Abdul Shalabi Released From Gitmo

Abdul Shalabi: Osama bin Laden's and Kalid Sheik Mohammed's bodyguard

While the media were oohing and aahing over Pope Francis's visit to the United States, Abdul Shalabi was released from Gitmo and is now in Saudi Arabia:

...Shalabi, who was captured by Pakistani forces in 2001, was once deemed (by the Bush administration) “too dangerous to release” but under the Obama administration has been repatriated by U.S. officials on Tuesday [September 23, 2015].

An Obama military review board released a report [Must-read link!] that cleared Abdul Rahman Shalabi for release. Shalabi has been sent to Saudi Arabia where he will be placed into a “rehabilitation program” for militants. The review board said the effectiveness of the Saudi rehabilitation program was an important factor in its decision. The board also noted the detainee’s “credible desire” to re-integrate into society and participate in the rehabilitation program, but it “acknowledges the detainee’s past terrorist-related activities.” A statement that he was likely to still have sympathies to extremists was also made by the panel who recommended his release....

According to CNN:

...Shalabi's transfer from Guantanamo was the second announced in less than a week, leaving 114 detainees at the naval base that the Obama administration is pushing to close.

"The United States is grateful to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its willingness to support ongoing U.S. efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The United States coordinated with the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure this transfer took place consistent with appropriate security and humane treatment measures," the Defense Department said in a statement.

It announced last week that Younis Abdurrahman Chekkouri had been transferred to Morocco.

The remaining 114 detainees being held at Guantanamo fall into two categories: Those who can be transferred to other countries and those who the United States must continue to hold.

In August, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said that Pentagon teams were looking at U.S. sites to house the detainees....

About Younis Abdurrahman Chekkouri:

Alleged to be associated with the Moroccan Islamic Fighting Group and Jama'at Al-Tablighi.

Emptying Gitmo is another of Obama's campaign promises which he intends to keep. Come hell or high water.

Benghazi Terrorist Planner Met With Osama Bin Laden

From Western Journalism:

The terrorist planner of Benghazi, Mohammed al Zahawi, met with Osama bin Laden when the latter was in Sudan, according to a senior official in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). 

According to Business Insider’s account of the official’s eulogy: “Sheikh al Zahawi, may Allah have mercy on him, began his march in [the] mid-nineties,” Nadhari explained, according to SITE. 

“Allah guided him [to] meet the reviving Imam Osama bin Laden when Osama was in Sudan. Zahawi took from his determination and learned from his methodology, then he was captured quickly by the Saud government, the traitor to Allah and His Messenger,” he continued. 

AQAP was not the only official al Qaeda group to issue a euology for Zahawi. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) also issued a eulogy for the deceased leader of Ansar al Sharia Libya. 

As evidence of Ansar al Sharia’s interconnections with al Qaeda, three other al Qaeda groups took part in the raid on the US Mission and Annex at Benghazi. 

Militants from AQAP and AQIM took part, as well as jihadists from the Muhammad Jamal Network (MJN). The United Nations Security Council added Ansar al Sharia, the primary group behind Benghazi, to its al Qaeda sanctions list in November 2014. 

The Obama administration initially avoided the word “terrorism” in connection with the attack and claimed it was a spontaneous attack based on a video. 

Here’s Obama speaking to Steven Kroft of 60 Minutes on September 12th, the day after the attack: 

Kroft: Mr. President, this morning you went out of your way to avoid the use of the word terrorism in connection with the Libya attack. 

Obama: Right. 

Kroft: Do you believe that this was a terrorist attack? 

Obama: Well, it’s too early to know exactly how this came about, what group was involved, but obviously it was an attack on Americans and we are going to be working with the Libyan government to make sure that we bring these folks to justice one way or the other. 

Kroft: It’s been described as a mob action. But there are reports that they were very heavily armed with grenades. That doesn’t sound like your normal demonstration. 

Obama: As I said, we’re still investigating exactly what happened. I don’t want to jump the gun on this. But you’re right that this is not a situation that was exactly the same as what happened in Egypt. And my suspicion is, is that there are folks involved in this, who were looking to target Americans from the start.

No Easy Day: Killing bin Laden

Go HERE for the videos from 60 Minutes.

The book is available from various booksellers and from Amazon for Kindle. I bought the Kindle version this morning and had a great deal of difficulty getting One Easy Day to download because the site was so busy.

According to Bloviating Zeppelin, the hardcover version is flying off the shelves.

