by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri titled "The Exoneration: A Treatise Exonerating of the Nation of the Pen and the Sword of the Denigrating Charge of Being Irresolute and Weak" was published on jihadist websites. The book is a response to attacks by Sayid Imam Sharif, better know in radical Islamic circles as Dr. Fadl. Dr. Fadl was a one-time Emir of the Islamic Jihad and its chief ideologue, who, in November 2007, published a book titled, “Rationalizing Jihad in Egypt and the World.” Dr. Fadl reinterpreted the meaning of Jihad, forbidding declarations of Takfir and the killing of non-Muslims in Muslim countries or members of other Muslim sects. Zawahiri wrote that when he "carefully examined" the book, he found "that it served, in the best possible way, the interests of the alliance that the crusaders and Jews have with our rulers, who act in contradiction of Shari'ah. This document is an attempt to sedate their mujahidin enemies, make them doubt their methods, and drive them from the battlefield under the pretext of weakness and impotence, the lack of resources necessary for jihad, and the absence of hope that the Islamic movements can bring about any change in Egypt. I also found that the document focused on me personally, both by implication and by direct reference, in addition to Shaykh Usama bin Ladin..." This translation was produced by the CIA's Open Source Center and has become public.
[2/27/08]		Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: "An Elegy to the Martyred Commander Abu al-Layth al-Libi" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a new video recording released today of Al-Qaida's Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri mourning the recent death of Abu al-Laith al-Liby during a U.S. air strike in northern Pakistan.  In his video statement, al-Zawahiri acknowledged the significance of the late Libyan commander but insisted that his loss would not deter the plans of Al-Qaida: "Every time a martyr falls, another martyr grabs the banner from him, and every time a chief goes down in blood, another chief completes the march after him... No chief of ours has died a natural death, nor has our blood been spilled without a response."
[2/7/08]		Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid: "Light and Fire: An Announcement to the Ummah" Al-Qaida's leader in Afghanistan, Shaykh Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, has issued a videotaped statement vowing revenge for the killing of senior Al-Qaida commander Abu al-Laith al-Liby in a January 2008 Predator drone strike in Pakistan. Al-Yazid warned that Al-Liby's supporters "will not rest until they avenge him and realize his aspirations and hopes..." He added that "the killing of these heroic chiefs doesn't -- and won't -- end the march of Jihad or extinguish its torch or put out its light as the enemies imagine. Rather, their killing in fact pushes the march forward and strengthens, stabilizes, sharpens and stimulates it." He further remarked, "the enemies of Allah were incapable of confronting Shaykh Abu al-Layth on the battlefield, nor were they able to compete with him as equals, for they are too cowardly and despicable for that. No, they used the weapon of treachery and betrayal, the weapon of the despicable cowards."
[1/31/08]		Al-Fajr Media Center: “Martyrdom” of Abu al-Laith al-Liby The online distribution network responsible for disseminating messages from Usama Bin Laden--known as the "Al-Fajr Media Center"--has issued a new statement announcing the "martyrdom" of senior Al-Qaida commander Shaykh Abu al-Laith al-Liby "along with a group of his brothers on the earth of Muslim Pakistan."  According to the statement, "although we mourn his loss, the legacy that he has left behind only increases the blazing fires that will burn the enemies of our faith and religion. How many brothers were there who he trained who turned to the path of jihad, and how often was he supervising the training camps, and how much did he help guide and provide instruction and planning, becoming an expert in all these aspects. He has led battles of pride and glory, destroying the infidel fortresses, and weakening the strength of their soldiers... We say to the infidels everywhere and the crusader army that... the death of our leaders serves as evidence of the propriety of our methods.... with their blood and bodies, our victory will be accomplished."
