English audio, attributed to Zawahiri, 2006.01.08

[Vancouver]

Links are below. I can upload a copy if necessary.

Audio with a static (and unnecessary) video background.
About 24 minutes long.
Purportedly written by Ayman al-Zawahiri.
Read by Azzam al-Amriki, who purportedly also did the translation.
Carries the as-Sahab (al-Qaeda) logo.

IMO Zawahiri is probably the author, yes.
It is a letter entitled "Why do we fight and resist you?". He says he is replying to a letter, or to two letters, of American origin. Any ideas what letters those are?
In two places he tries to stir up hatred in Japan, which is distinctly unusual.
He talks about money quite a bit, and a lot about the Palestinians. He condemns all the Arabian Peninsula regimes, which he would not do if he expected this stuff to play on al-Jazeera.
The talk is rhetorical and rather abstract, with little detail, which suggests that Zawahiri has been personally away from any real action for a considerable time. The reasoning contains the same gross weaknesses and internal contradictions as does all Islamist rhetoric.

MB 58 - avi
http://www.sendspace.com/file/yr59wq
http://www.sendspace.com/file/kk1dk7
http://www.sendspace.com/file/4obxvl
http://www.sendspace.com/file/esusjw
http://www.sendspace.com/file/r5bsuv
http://file.uploadr.com/49c3
http://file.uploadr.com/49d0
http://www.sendspace.com/file/qi907a
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2UIU2YD9
http://www.sendspace.com/file/hkcy9f
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xgzv5s



MB 65 - High.rm
http://www.sendspace.com/file/aydjkf
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3MSOYQ72
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OW6O80B6
http://d01.megashares.com/?d01=2d6c...8f4b7423573d741
http://sv1.uploadyourfiles.de/file/...-to-usa_High.rm



MB 45 - High.wmv
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ijfgj1
http://www.uploading.com/?get=SJZJ2N81
http://www.uploading.com/?get=1MXPU50M
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=M3VP0M6P
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5B6XF7XY
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6Y957Y33
http://file.uploadr.com/49c6
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N6Y6M49C



MB 42 - Medium.rm
http://www.sendspace.com/file/blsp2g
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z41DEHNR



MB 23 - Medium.wmv
http://www.sendspace.com/file/x3rdhp
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4SHC1WTX
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4CUL169Q




MB 12 - Low.wmv
http://www.sendspace.com/file/0jpfsc
http://file.uploadr.com/49c2
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z1Z1PADB
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=1B5X7Q9T
http://share2net.com/?id=77735672
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=Z88ET3YI
http://www.zshare.net/video/dr-to-usa_low-wmv.html
http://www.zshare.net/video/dr-to-usa_low-wmv-km3.html
http://www.speedyshare.com/277162407.html
http://www.speedyshare.com/606265668.html
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6S3J1MKG


MB 18 - Low.rm
http://www.sendspace.com/file/vg84pv
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E5U0DHRS
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H1M3VD10
http://share2net.com/?id=74575835
http://tinyurl.com/75azr



MB 10 - Mobile.3gp
http://www.sendspace.com/file/wixgpi
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=P2KYQS8B
http://www.share43.com/files/1436/dr-to-usa.3gp.html
http://file.uploadr.com/49c4
http://algyshalmansor.xoopiter.com/dr-to-usa.3gp
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=13BG35IH
http://www.megaupload.com/sa/?d=MSR6LGIP
http://www.quickdump.com/files/544065730.html
http://www.easy-sharing.com/180025/dr-to-usa.3gp.html

[Vancouver]

Attached is the English text of that rant by Zawahiri and Gadahn, in the form of an ASCII text file. At the end of the video there appears this slogan:

الدال على الخير كفاعله

جزى الله خيرأ
من أعان على نشر هذا الإصدار

[Vancouver]

The letter from "the Americans" might be this essay by William J. Bennett:
http://www.claremont.org/writings/040519bennett.html
A few oddities struck me about Zawahiri's letter.
-- Zawahiri or Gadahn (who I think took some liberties with the translation) says something about a warning once sounded by Benjamin Franklin.
-- Zawahiri or Gadahn wants the USA to stop influencing the academic curricula in Muslim academic institutions. Curricula differ drastically from one Muslim country to another, but Zawahiri doesn't say which ones he has in mind. Maybe he is upset about the recent steps taken by Pakistan against Wahhabi madrassas in that country. The question arises, is the Arabian-controlled madrassa network helping to hide Zawahiri? Some of those madrassas are practically identical to the ones in which the first Taliban were brainwashed to become religious gestapo for Mulla Omar's regime in Afghanistan. "Taliban" means scholars.
-- The letter is basically a condemnation of the USA and Israel. Zawahiri winds it up with a foolish list of orders to the USA, plus threats of dire consequences if the USA disobeys him. He claims to speak for "the Islamic nation", but he can't name any Muslim country which is not (according to him) already under an American puppet regime. The truth is, of course, that Zawahiri can't even take a walk without being turned in by the first Pakistani Muslim who spots him. Pathetic old ape.
-- The emphasis on the States suggests to me that the American Gadahn had a real hand in this piece. Zawahiri has some English, but it might have been Gadahn who translated the American letter (whatever it was) for Zawahiri. The same applies to an essay by Salman Rushdie that Zawahiri mentioned recently. The translation is riddled with Americanisms, and uses American spelling, whereas the British spelling is usual in Pakistan.
-- There is a certain amount of grousing about lewdness, gambling, and so on, in this diatribe. That's not very common in Qaeda rhetoric.
-- Zawahiri does not mention Osama, or Zarqawi, or al-Qaeda.

[Casey]

I haven't watched the video but read the text file.

It looks to be bin Laden's Letter to the American People, November 24, 2002.

Full text at the following link.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html

Full text: bin Laden's 'letter to America'

Online document: the full text of Osama bin Laden's "letter to the American people", reported in today's Observer. The letter first appeared on the internet in Arabic and has since been translated and circulated by Islamists in Britain.

Observer Worldview
Sunday November 24, 2002

[Vancouver]

Holy camel shit, you're right. Even the cryptic mention of Benjamin Franklin. But the translation this time is American, and the voice is definitely Gadahn. Now why did somebody make this quasi-video and say it was by Zawahiri? He even put scrolling text at the bottom, reminding us every two seconds that Zawahiri is the author.

At least now the text makes a little more sense, e.g. the bit about curricula. Back to the drawing board...

[Gawzi]

Now why did somebody make this quasi-video and say it was by Zawahiri?

the words ARE from an alzawahiri message, but someone translated it to english... makes sense to me... maybe he thought americans dont even pay attention when they hear a voice that isnt english, not bothering to read subtitles.

[Vancouver]

the words ARE from an alzawahiri message, but someone translated it to english... makes sense to me... maybe he thought americans dont even pay attention when they hear a voice that isnt english, not bothering to read subtitles.Some confusion here. The tape I'm referring to is being read aloud in English, by Azzam al-Amriki. Apart from 2 or 3 slips, the voice's words match those in the subtitles. The words are a translation (differing in minor ways from previous translations) of bin Ladin's 2002 "letter to America".