BREAKING! VIDEO OF OSAMA'S RESPECTFUL ISLAMIC BURIAL AT SEA

As you can see, they did pray over him, "Holy Shit. Oh My God. Oh My God. Oh My God."


What more could the motherfucker want?

More Fakery From The Obama Administration

With thanks to Will, from this article by Andrew Malcolm in the LA Times:

P.S. Turns out now, those photos of Obama giving his 'I caught Bin Laden' speech were faked

Could the Obama White House communications folks have found anything else to step in over the presentation this week of their boss and the dramatic recounting and re-recounting of the execution and really rapid remains disposal of Osama bin Laden?

It turns out now that all of the non-White House still photographs of the president's dramatic entrance down the hall into the East Room and the late Sunday evening speech itself were faked.

They were not taken during the actual event, which was photographed only by official White House photographer Pete Souza during the live TV broadcast.

The widely distributed press photographs were, in fact, shot during a reenactment of the entrance, the firm presidential strides down the carpeted hall and the speaking by the president right after the real event...

These staged news photos were immediately flashed around the world for millions to see with varying captions about the president reading his statement for photographers, distinctions that may well have been lost in translations and publications.

It is a minor matter unless truth is a concern....

Read the rest HERE.

Perhaps staging photos is not of great significance. But why would the Obama administration bother doing so? And why can't the Obama administration be less concerned with burnishing Obama's image and more concerned with governing?

The faking of these photographs serves only to contribute to the growing conspiracy theories related to the death of Osama bin Laden.

Additional reading: Does America even know what courage is anymore? and worth your time.

Hat tip to Z for the graphic to close this post:

First Mosque Friday After The Killing Of Osama bin Laden

Mock funerals and requiems are being held all over the world today. Even in London:


Check out THIS STORY at the Daily Mail. One sentence from the article:

Radicals carrying placards proclaiming 'Islam will dominate the world' branded US leaders 'murderers' and warned vengeance attacks were 'guaranteed'.

Mere venting? Maybe. But maybe not.

I wonder what kinds of sermons went on and are going on in mosques all around the world this first Friday after the death of Osama bin Laden.

Hold the phone! I've got a question.

When was Osama bin Laden killed? What day? Approximately what time?

I thought that DNA testing took a while. Was DNA testing done or not?

Thanks in advance.

If Only

With a hat tip to GM's Place:

VIDEO OF OBAMA'S STATEMENT AT BOTTOM FOX NEWS REPORTING - OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD - UPDATES AT BOTTOM OF POST

(continuous updates newest info at bottom of post)

MULTIPLE SOURCES!

APPARENTLY THIS IS THE REAL THING, FOLKS. REPORTS SAY, THEY HAVE THE BODY - DNA MATCH

DEAD AS A FUCKING DUCK!

By the way, why would you call intel operatives to the White House, and call an "Emergency Address" by the President to announce Bin Laden is dead?


That's not an Emergency, that's a Party.

I'm on the phone with Midnight Rider, and he comments, well Pastorius, we don't know how the Muslim world is going to react to this.


BRING IT ON!

KILLED A WEEK AGO, BY A US BOMB.

DNA RESULTS ARE POSITIVE.


DEAD, DEAD AS THE FUCKING WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST. A FUCKING HOUSE FELL ON THE MOTHERFUCKER.

IF THIS HAPPENED IN PAKISTAN, THIS COULD STIR UP THE MOTHER OF ALL SHITSTORMS.

ON FOX THEY ARE REPORTING THIS AS A GAME CHANGER IN THE IRAQ AND AFGHANI WARS.

NOT LIKELY, SAYS IBA. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.

GERALDO RIVERA IS BREATHLESS AS A HOMO AT A FASHION SHOW. I SWEAR TO GOD, HE AND CHRIS MATTHEWS WILL BE GETTING IN A CATFIGHT - FIGHTING OVER OBAMA BEFORE THE EVENING IS THROUGH, SCRATCHING EACH OTHER'S EYES OUT AND PULLING EACH OTHERS HAIR.

BIDEN SPILLED THE BEANS TO CONGRESS. I WONDER IF HE CALLED HIM "OBAMA BIN LADEN"?

THIS EXPLAINS OBAMA'S TRIUMPHALIST GIDDINESS THE PAST WEEK.

midnight rider taking over here. That wussy Pastorius got all choked up ("it's fucking beautiful man") tears streaming couldn't speak on the phone had to step out.