[1/3/08]		Usama Bin Laden: "The Way to Frustrate the Conspiracies" The NEFA Foundation has obtained the latest audio recording of Usama Bin Laden, titled "The Way to Frustrate the Conspiracies."  During his speech, Bin Laden called upon insurgent groups who have resisted joining Al-Qaida's "Islamic State of Iraq",  urging them to follow the lead of commanders like Abu Hamza al-Muhajir "known to be trustworthy after demonstrating fortitude and resolve in the fierce battles and bombing raids over the peaks of the Hindu Kush, and... well-known to your brothers in Afghanistan."  Bin Laden also directed a specific message to Palestinians, reassuring them "we will widen the scope of our jihad and we will not recognize Sykes-Picot borders... Our jihad is to liberate Palestine... Blood for blood, destruction for destruction.""
[12/17/07]		Two Statements by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated two new statements from Al-Qaida's Deputy Commander Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri: 1.) An audio recording titled "Annapolis: The Betrayal" and released on Dec. 14, and 2.) A subsequent video interview released on Dec. 16.  In the first recording, al-Zawahiri condemned the recent Israeli-Palestinian peace summit in Annapolis, Maryland and insisted that it was time for Palestinians to recognize "who your real brothers are—those who haven’t abandoned you, even though you accused them of terrorism and radicalism. [They] won't stop working to free Palestine and encouraging the Islamic nation to do the same, even if you flatter the West by condemning them.” has obtained a copy of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden, titled "A Message to the Peoples of Europe." During his speech, Bin Laden acknowledged being "responsible for 9/11", but strongly criticized the U.S. and its European allies for continuing military operations in Afghanistan even after they had "destroyed the camps of al-Qaida and killed some of its members." In addressing his European audience, Bin Laden insisted, "the American tide is ebbing, by the grace of Allah... So it is better for you to restrain your politicians who are thronging the steps of the White House."
[11/30/07]		Usama Bin Laden: "Message to the Peoples of Europe" The NEFA Foundation has obtained a copy of a new audio recording from Al-Qaida leader Usama Bin Laden, titled "A Message to the Peoples of Europe." During his speech, Bin Laden acknowledged being "responsible for 9/11", but strongly criticized the U.S. and its European allies for continuing military operations in Afghanistan even after they had "destroyed the camps of al-Qaida and killed some of its members." In addressing his European audience, Bin Laden insisted, "the American tide is ebbing, by the grace of Allah... So it is better for you to restrain your politicians who are thronging the steps of the White House."
[11/25/07]		Al-Fajr Media Center: "We'll Do It Again: Annapolis Shall Not Rescue Their Metropolis"  Al-Qaida's official online distribution network responsible for disseminating messages from Usama Bin Laden--known as the "Al-Fajr Media Center"--has issued a new statement titled, "We'll Do It Again: Annapolis Shall Not Rescue Their Metropolis, Written by a Soldier in the Army Aiming to Destroy Their Metropolis." The statement condemned the upcoming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in Annapolis, Maryland, as a bid to "declare war against the Muslims and to cleanse the desire for jihad from each and every believer." It further boasted of Al-Qaida's role in "the collapse of Manhattans metropolis": "The decision to target the World Trade Center during the [9/11] raids was a wise one because it made other weaker regimes tremble, run, and hide... Allah has paid back all the Muslims who prepared and executed that attack and has chosen them to lead his battle against evil... The owners of that collapsed metropolis (the Jews) could not handle the fact that it was totally and completely a Muslim operation. Therefore, they have been busy using their media outlets around the entire world (including Al-Jazeera) to spread lies about various 9/11 conspiracy theories... The infidels are in denial about the well-known fate of the World Trade Center We thank Allah for enabling Muslims to destroy it. The statement also included a veiled threat to the Arabian Gulf emirate of Dubai, labeling it "merely another state in the United States, a base for information and intelligence-gathering, a technological and media center, and a center of corruption. The Jews can be found there in the same way they can be found in Tel-Aviv We hope they will learn a lesson and change before Burj al-Arab becomes [the next World Trade Center]."
