lily
03-27-2008, 03:59 AM
Link (http://www.newsweek.com/id/129176)
Menacing Message
How dangerous is Al Qaeda's latest tape?
The FBI, spurred in part by this week's unusually menacing audio message
from Ayman Al-Zawahiri, today advised state and local law enforcement
officials to expect an increase in Al Qaeda propaganda messages aimed at
inciting followers to commit terrorist acts.
FBI and counterterrorism officials stressed today that they have no fresh
intelligence about any specific threats-one reason why today's FBI
intelligence bulletin, issued in conjunction with the Department of Homeland
Security, was blandly worded and low-key in tone.
But privately some analysts are worried about the blunt new message from
Zawahiri, the deputy to Osama bin Laden. "It's a little spooky," said one
senior official. Seeking to exploit a worldwide Muslim backlash over recent
Israeli bombing strikes in Gaza, Zawahiri exhorted followers to "attack the
interest of the Jews and the Americans." He then added, "Select your
targets, collect the appropriate funds, assembly your equipments, plan [your
attacks] accurately, and then charge toward your targets . There is no place
today for those who claim that the battlefield with the Jews is limited to
Palestine."
Counterterrorism officials and analysts have been debating for the last few
days whether Zawahiri's directive to "select your targets" was a direct
command to operatives in the field or a more general incitement to
sympathizers.
Evan Kohlmann, a government counterterrorism consultant who studies Al Qaeda
messages, says the new tape seemed "palpably different" from Zawahiri's
usually fiery anti-American tirades. "It's quite rare that he would be this
direct and blunt about it," Kohlmann says. "My personal opinion is when he
said this"-referring to the "select your targets" line-he "wasn't talking in
the abstract, he was saying, 'We're doing it.' It was very much a call to
arms."
But counterterrorism officials say that they have no idea what "it" might
be-or any hard indicator that a major Al Qaeda strike is imminent, at least
not in the United States. There has been no spike in terrorist "chatter"
picked up by U.S. surveillance in recent weeks or recent arrests suggesting
an operation might be underway, said one official who asked not to be
identified talking about intelligence information.
Menacing Message
How dangerous is Al Qaeda's latest tape?
The FBI, spurred in part by this week's unusually menacing audio message
from Ayman Al-Zawahiri, today advised state and local law enforcement
officials to expect an increase in Al Qaeda propaganda messages aimed at
inciting followers to commit terrorist acts.
FBI and counterterrorism officials stressed today that they have no fresh
intelligence about any specific threats-one reason why today's FBI
intelligence bulletin, issued in conjunction with the Department of Homeland
Security, was blandly worded and low-key in tone.
But privately some analysts are worried about the blunt new message from
Zawahiri, the deputy to Osama bin Laden. "It's a little spooky," said one
senior official. Seeking to exploit a worldwide Muslim backlash over recent
Israeli bombing strikes in Gaza, Zawahiri exhorted followers to "attack the
interest of the Jews and the Americans." He then added, "Select your
targets, collect the appropriate funds, assembly your equipments, plan [your
attacks] accurately, and then charge toward your targets . There is no place
today for those who claim that the battlefield with the Jews is limited to
Palestine."
Counterterrorism officials and analysts have been debating for the last few
days whether Zawahiri's directive to "select your targets" was a direct
command to operatives in the field or a more general incitement to
sympathizers.
Evan Kohlmann, a government counterterrorism consultant who studies Al Qaeda
messages, says the new tape seemed "palpably different" from Zawahiri's
usually fiery anti-American tirades. "It's quite rare that he would be this
direct and blunt about it," Kohlmann says. "My personal opinion is when he
said this"-referring to the "select your targets" line-he "wasn't talking in
the abstract, he was saying, 'We're doing it.' It was very much a call to
arms."
But counterterrorism officials say that they have no idea what "it" might
be-or any hard indicator that a major Al Qaeda strike is imminent, at least
not in the United States. There has been no spike in terrorist "chatter"
picked up by U.S. surveillance in recent weeks or recent arrests suggesting
an operation might be underway, said one official who asked not to be
identified talking about intelligence information.