Special report: Tension escalates in Iraq
Related: Bush takes blame in Iraq, adds
troops
BEIJING, Jan. 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Al-Qaida's
deputy leader in a video footage mocked U.S. President George W. Bush's plan to
send 21,000 more troops to Iraq, vowing "insurgents will defeat them."
The Washington-based site Institute said it had
intercepted the video from Ayman al-Zawahri, where his messages are usually
posted, but did not elaborate on how it received the video.
In the video released Monday, Ayman
al-Zawahiri, chief aide to Osama bin Laden, said, "Security is a
shared destiny. If we are secure, you might be secure, and if we are safe, you
might be safe. And if we are struck and killed, you will definitely -- with
Allah's permission -- be struck and killed."
Al-Zawahri said the new U.S. strategy for Iraq,
outlined by Bush in a Jan. 9 speech, was doomed to fail.
Al-Zawahiri cited U.S. plan to send
more troops to Iraq, asking "Why not send 50,000 or 100,000?"
"Aren't you aware that the dogs of Iraq are pining
for your troops' dead bodies? Send your entire army to be annihilated at the
hands of the Mujahedeen to free the world from your evil and theirs because
Iraq, the land of the caliphate and Jihad, is able to bury 10 armies like yours,
with God's help and power."
In remarks intended for
the American people, he said, "If you want to live in security, you must accept
the facts of what is happening on the ground, and reject the fantasies with
which Bush tries to deceive you."
"You must honestly try to reach a mutual
understanding with the Muslims, for then and only then you might enjoy security.
If, however, you continue with the policy of Bush and his gang, you will never
even dream of peace."
The video showed al-Zawahri in a full grey
beard and wearing a white turban, in front of a black backdrop.
The message was the first reaction from al-Qaida's
leadership to the new U.S. strategy.
The United States has said its extra troops aim to
crack down on al-Qaida fighters and other Sunni militants in Iraq, as well as
Shiite militants blamed in the country's spiralling sectarian violence.
(Agencies)