[10/24/07]		Al-Fajr Media Center: "Statement Regarding Al-Jazeera's Deceitful Manipulation of the Speech by Shaykh Usama Bin Laden"   Al-Qaida's official online distribution network responsible for disseminating messages from Usama Bin Laden--known as the "Al-Fajr Media Center"--has issued a new statement strongly criticizing the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera satellite television network, which it has accused of "deceitfully manipulating" the latest audio recording from Bin Laden regarding the growing infighting within the Sunni insurgency in Iraq. According to the Al-Fajr Center, "Aljazeera editors in chief have counterfeited the facts by making the speech appear as exclusively targeting the brothers and sons inside Al-Qaeda organization. It looked as if it was an acknowledgment of their mistakes, a renunciation of their jihad and their loyalty to it."
[10/23/07]		Usama Bin Laden: "A Message to the People of Iraq"   In this message, Usama Bin Laden urged unity amongst Iraqi insurgents: "Sticks refuse to break when banded together. But if they come apart, they break one by one. My brothers, the amirs of the Mujahid groups: the Muslims are waiting for you to gather under one banner to enforce the truth. And when you carry out this act of obedience, the Ummah will enjoy the birth year of the group. And how it longs for this year, and perhaps it will come soon at your hands. So seek --may Allah have mercy on you—to carry out this great lost obligation. And it is incumbent on the sincere proper of knowledge and virtue to make every effort to unify the ranks of the Mujahideen, and to not tire of walking the path which leads to that."
[9/20/07]		Usama Bin Laden: "Come to Jihad: A Speech to the People of Pakistan"   In this message, Usama Bin Laden urged the Pakistani people to overthrow Pervez Musharraf: "Pervez’s invasion of Lal Masjid in the City of Islam, Islamabad, is a sad event, like the crime of the Hindus in their invasion and destruction of the Babari Masjid...this event demonstrated Musharraf’s insistence on continuing his loyalty, submissiveness and aid to America against the Muslims, and this is one of the ten nullifiers of Islam, as the people of knowledge have determined, and makes armed rebellion against him and removing him obligatory."
[9/8/07]		Usama Bin Laden: "The Solution"   In this message, Usama Bin Laden informed the American people that "there are two solutions for stopping" the Iraq war: "The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask Allah to grant them resolve and victory. And the second solution is from your side. It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations." He added, "I invite you to embrace Islam, for the greatest mistake one can make in this world and one which is uncorrectable is to die while not surrendering to Allah, the Most High, in all aspects of one's life -i.e., to die outside of Islam."
[1/4/04]		Usama Bin Laden Audiotape  According to this transcript, provided by the CIA's Open Source Center, Usama Bin Laden stated, "there can be no dialogue with occupiers except through arms....Islamic countries in the past century were not liberated from the Crusaders' military occupation except through jihad in the cause of God. Under the pretext of fighting terrorism, the West today is doing its utmost to tarnish jihad and kill anyone seeking jihad....Jihad is the path, so seek it."
[11/01]		Usama Bin Laden Claims Responsibility for the 9/11 Attacks According to the Department of Defense, which provided this transcript, "In mid-November, Usama Bin Laden spoke to a room of supporters, possibly in Qandahar, Afghanistan. These comments were video taped with the knowledge of Bin Laden and all present." In the tape, Bin Laden explained, "we calculated in advance the number of casualties from the enemy, who would be killed based on the position of the tower. We calculated that the floors that would be hit would be three or four floors. I was the most optimistic of them all. (...Inaudible...) due to my experience in this field, I was thinking that the fire from the gas in the plane would melt the iron structure of the building and collapse the area where the plane hit and all the floors above it only. This is all that we had hoped for." (Note: Portions of this transcript were entered into evidence during the Zacarias Moussaoui Padilla trial in Virginia.)
[6/21/01]		Usama Bin Laden Praises the U.S.S. Cole Bombing In this tape, Usama Bin Laden lauds the October 2000 bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen: "the youth rushed for Jihad, and in Aden they rushed, attacked and destroyed a battle ship that is feared by fear itself. It increases your fear when it is in anchor and when it sails. It crosses the sea with pride, arrogance and fake power as it seeks its destination with speed..."
