Al-Qaida's deputy leader called for attacks against Gulf oil facilities and urged insurgent groups in Iraq to unite to drive out American forces, according to a videotape posted on the Internet Wednesday.
The posting was a full version of a video by al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri that was issued on Sept. 19, excerpts of which were broadcast by the Arab television network Al-Jazeera at the time. The network aired more excerpts Wednesday, originally presenting all of the footage as new. A newscaster later told viewers some of the excerpts had previously been broadcast.
"I call on the holy warriors to concentrate their campaigns on the stolen oil of the Muslims, most of the revenues of which go to the enemies of Islam," al-Zawahri, the Egyptian deputy of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, said in a portion of the tape not previously broadcast. . . .
Al-Zawahri, who was wearing a white robe and black turban and was seated before a pale blue sheet, spoke to an off-camera interviewer. He said "the enemies of Islam" were exploiting oil with "incomparable greed, and we have to stop that theft with all we can save this fortune for the nation of Islam."
UPDATE: South Dakota native John Hinderaker notes:
It's nice to see Zawahiri calling on would-be jihadists to attack oil facilities in the Gulf region. . . . Why is this good? Because if al Qaeda had the means to attack Middle Eastern oil facilities directly, it would do so. The fact that Zawahiri is putting out a call for volunteers, rather than ordering the organization's agents into action, is another sign of how far al Qaeda's operational strength has been degraded.
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