Is It Clear YET Why They Hate US?

From Ha'araetz newspaper:


Sunday, December 01, 2002 Kislev 26, 5763
Israel Time: 02:57 (GMT+2)







Back Home






Al-Qaeda: `We're waging war against U.S. because
of Israel'

By Ze'ev Schiff




A statement titled "Letter to the American People," allegedly written by
Osama bin Laden and disseminated over the Internet in Arabic a few days
before Thursday's double attack in Mombasa, for the first time claims that
Israel's very existence is the main reason why Bin Laden's al-Qaeda
organization has declared war on the United States.

"The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and
you [the Americans] are the leaders of its criminals," the letter said,
according to an English translation first published in the British journal The
Observer. "[T]here is no need to explain and prove the degree of American
support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased.
Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the
contribution toward this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily."

While previous al-Qaeda publications have mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia has hitherto been the
organization's No. 1 complaint against America - and the explicit call for
Israel's annihilation is also unusual. Dr. Yoram Kehati, an expert on Islamic
movements at the Institute for Counterterrorism Policy, said that the
Palestinian issue is now being given greater weight because it unites the
Muslim world more than any other issue.

Even before the Mombasa attack, the intelligence services had predicted
that due to the difficulties al-Qaeda was encountering in hitting American
targets, it was liable to start focusing on Jewish and Israeli targets instead.

The letter states that al-Qaida declared war on America "because you
attacked us and continue to attack us" - and Palestine heads the list of
places where it claims that America has assaulted Muslims. Furthermore,
it says, America's crime is not merely the present conflict or even Israel's
35-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but rather a crime that has
lasted "for more than 80 years," ever since "the British handed over
Palestine, with your help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied
it for more than 50 years" - i.e. since the establishment of the State of
Israel.

A similar claim was broadcast over Hezbollah's television station,
al-Manara, immediately after the Mombasa attacks.

The letter also attacks the Jews as a whole for the "fabricated lies that the
Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the
Torah." Only then does it get to the present conflict, saying "the blood
pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged."

Later, it also blasts America for having "supported the Jews in their idea
that Jerusalem is their eternal capital, and agreed to move your embassy
there" - something that in fact the U.S. has repeatedly refused to do.

"With your help and under your protection, the Israelis are planning to
destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque," the letter then charges, adding that Ariel
Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in September 2000 was "a preparation
to capture and destroy it."

Only after this lengthy treatment of the Israel issue does the letter proceed
to a one-sentence mention of other conflicts involving Muslims, including
Kashmir, Chechnya and Somalia, and accuses America of supporting the
non-Muslim parties to these conflicts. It also attacks Arab governments
that have recognized Israel.

The letter is novel in that it offers al-Qaida's first explanation of why it
deems attacks on American civilians legitimate - because their elected
representatives in the administration and Congress are responsible for
these crimes against Muslims, and because their taxes pay for "the planes
that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes
in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and
the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq. These tax dollars are given to
Israel for it to continue to attack us and penetrate our lands."



















Sunday, December 01, 2002 Kislev 26, 5763
Israel Time: 02:57 (GMT+2)







Back Home






Al-Qaeda: `We're waging war against U.S. because
of Israel'

By Ze'ev Schiff




A statement titled "Letter to the American People," allegedly written by
Osama bin Laden and disseminated over the Internet in Arabic a few days
before Thursday's double attack in Mombasa, for the first time claims that
Israel's very existence is the main reason why Bin Laden's al-Qaeda
organization has declared war on the United States.

"The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and
you [the Americans] are the leaders of its criminals," the letter said,
according to an English translation first published in the British journal The
Observer. "[T]here is no need to explain and prove the degree of American
support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased.
Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the
contribution toward this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily."

While previous al-Qaeda publications have mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia has hitherto been the
organization's No. 1 complaint against America - and the explicit call for
Israel's annihilation is also unusual. Dr. Yoram Kehati, an expert on Islamic
movements at the Institute for Counterterrorism Policy, said that the
Palestinian issue is now being given greater weight because it unites the
Muslim world more than any other issue.

Even before the Mombasa attack, the intelligence services had predicted
that due to the difficulties al-Qaeda was encountering in hitting American
targets, it was liable to start focusing on Jewish and Israeli targets instead.

The letter states that al-Qaida declared war on America "because you
attacked us and continue to attack us" - and Palestine heads the list of
places where it claims that America has assaulted Muslims. Furthermore,
it says, America's crime is not merely the present conflict or even Israel's
35-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but rather a crime that has
lasted "for more than 80 years," ever since "the British handed over
Palestine, with your help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied
it for more than 50 years" - i.e. since the establishment of the State of
Israel.

