WASHINGTON:
The White House said on Friday that it was “highly vigilant” to security threats as al Qaeda confirmed the death of Osama bin Laden.
In a statement released on Friday, al Qaeda vowed revenge and said Bin Laden’s blood “is more precious to us and to every Muslim than to be wasted in vain”.
The statement, which has been translated by the SITE monitoring group, says: “It (Bin Laden’s blood) will remain, with permission from Allah the Almighty, a curse that chases the Americans and their agents, and goes after them inside and outside their countries. Their happiness will turn into sorrow, and their blood will be mixed with their tears.”
Hours later, White House spokesman Jay Carney issued a statement saying, “We are quite aware of the potential for activity and are highly vigilant on that matter for that reason.”
“We call upon our Muslim people in Pakistan, on whose land Sheikh Osama was killed, to rise up and revolt to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves … and in general to cleanse their country from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it,” the statement says.
While there have been a few protests in Pakistan over Bin Laden’s death, the impact of the al Qaeda statement may resonate with Pakistani militant groups. According to counter terrorism analyst and researcher Leah Farrall, “The call may well have a significant impact on some Pakistan-based groups and networks, particularly those involved in providing facilitation and support to al Qaeda. Attacks within Pakistan are likely, despite current information that the US raid appeared to have occurred without the knowledge of Pakistan’s government.”
Al Qaeda also announced that it would release an audio tape from Bin Laden, which was made a week before he was killed.
The statement also congratulates the Muslim world on Bin Laden’s “martyrdom” and says al Qaeda will continue its work.
Farrall said the statement, which is dated May 3, “was aimed at reinforcing al Qaeda’s ability to withstand Bin Laden’s death, and heavily pushed the theme of unity. It appears to have been written earlier and then authorised. It is unclear who authorised or authored the document.
It may have been a collaborative effort, or authored in haste by a senior figure in the media branch, as it has been disseminated via these channels. Given the speed with which it was released, unless several key figures are grouped together, it is likely to have originated from senior figures in al Qaeda’s media branch.”
Al Qaeda also warned Americans against any ‘injustice’ or ‘mistreatment’ of Bin Laden’s body or of his family, whether dead or alive. “Any inappropriate treatment will open the doors of double evil and you will only be blaming yourselves for your own deeds.”
It will be seen in the days ahead if al Qaeda’s statement reverses the mood of denial or puts an end to calls to release images of Bin Laden’s body as proof. On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama told CBS that he does not plan to release the images, which US Embassy spokesperson Alberto Rodriguez reiterated to The Express Tribune.
With input from Reuters, AFP and CNN
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2011.
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