[8/22/98]		Usama Bin Laden Responds to U.S. Cruise Missile Strike In August 1998, Al-Quda al-'Arabi spoke to Usama Bin Laden's media spokesman following the U.S. missile strike against Bin Laden camps in Afghanistan, launched in retaliation for the Africa Embassy bombings. Promising further attacks, Bin Laden said, "the battle has not yet started and that the answer is what you see, not what you hear."
[6/1/98]		Usama Bin Laden Praises Pakistan for Acquiring Nuclear Weapons In May 1998, Al-Quda al-'Arabi received a copy of a statement issued by Usama Bin Laden in which he congratulated Pakistan on acquiring nuclear weapons. Bin Laden encouraged Muslims to "support the jihad of the Pakistani people and the Muslim peoples afflicted by the Indian occupation." Further, "They should not be lax in possessing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons."
[5/28/98]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with ABC News' John Miller Interviewed by ABC News' John Miller, Usama Bin Laden said, "We do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians; they are all targets...Especially since American officials have stated after the Khobar bombing that there was a lack of information and all American civilians were asked to gather information on Muslims and observant Muslim youth and to convey to the security section in the embassy. The fatwah is general and includes all that share or take part in killing of Muslims, assaulting holy places, or those who help the Jews occupy Muslim lands."
[5/19/98]		World Islamic Front: "Wounds of al-Aqsa Mosque" In May 1998, Al-Hayah received a copy of a statement issued by the World Islamic Front; the original statement by the World Islamic Front was signed by, among others, Usama Bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri. This communiqué called for Muslims to wage "the jihad against the Americans and the Israelis wherever they are."
[5/18/98]		Usama Bin Laden on Designation of Afghanistan as State Sponsor of Terror In May 1998, Al-Quda al-'Arabi received a copy of a statement issued by Usama Bin Laden in which he commented on the U.S. government's designation of Afghanistan as a state sponsor of terrorism. According to Bin Laden, the U.S. announcement was a "certificate of good conduct for the Taliban government and proof that it is not subservient to the United States as it had previously been accused of." He continued, "the Taliban government had for a long time been in pressing need of such a US decision, which clears it of the accusation that it is working for the United States and proves its adherence to its principles, its own decisionmaking, and its nonsubmission to external pressures, including US pressure."
[3/23/98]		Usama Bin Laden: "One of Them Bears Witness" In March 1998, Al-Quda al-'Arabi received a statement from Usama Bin Laden titled "One of Them Bears Witness" that emphasized the need for "young men, ulema, notables, traders, and tribal chiefs to move out of Muslim countries to work for God's cause and run the jihad-for-God's-cause battalions in order to expel the occupying invaders." Bin Laden also said, "Is there anything uglier than the US occupier's persistence in usurping the blessed land of the Peninsula and plundering its riches despite rejection and denunciation by its rulers -- who helped the occupier at the start but cannot now find a way out of the scandal?"
[2/23/98]		World Islamic Front: "Kill Americans Everywhere" In February 1998, Al-Quda al-'Arabi published a statement by the World Islamic Front that was signed by Usama Bin Laden, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, Abu Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha (a leader of the Egyptian Islamic Group), Sheikh Mir Hamzah (Secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan), and Fazlul Rahman (Emir of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh). The statement said that "the ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilian and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy Mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim."
[3/18/97]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with Hamid Mir This document is a transcript of an Usama Bin Laden interview with Hamid Mir, published in Islamabad Pakistan and translated by the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Bin Laden commented on mujahideen involvement in the 1993 attack on U.S. troops in Somalia: "My associates killed the Americans in collaboration with Farah Adid. We are not ashamed of our Jihad. You will be astonished that Farah Adid had only 300 soldiers while I had sent 250 Mujahidin. We got moral support from local Muslims." He added, "After our Jihad in Somalia, the United States asked Sudan to expel me. Sudan was promised that economic assistance to it will be restored. So I came back to Afghanistan but assistance to Sudan was not restored."