A similar claim was broadcast over Hezbollah's television station,
al-Manara, immediately after the Mombasa attacks.

The letter also attacks the Jews as a whole for the "fabricated lies that the
Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the
Torah." Only then does it get to the present conflict, saying "the blood
pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged."

Later, it also blasts America for having "supported the Jews in their idea
that Jerusalem is their eternal capital, and agreed to move your embassy
there" - something that in fact the U.S. has repeatedly refused to do.

"With your help and under your protection, the Israelis are planning to
destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque," the letter then charges, adding that Ariel
Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in September 2000 was "a preparation
to capture and destroy it."

Only after this lengthy treatment of the Israel issue does the letter proceed
to a one-sentence mention of other conflicts involving Muslims, including
Kashmir, Chechnya and Somalia, and accuses America of supporting the
non-Muslim parties to these conflicts. It also attacks Arab governments
that have recognized Israel.

The letter is novel in that it offers al-Qaida's first explanation of why it
deems attacks on American civilians legitimate - because their elected
representatives in the administration and Congress are responsible for
these crimes against Muslims, and because their taxes pay for "the planes
that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes
in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and
the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq. These tax dollars are given to
Israel for it to continue to attack us and penetrate our lands."











Sunday, December 01, 2002 Kislev 26, 5763
Israel Time: 02:57 (GMT+2)







Back Home






Al-Qaeda: `We're waging war against U.S. because
of Israel'

By Ze'ev Schiff




A statement titled "Letter to the American People," allegedly written by
Osama bin Laden and disseminated over the Internet in Arabic a few days
before Thursday's double attack in Mombasa, for the first time claims that
Israel's very existence is the main reason why Bin Laden's al-Qaeda
organization has declared war on the United States.

"The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and
you [the Americans] are the leaders of its criminals," the letter said,
according to an English translation first published in the British journal The
Observer. "[T]here is no need to explain and prove the degree of American
support for Israel. The creation of Israel is a crime which must be erased.
Each and every person whose hands have become polluted in the
contribution toward this crime must pay its price, and pay for it heavily."

While previous al-Qaeda publications have mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, the U.S. presence in Saudi Arabia has hitherto been the
organization's No. 1 complaint against America - and the explicit call for
Israel's annihilation is also unusual. Dr. Yoram Kehati, an expert on Islamic
movements at the Institute for Counterterrorism Policy, said that the
Palestinian issue is now being given greater weight because it unites the
Muslim world more than any other issue.

Even before the Mombasa attack, the intelligence services had predicted
that due to the difficulties al-Qaeda was encountering in hitting American
targets, it was liable to start focusing on Jewish and Israeli targets instead.

The letter states that al-Qaida declared war on America "because you
attacked us and continue to attack us" - and Palestine heads the list of
places where it claims that America has assaulted Muslims. Furthermore,
it says, America's crime is not merely the present conflict or even Israel's
35-year occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, but rather a crime that has
lasted "for more than 80 years," ever since "the British handed over
Palestine, with your help and your support, to the Jews, who have occupied
it for more than 50 years" - i.e. since the establishment of the State of
Israel.

A similar claim was broadcast over Hezbollah's television station,
al-Manara, immediately after the Mombasa attacks.

The letter also attacks the Jews as a whole for the "fabricated lies that the
Jews have a historical right to Palestine, as it was promised to them in the
Torah." Only then does it get to the present conflict, saying "the blood
pouring out of Palestine must be equally revenged."

Later, it also blasts America for having "supported the Jews in their idea
that Jerusalem is their eternal capital, and agreed to move your embassy
there" - something that in fact the U.S. has repeatedly refused to do.

"With your help and under your protection, the Israelis are planning to
destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque," the letter then charges, adding that Ariel
Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount in September 2000 was "a preparation
to capture and destroy it."

Only after this lengthy treatment of the Israel issue does the letter proceed
to a one-sentence mention of other conflicts involving Muslims, including
Kashmir, Chechnya and Somalia, and accuses America of supporting the
non-Muslim parties to these conflicts. It also attacks Arab governments
that have recognized Israel.

The letter is novel in that it offers al-Qaida's first explanation of why it
deems attacks on American civilians legitimate - because their elected
representatives in the administration and Congress are responsible for
these crimes against Muslims, and because their taxes pay for "the planes
that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes
in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and
the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq. These tax dollars are given to
Israel for it to continue to attack us and penetrate our lands."