Author: AP
Publication: The Asian Age
Date: February 13, 2003
A verbatim transcript of the Osama
bin Laden tape broadcast on Al-Jazeera
In the name of Allah, the merciful,
the beneficent: a message to our Muslim brothers in Iraq. Alsalam alikom
wa rahmat Allah wa barakato (Quran verse - Oh believers, be pious to God,
and never die but when you are believers in Islam).
We are following with utmost concern
the crusaders' preparations to occupy the former capital of Islam (Baghdad),
loot the fortunes of the Muslims and install a puppet regime on you that
follows its masters in Washington and Tel Aviv like the rest of the treacherous
puppet Arab governments as a prelude to the formation of greater Israel."
We need to reassure - while we are
close to the unjust war, the war of the bawds, America is leading with
its allies and agents - on a number of important lessons:
First, to be honest in intention
that the fighting would be for the sake of God, not to triumph for nationalism
or pagan regimes in all the Arab countries, including Iraq. God said in
his book, 'Those who are the believers fight for the sake of God. Those
who are infidels fight for the sake of the juggernaut. Fight the followers
of the devil. The devil's cause is weak.'
Second, remember that victory comes
only from God. We have to exert all efforts with preparations, stimulation,
and jihad. God said, 'O believers, if you fight for the sake of God, God
will grant you victory and make your standing firm.' Therefore, you are
obligated to hurry up to ask for God's forgiveness from all sins, especially
the great ones. The Prophet said, 'Avoid falling in the seven great sins,
which are: believing in any but God, magic, murder, usury, stealing orphans'
money, fleeing from battle, slandering believing women ... Besides, drinking
alcohol, adultery, not obeying the parents, and false testimony.' You should
be obedient in general.
Third, we recognised after fighting
and defending ourselves from the American enemy that it depends on its
fighting mainly in psychological war for the huge propaganda machine it
has, and it also depends on the heavy air bombing. America uses these two
in order to hide its soldiers' weaknesses, which are fear, cowardice, and
lack of fighting spirit. These soldiers are totally convinced in their
unjust cause and their unjust lying government. They also lack a just cause
to fight for its sake.
They are fighting only to serve
the interest of those who have the capital, arms dealers, oil owners, including
the criminal gang in the White House. Adding to that, those who keep their
personal envoys, Bush the father.
We have recognised that one of the
best, effective, and available means to devoid the aerial force of the
crusading enemy of its content is by digging large numbers of trenches
and camouflaging them in huge numbers, as I previously referred to in my
past talk of the Tora Bora battle last year. Such a great battle where
the faithful achieved victory over all material forces. We did that by
holding firm our principles, and with God's help.
I will recall one part of such a
great battle to prove how much they (American soldiers) are cowards, in
one side, and how effective are these trenches in depleting them from another
side. We were 300 mujahideen (holy fighters). We were digging 100 ditches
spread over an area of one mile only. The range is one ditch for every
three brothers. To avoid grave human losses during the air bombing as our
centres were exposed - in the first hour of the American warfare in Oct.
7, 2001 - to a heavy concentrated shelling, which then turned sporadic
during the middle of Ramadan. Then on Ramadan 17, the shelling turned to
a very heavy one, especially after the American command was certain that
some of Al Qaeda leaders are in Tora Bora, including the poor slave (talking
about himself) and the holy fighter Doctor Ayman El-Zawahri.
The bombing lasted 24 hours a day.
No second passed without aircraft passing over our heads day and night,
as the headquarters in US defence ministry with all other allies had nothing
to do but to bomb and destroy that tiny spot and clear it from existence.
The aircraft were spilling bombs over us, especially after it finished
its main mission in Afghanistan.
The American forces were bombing
us with smart bombs, cluster bombs, and bombs which invade caves. B-52
aircraft were flying every two hours over our heads and throwing each time,
20 to 30 bombs.
