19 January 2006 Osama bin Laden tape
Encyclopedia
An audio tape recording of a speech believed to be by al-Qaeda
leader Osama bin Laden
was released on January 19, 2006. The release of the tape came shortly after United States
Central Intelligence Agency
's airstrike of Damadola
in Pakistan
, an attack that reportedly led to the deaths of Midhat Mursi
(also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri), a veteran bomb and chemical expert and the head of an al-Qaeda training camp on the Afghanistan
-Pakistan border, Khalid Habib
, the al-Qaida operations chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Abdul Rehman al Magrabi, a senior al-Qaeda operations commander, and fifteen other people. Civilians were among the others killed, according to the Pakistani provincial government.
On the tape, which may have been recorded a month earlier, bin Laden boasted that "our situation is getting better, while your situation is getting worse." It also threatened future attacks on the United States
, and simultaneously offered a "long truce", while not saying what the truce would involve. The White House
immediately rejected the truce offer.
The tape differed from others by Bin Laden in that it appeared to be less belligerent. In addition, the tape appeared to promote a book by William Blum
, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
. Bin Laden claimed that "If Bush carries on with his lies and deception it may be useful for you to read the book The Rogue State."
It had been over a year since the previous release of a video
by bin Laden. The Associated Press
has reported that in late 2005 that the CIA had disbanded its bin Laden unit. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4023190.html
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
leader Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
was released on January 19, 2006. The release of the tape came shortly after United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
's airstrike of Damadola
Damadola airstrike
On 13 January 2006 the Central Intelligence Agency fired missiles into the Pakistani village of Damadola in the Bajaur tribal area, about seven kilometres from the Afghan border, killing at least 18 people. Originally the Bajaur tribal area government claimed that at least four foreign members...
in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, an attack that reportedly led to the deaths of Midhat Mursi
Midhat Mursi
Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, known as Abu Khabab al-Masri was a chemist and alleged top bomb maker for al-Qaeda and part of Osama bin-Laden's inner circle. The United States had a US$5 million bounty on his head. Although reportedly killed in a U.S...
(also known as Abu Khabab al-Masri), a veteran bomb and chemical expert and the head of an al-Qaeda training camp on the Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
-Pakistan border, Khalid Habib
Khalid Habib
Khalid Habib was an ascending member of al-Qaeda's central structure in Pakistan and Afghanistan. His nationality has been reported as Egyptian and as Moroccan ....
, the al-Qaida operations chief for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Abdul Rehman al Magrabi, a senior al-Qaeda operations commander, and fifteen other people. Civilians were among the others killed, according to the Pakistani provincial government.
On the tape, which may have been recorded a month earlier, bin Laden boasted that "our situation is getting better, while your situation is getting worse." It also threatened future attacks on the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and simultaneously offered a "long truce", while not saying what the truce would involve. The White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
immediately rejected the truce offer.
The tape differed from others by Bin Laden in that it appeared to be less belligerent. In addition, the tape appeared to promote a book by William Blum
William Blum
William Blum is an American author, historian, and critic of United States foreign policy. He studied accounting in college. Later he had a low-level computer-related position at the United States Department of State in the mid-1960s. Initially an anti-communist with dreams of becoming a foreign...
, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower
Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower is a book by William Blum first published in 2000. The 3rd revision updates events covered in the book to the year 2005. It examines and criticizes United States foreign policy during and following the Cold War. The book's first chapter is...
. Bin Laden claimed that "If Bush carries on with his lies and deception it may be useful for you to read the book The Rogue State."
It had been over a year since the previous release of a video
2004 Osama bin Laden video
On October 29, 2004, at 21:00 UTC, the Arab television network, Al Jazeera, broadcast excerpts from a videotape of Osama bin Laden addressing the people of the United States, in which he accepts responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks, condemns the Bush government's response to those...
by bin Laden. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
has reported that in late 2005 that the CIA had disbanded its bin Laden unit. http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4023190.html