Al-Qaeda calls Obama 'house-slave,' urges clashes
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WASHINGTON -- Al-Qaeda denounced Barack Obama yesterday, disparaging the first African-American elected to the presidency of the United States as a "house slave" and saying his vow to fight Muslim extremists in Afghanistan is doomed.
In a videotape released yesterday and recorded some time after Mr. Obama's Nov 4. election triumph, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, heaps abuse on Mr. Obama, who is shown wearing a kippah, or Jewish skullcap.
The election of Mr. Obama, whose father was a Muslim and whose middle name is Hussein, garnered widespread and favourable attention overseas, especially in the Arab world. Yesterday's al-Qaeda message, the first in months, seemed intended to convince Muslims that the election of Mr. Obama does not signal any fundamental shift in U.S. policy.
Mr. Obama's transition office declined to comment.
"America has put on a new face, but its heart full of hate, mind drowning in greed and spirit which spreads evil, murder, repression and despotism continue to be the same as always," Dr. Zawahiri said in the 11-minute tape posted on websites usually used by the extremist group to distribute its messages.
"You have climbed the rungs of the presidency to take over the leadership of the greatest criminal force in the history of mankind, and the leadership of the most violent Crusade ever against the Muslims," the video says in English-language subtitles provided along with Dr. Zawahiri's speech in Arabic.
Along with old footage of Malcolm X, the controversial U.S. black rights leader who converted to Islam and condemned Christianity as the white man's religion imposed on African-Americans by their slave masters, the al-Qaeda tape condemns Mr. Obama as a house slave or a house Negro.What is Forex Foreign ExchangeForeign
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(His spoken remarks could also be translated as "house slaves," but the accompanying English translation used "house Negroes.")
The reference is to Malcolm X, who said household slaves were more servile than field slaves. The al-Qaeda denunciation of Mr. Obama also says both the current and former secretaries of state, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, were "house slaves."
"I think they [al-Qaeda] are deeply threatened by the fact there is a new American president and that he has come to office saying he wants to have a more constructive relationship with the one billion Muslims in the world," said Daniel Benjamin, a counterterrorism official under former president Bill Clinton.
In a videotape released yesterday and recorded some time after Mr. Obama's Nov 4. election triumph, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, heaps abuse on Mr. Obama, who is shown wearing a kippah, or Jewish skullcap.
The election of Mr. Obama, whose father was a Muslim and whose middle name is Hussein, garnered widespread and favourable attention overseas, especially in the Arab world. Yesterday's al-Qaeda message, the first in months, seemed intended to convince Muslims that the election of Mr. Obama does not signal any fundamental shift in U.S. policy.
Mr. Obama's transition office declined to comment.
"America has put on a new face, but its heart full of hate, mind drowning in greed and spirit which spreads evil, murder, repression and despotism continue to be the same as always," Dr. Zawahiri said in the 11-minute tape posted on websites usually used by the extremist group to distribute its messages.
"You have climbed the rungs of the presidency to take over the leadership of the greatest criminal force in the history of mankind, and the leadership of the most violent Crusade ever against the Muslims," the video says in English-language subtitles provided along with Dr. Zawahiri's speech in Arabic.
Along with old footage of Malcolm X, the controversial U.S. black rights leader who converted to Islam and condemned Christianity as the white man's religion imposed on African-Americans by their slave masters, the al-Qaeda tape condemns Mr. Obama as a house slave or a house Negro.What is Forex Foreign ExchangeForeign
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(His spoken remarks could also be translated as "house slaves," but the accompanying English translation used "house Negroes.")
The reference is to Malcolm X, who said household slaves were more servile than field slaves. The al-Qaeda denunciation of Mr. Obama also says both the current and former secretaries of state, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell, were "house slaves."
"I think they [al-Qaeda] are deeply threatened by the fact there is a new American president and that he has come to office saying he wants to have a more constructive relationship with the one billion Muslims in the world," said Daniel Benjamin, a counterterrorism official under former president Bill Clinton.
Dr. Zawahiri, he said, "feels like he has a competitor for the hearts and minds."
The al-Qaeda message also contained a stark warning about Mr. Obama's plan to focus U.S. military might on the war in Afghanistan and - if necessary - to attack al-Qaeda bases in neighbouring Pakistan.
"It appears that you ... don't know anything about the history of Afghanistan and its free and defiant Muslim people," it said. "If you still want to be stubborn about America's failure in Afghanistan, then remember the fate of [President George W.] Bush and [former Pakistani military dictator] Pervez Musharraf, and the fate of the Soviets and British before them."
It claims that any buildup of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan is doomed. "Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them," the message said.
U.S. officials and analysts said there was no sign of an imminent threat.
The al-Qaeda message also contained a stark warning about Mr. Obama's plan to focus U.S. military might on the war in Afghanistan and - if necessary - to attack al-Qaeda bases in neighbouring Pakistan.
"It appears that you ... don't know anything about the history of Afghanistan and its free and defiant Muslim people," it said. "If you still want to be stubborn about America's failure in Afghanistan, then remember the fate of [President George W.] Bush and [former Pakistani military dictator] Pervez Musharraf, and the fate of the Soviets and British before them."
It claims that any buildup of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan is doomed. "Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them," the message said.
U.S. officials and analysts said there was no sign of an imminent threat.
What is Forex Foreign ExchangeForeign
Exchange (FOREX) Forex trading information site
EarnForex.com provides info about foreign exchange currency trading. Learn
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