The modified Sinmo 13 aircraft were
bombing us daily with new bombs. Despite such a heavy shelling with the
horrible propaganda, the first of its kind, on such a small zone surrounded
from all sides, in addition to the forces of the hypocrites which were
pushed to fight us for a continual half a month, which we faced their daily
waves, despite all that, they (American soldiers) turned back carrying
their killed and injured soldiers. The American troops couldn't dare to
invade our bases, which indicates their cowardice, fear, and the false
myths they spread concerning their military capabilities.
The conclusion is an enormous defeat
for the coalition of the international evil with all its forces facing
such a small group of mujahideen, 300 only in ditches in an area of one
mile, in a temperature of 10 degrees below zero.
The result of that battle was six
per cent injuries among the individuals, whom we ask God to consider as
martyrs, and injuries inside the ditches were two per cent only, thank
God.
If all the evil global powers were
not capable of defeating one simple mile occupied by mujahideen using very
poor equipment, how can such evil powers triumph over the Islamic world?
This is impossible, God willing, if they hold their faith in their religion,
and were determined to fight for the sake of God.
Our mujahideen brothers in Iraq,
don't worry about American lies concerning their power and their smart
bombs and laser ones. Such smart bombs have no use among the mountains,
trenches, plains, and forests. They need an obvious target. As for the
well-camouflaged trenches, the smart or the idiot bombs can't do anything
to it. The only way is haphazard bombing which depletes the enemy's ammunition
and the enemy's money. So go and dig many trenches as it was mentioned
before in the holy book, 'Take the earth as your shelter.' Such a way will
deplete all your enemy reserves in a few months. As for their daily production,
that is easy to bear, God willing.
We advise about the importance of
drawing the enemy into long, close and exhausting fighting, taking advantage
of camouflaged positions in plains, farms, mountains and cities. The enemy
fears the most the town fights and street fights. Such fighting would cause
the enemy huge losses of souls.
We stress the importance of martyrdom
operations against the enemy, these attacks that have scared Americans
and Israelis like never before.
We also make it clear that anyone
who helps America, from the Iraqi hypocrites (Opposition) or Arab rulers,
whoever fights with them or offers them bases or administrative assistance,
or any kind of support or help, even if only with words, to kill Muslims
in Iraq, should know that he is an apostate and that (shedding) his blood
and money is permissible (in Islam).
God said (in the Quran): 'Oh believers,
do not take Jews or Christians as your masters. They are loyal to each
other. Those who follow them is one of them. God does not proselytise the
unjust nations.' I also assure those true Muslims should act, incite and
mobilise the nation in such great events, hot conditions, in order to break
free from the slavery of these tyrannic and apostate regimes, which is
enslaved by America, in order to establish the rule of Allah on earth.
Among regions ready for liberation
are Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, the country of the two shrines (Saudi Arabia),
Yemen and Pakistan.
You know that such a crusade war
concerns the Muslim nation mainly, regardless of whether the socialist
party and Saddam remain or go. So Muslims in general and Iraq in particular
must pull up your pant legs for jihad against this unjust campaign. You
should also keep the ammunitions and weapons, as it is an obligatory mission.
It is known before that you should
not fight raising the pagan banners, but you have to, as a Muslim, to have
a clear faith and banner during war for the sake of God, as the Prophet
said, 'Whoever fights should raise the word of God.' It is not harmful
in such conditions for the Muslims' interests and socialists' interests
to come along with each other during the war against the crusade, without
changing our faith and our declaration that socialists are infidels. Socialists'
leadership had fallen down a long time ago.
Socialists are infidels wherever
they are, either in Baghdad or Aden. Such war which may take place these
days is similar to the war between Muslims and Romans when the interests
of the Muslims came along with the interests of the Persians who both fought
against the Romans. Nothing was harmful for the companions of the Prophet.
Before I conclude, I would like
to assure on the importance of encouragement (for mujahideen) and raising
their spirits and being alerted from flickering, confusion, and disinclining.
The Prophet said once, 'Encourage them and don't discourage.' (For three
times he said) 'God, who sent down the book (Quran), who ran the clouds,
who defeated the parties, defeat them (enemy) and grant us the triumph
over them.'