[3/97]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with CNN's Peter Arnett Interviewed by CNN's Peter Arnett, Usama Bin Laden explained, "We declared jihad against the US government, because the US government is unjust, criminal and tyrannical. It has committed acts that are extremely unjust, hideous and criminal whether directly or through its support of the Israeli occupation of the Prophet's Night Travel Land (Palestine). And we believe the US is directly responsible for those who were killed in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq."  He continued, "For this and other acts of aggression and injustice, we have declared jihad against the US, because in our religion it is our duty to make jihad so that God's word is the one exalted to the heights and so that we drive the Americans away from all Muslim countries. As for what you asked whether jihad is directed against US soldiers, the civilians in the land of the Two Holy Places (Saudi Arabia, Mecca and Medina) or against the civilians in America, we have focused our declaration on striking at the soldiers in the country of The Two Holy Places. The country of the Two Holy Places has in our religion a peculiarity of its own over the other Muslim countries. In our religion, it is not permissible for any non-Muslim to stay in our country. Therefore, even though American civilians are not targeted in our plan, they must leave." (Note: Portions of this interview were entered into evidence during the Jose Padilla trial in Florida.)
[11/27/96]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with Al-Quds Al-'Arabi This document is a transcript of an Usama Bin Laden interview with London's Al-Quds Al-'Arabi, translated by the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Bin Laden remarked, "Terrorism—if it is against criminals, thieves, and bandits—is a legitimate thing adopted by all states in all ages. The blameworthy terrorism is the kind committed by thieves against nations. What happened in the Riyadh and al-Khubar blasts was praiseworthy terrorism, because it was against thieves, not individuals but major states which went there to plunder the riches of this nation and to encroach on its greatest holy sites." Asked about his plan if his "relations with Taleban deteriorate for one reason or another", Bin Laden replied, "Iraq is not on the cards. The choice is between Afghanistan and Yemen. Yemen's topography is mountainous, and its people are tribal, armed, and allow one to breathe clear air unblemished with humiliation."
[10-11/96]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with Nida'ul Islam Interviewed by Nida'ul Islam, a Sydney magazine that lists one of its goals as "safeguarding and standing up to the zionist-crusade assaults against Islam and Muslims," Usama Bin Laden stated, "After the end of the cold war, America escalated its campaign against the Muslim world in its entirety, aiming to get rid of Islam itself. Its main focus in this was to target the scholars and the reformers who were enlightening the people to the dangers of the Judao - American alliance, and they also targeted the Mujahideen. We also have been hit with some of the traces of this campaign as we were accused of funding terrorism, and being members of an international terrorist organisation. Their aims in making these allegations were to place psychological pressure on the Mujahideen and their supporters so that they would forsake the obligation of Jihad and the resistance of oppression and American Israeli occupation of Islamic sacred lands. However, our gratitude to Allah, their campaign was not successful, as terrorising the American occupiers is a religious and logical obligation."
[8/96]		Usama Bin Laden: "Declaration of War Against the Americans" In Usama Bin Laden's infamous "Declaration of War Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places", Bin Laden stated, "to push the enemy - the greatest Kufr - out of the country is a prime duty. No other duty after Belief is more important...Utmost effort should be made to prepare and instigate the Ummah against the enemy, the American-Israeli alliance occupying the country of the two Holy Places and the route of the Apostle (Allah's Blessings and Salutations may be on him) to the Furthest Mosque (Al-Aqsa Mosque)."
[7/10/96]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with The Independent This document is a transcript of an Usama Bin Laden interview with London's The Independent, provided by the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service. In the interview, Bin Laden said, "I believe that sooner or later the Americans will leave Saudi Arabia and that the war declared by America against the Saudi people means war against all Muslims everywhere. Resistance against America will spread in many, many places in Muslim countries. Our trusted leaders, the ulema, have given us a fatwa that we must drive out the Americans. The solution to this crisis is the withdrawal of American troops...their military presence is an insult for the Saudi people."
