Second Bin Laden Tape in Two Days Endorses al-Masri as Leader in Iraq, Addresses Somalia, Warns America (updated)

By Andrew Cochran

AP story: "Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden said in an Internet message Saturday to militants that the Islamic community was depending on them to "liberate" Iraq. His fifth statement this year and his second in two days, the 19-minute audio recording was accompanied by a photo of bin Laden above the logo and name Al-Sahab, al-Qaida's media production wing." CNN: "In the message, bin Laden endorses Abu Ayyub al-Masri as the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq following the death of Abu Musab al Zarqawi in a U.S. airstrike June 7, according to Reuters." CNN alaso reports that OBL warns that they may strike against the US anytime, anywhere. This tape, 17 minutes long, follows yesterday's 19-minute tape. You can see analysis of that tape by Jeffrey Cozzens, Bill Roggio, and Evan Kohlmann and Steven Emerson.

You can see the tape from the Site Institute (Windows Media) and you can see a summary of the tape on the Site Institute website.

Here's a segment translated by Laura Mansfield who has the tape at her site also: “I say to the Islamic Nation that we lost our Caliphate and their rule and fell under the occupation of the Crusaders for almost a century; since then the Crusaders have come between us and the return of the Caliphate or even the establishment of any Islamic state, and this is why they invaded Afghanistan and they have pressured Sudan to back off from the establishment of an Islamic state. And in this context, they are preparing to sending military forces to Somalia at the suggestion of America, claiming it is to help and extended their security. And they lie and say that Somalia has suffered from tribal fighting sine the defeat of America there ten years earlier. Do the wise believe they just discovered the tragedy today? Or is the real reason because the sharia courts have seized the capital and extended their influence over the most important regions, and is seeking to establish an Islamic state. We can’t understand any reason for any military forces to come to Somalia from any country, even if they are Islamic, because it is a continuation of the Crusade against the Islamic world.”

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