.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Born at the Crest of the Empire

Monday, October 22, 2007

Does Bin Laden hold sway in Iraq?

There's a new Bin Laden tape. I often don't mention these because there's frequently very little interesting or new, but today's tape does contain something interesting.
"Some of you have been lax in one duty, which is to unite your ranks," bin Laden said in the audiotape. "Beware of division ... The Muslim world is waiting for you to gather under one banner."

Presuming that this message is aimed at the Sunnis in Iraq as is being noted in the early reporting, what does this tell us? Is the division he is trying to address the Sunni militants working with the US?

And, what would that mean?

Later: A little more in the BBC version: "The voice on the tape also admits that "mistakes have been made during holy wars". It adds: "Everybody can make a mistake, but the best of them are those who admit their mistakes."

What mistakes? The attacks on civilians which severed the AQI/Sunni resistance?

I may be overreading, but this sounds like a plea for the Sunnis to come back to the Al Qaeda/jihadist cause. It doesn't read like a statement of strength.

2 Comments:

  • I think it's more of an Islamist/Secularist thing. Baathists are mostly secular and not all the insurgents are happy with the idea of an Islamic state.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 2:49 PM  

  • Agreed.

    But, does Bin Laden have the influence to draw some of these fighting Sunnis to his side? Is it a powerless plea? Was it requested by the AQI folks becuase the situation has turned that much against them?

    It could certainly be a boilerplate phrase, but for some reason I'm seeing a larger revelation in this, but I'm not really sure what.

    By Blogger mikevotes, at 3:25 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home