Osama Bin Laden has issued the latest in a string of audiotape messages, this time lambasting Israel for its aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
In his first recorded statement for eight months, the Al Qaeda leader condemned Israel's "horrific butchery" of Palestinians. He blamed a wider "Crusader-Zionist coalition" for the attacks.
But in a notable departure from the fiery rhetoric of previous messages, Bin Laden replaced his familiar threatening tone with a lengthy discussion about the need to exercise "patience" whilst waging jihad.
The 22-minute recording surfaced Wednesday on Islamist websites known to have links with Al Qaeda's media wing, As Sahab.
Entitled 'A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression Against Gaza', the audiotape suggests that Israel's strike against Hamas was expediently timed to coincide with the end of US president George Bush's term in office.
Shelving his trademark belligerence for uncharacteristic empathy, Bin Laden reflects: "Our brothers in Palestine, you have suffered a lot … the Muslims sympathise with you in what they see and hear."
He goes on to downplay notions of a quick victory against the West, arguing: "God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven … The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come?"
The tone of this latest recording comes in sharp contrast to other audio and video messages put out by the Al Qaeda leader since 9/11.
In a January 2006 tape, Bin Laden issued a direct threat to the American people, warning: "Operations are under way, and you will see them inside your own home as soon as they are finished." Later that year, he released a tape that explicitly defended the targeting of civilians.
Experts are divided on why the terror leader has changed tack. Some suggest that a slew of foiled plots - coupled with recent coalition successes in Iraq - have forced Al Qaeda to lower expectations among its followers.
But the possibility remains that Bin Laden simply wants to score political capital while his organisation regroups. That tactic was adopted in April 2004, when he offered Europe a six-month truce directly after the Madrid bombings.
Sceptics note that Bin Laden's tape was immediately preceded by a more-vitriolic message from his second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Since the 9/11 attacks, Al Qaeda has released more than 60 messages attributed to Bin Laden, al-Zawahiri and other senior leaders. The Al Qaeda number-two appeared in ten such recordings last year alone.
Comments