On Tape, Bin Laden Warns of Long War

Osama bin Laden insists that the US War on Terrorism is really a War on Islam and warns his followers by audiotape to prepare for long conflict. The tape contradicts his previous message from January that called for a long-term truce with the US for withdrawal from Iraq. In the April tape, bin Laden urges followers to head to Sudan and fight with peacekeepers, suggesting that the West wants to combat Islamic nations and control their oil fields. UN peacekeepers are headed to troubled region where tens of thousands of died and more than 2 million live as refugees. The Al Qaeda leader also criticizes the US and EU for favoring Israel and cutting off aid to the Palestinians in retaliation for their putting the militant group Hamas in power. Oddly enough, neither Hamas nor Sudan has a history of friendly relations with bin Laden. One security analyst suggests that bin Laden is a master of selecting global issues that could incite Muslim resentment. Others suggest that the fugitive scrambles to stay relevant in a conflicted world where fundamentalism poses few good solutions. – YaleGlobal