Al Qaeda Taps Arab War Fears

Osama bin Laden is likely to gain support and foot soldiers should the US military lead an invasion of Iraq, warn leading counter-terrorism experts and a senior US intelligence official. The analysts, whose view that the Al Qaeda terror network stands to gain from a US intervention are disputed by Defense Department and White House officials, who say that Mr. bin Laden has tailored several recent audio messages to fit with long-standing Arab fears of Western military domination. “Bin Laden is a dreadfully talented player,” says a senior US intelligence analyst, also the anonymous author of the book, “Through Our Enemies’ Eyes,” an account of bin Laden’s network and views. “He remains focused on three things that have the support, I think, of most Muslims, whether they’re liberal or conservative. Many disagree with his tactics and actions, but almost no one disagrees with him that the US should get its forces out of Saudi Arabia, end sanctions on Iraq, and lean on the Israelis about their treatment of the Palestinians. These are apple-pie issues in the Muslim world.” The US official, who spoke from Virginia on the condition that he remain unidentified, says that bin Laden probably believes current US interventionist policies strongly favor his own designs. He suggests that bin Laden is thinking that the US has “already flooded the Arabian peninsula with troops and will not only be starving Iraqis through the embargo, but will now kill them with our military. It’s marvelous for him.” The official adds that bin Laden’s recent messages show that the Al Qaeda leader “doesn’t want the US to back off now. It’s a way to ensure the Muslim world that it is a Christians-versus-Muslims war.” Full Story