[6/17/96]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with Rose Al-Yusuf This document is a transcript of an Usama Bin Laden interview with Cairo's Rose Al-Yusuf, translated by the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service, In the interview, Bin Laden stated, "To put it simply, the Bin Ladin Establishment's aid covers 13 countries, including Albania, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Britain, Romania, Russia, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and some Gulf countries which there is no need to mention." He added that "this aid comes in particular from the Human Concern International Society, which was founded in Afghanistan in 1982."
[7/11/95]		Usama Bin Laden: "An Open Letter to King Fahd"   In this letter, released by the U.S. military, Usama Bin Laden wrote to Saudi ruler King Fahd, "We send to you this open letter void of royal formalities and majestic titles. It is a guileless approach to you with some remarks about the atrocities you and your clan have perpetrated against God and His religion, against the rights of His worshipers and His country, and against the sanctity of His holy lands and nation. Because of the clarity of the truth we are expressing here and the elucidation of the precise contents of this letter compels us to hope that you will break the blinders that you have surrounded yourself with, thus blocking you from listening to the truth in addition to the walls that keep it (truth) from reaching your ears."
[8/9/94]		Advice and Reform Commission Statement on Opening of London Office Reporting on a faxed statement it received, Al-Quds Al-'Arabi stated that "the Saudi Islamic opposition `'Advice and Reform Commission' headed by Shaykh Usama Bin Ladin has announced the opening of an office in London. The commission said in a statement signed by Shaykh Bin Ladin that the commission's shura council held a meeting last Monday [1 August] and decided to open the office in question and to appoint Khalid Bin-'Abd-al-Rahman al-Fawwaz as its director. It added that the opening of the office in London came in response to 'the desire to expand the commission's activities and to facilitate contacts with it in order to receive correspondence and complaints.'"
[3/9/94]		Usama Bin Laden Interview with Al-Quds Al-'Arabi In this interview, translated by the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Bin Laden is interviewed in Khartoum, Sudan. Bin Laden told the reporters, "The accusation that we support terrorism is a hostile, imperialist method designed to suppress Muslims' determination and paralyze their movement toward one another and toward their religion and faith."
[Date unknown]		Usama Bin Laden Letter to Mullah Omar  In this letter, released by the U.S. military, Usama Bin Laden wrote to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, "During the previous period; with the grace of Allah, we were successful in cooperating with our brothers in Tajikistan in various fields including training. We were able train a good number of them, arm them and deliver them to Tajikistan. Moreover, Allah facilitated to us delivering weapons and ammunition to them; we pray that Allah grants us all victory. We need to cooperate all together to continue this matter, especially Jihad continuation in the Islamic Republics will keep the enemies busy and divert them away from the Afghani issue and ease the pressure off. The enemies of Islam problem will become how to stop the spreading of Islam into the Islamic Republics and not the Afghani issue. Consequently, the efforts of the Russians and their American allies will be scattered."
[Date unknown]		Usama Bin Laden Letter to Pakistani Scholars  In this letter, released by the U.S. military, Usama Bin Laden wrote to the scholars of Deyubende in Peshawar, Pakistan, that "the nation waits for a clear Fatwa from you and a clear plan to follow so they can lift away this aggression, imposed on them, the holy places, and their children. Are you willing to participate?" He explained that they must "Teach...that there is no dignity of triumph except with the Jihad for the sake of Allah. Teach...that the Jihad for the sake of Allah does happen only through a jama’a or a group that listen and obey the one EMIR."
[Date unknown]		Usama Bin Laden Letter to Aba Khalid  In this letter, released by the U.S. military, Usama Bin Laden wrote to Aba Khalid that "we have looked at your suggestions in this matter and we are studying them, and we will inform you of what we decided, by the will of Allah. In conclusion, we thank you for your concern and your support to the battlefront and we ask of the superiority of Allah to guide our steps and yours and grant us and you the way to what pleases Him." Bin Laden is responding to a letter Aba Khalid sent him.

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