WAS KILLED LIVING IN A MANSION IN ISLAMABAD reports FOX via CNN via AP

Familial DNA was used for confirmation

PENTAGON CONFIRMING KILLED IN PAKISTAN

WHATEVER IDIOT WOMAN WAS ON FOX SAYING THIS IS A GAME CHANGER AMD THE TALIBAN MAY NOW WANT TO NEGOTIATE NEEDS TO UP HER MEDS. THE FUCKING JIHADIS ARE GOING TO GO NUTZ OVER THIS. OK, MORE NUTZ THAN THEY ARE.

THERE ARE ALSO NOW REPORTS HE WAS SHOT, NOT BY A BOMB. IF HE WAS SHOT ESPECIALLY BY US FORCES YOU CAN MAGNIFY THAT SHITSTORM PASTO TALKED ABOUT EXPONENTIALLY. THIS IS UNCONFIRMED.

REMEMBER, FOLKS, THIS IS A RECKONING WITH BIN LADEN. NOT WITH ISLAM. THE JIHAD GOES ON, THE WAR GOES ON. MANY MORE WILL DIE BIN LADEN'S DEATH ENDS NOTHING.

CROWDS OUTSIDE THE WHITE HOUSE ARE CHANTING "USA! USA!'

AUTHORITIES AROUND THE WORLD ARE BEING URGED TO TAKE SECURITY PRECAUTIONS. AFRAID IT MAY INCITE VIOLENCE ESPECIALLY AGAINST AMERICANS OVERSEAS (NO SHIT SHERLOCK. YA THINK THEY'D BE HANDING OUT CANDY FOR THIS???)

SENIOR PAKISTANI OFFICIALS ARE NOW CONFIRMING HE WAS KILLED IN PAKISTAN.

PENTAGON OFFICIAL CONFIRMS HE WAS KILLED IN A GROUND OPERATION IN PAKISTAN BY US. HOO BOY.

OBAMA NOW 65 MINUTES LATE ON STATEMENT. MUST STILL BE AT THE 19TH HOLE.

OBAMA:

US CONDUCTED THE OPERATION

SAYS HE DIRECTED PANETTA TO MAKE KILLING OR CAPTURING BIN LADEN TOP PRIORITY WHEN HE TOOK OFFICE

SAID THEY GOT A LEAD IN AUGUST

HAD ENOUGH INTEL TO FINALLY AUTHORIZE OP LAST WEEK

TOOK HIM OUT TODAY! U.S. FORCES KILLED HIM IN A FIREFIGHT. IN ABBOTTABAD NORTHWEST FRONTIER. (DESCRIBED AS A MILITARY TOWN. SO IF HE'S BEEN THERE HOW WAS THE ISI NOT AWARE OF IT AND WHY WEREN'T THEY TELLING US LIKE THEY HAVE LONG PROMISED?!?!?)

SAYS U.S IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE AT WAR WITH ISLAM (GRRRR)

HOLY SHIT! HE SAID ONE NATION UNDER GOD!

BRING IT! AND YOUR LIVES WILL BE NASTY, BRUTISH AND SHORT.


AOW here: some 2500 people are cheering outside the White House.

(and the crowd goes fucking WILD!)



(AOW: photo is apparently a phony. see this:http://thenewsbomb.com/2011/04/15/years-of-deceit-united-states-openly-admits-bin-laden-long-dead/

the story's bs but the photo existed then)

and the crowd goes WILD!


A lot of people are shooting off fireworks here in the D.C. area. ~AOW

Osama Bin Laden On The Move?

From the Asia Times (hat tip to Weasel Zippers):

ISLAMABAD - After a prolonged lull, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has launched a series of covert operations in the rugged Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan following strong tip-offs that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been criss-crossing the area in the past few weeks for high-profile meetings in militant redoubts.

[...]

Officials are said to be "stunned" by the visibility of Bin Laden's movements, and their frequency, in a matter of a few weeks in the outlawed terrain of Pakistan and Afghanistan, the most unprecedented reports about him since he evaded the US in the Tora Bora mountains in Afghanistan in 2001.

The development has fueled speculation in intelligence circles that al-Qaeda could be planning another major attack along the lines of the September 11, 2001, assault on New York and Washington, and the July 2007 foiled bomb attack in London.

However, extensive investigations by Asia Times Online, including exchanges within al-Qaeda's camps, point in another direction: given the nature of Bin Laden's meetings, this appears to be the beginning of a new era for a broader struggle in which al-Qaeda, through its Laskhar al-Zil (Shadow Army), will try to capitalize on the Arab revolts and the Palestinian struggle and also revitalize and redefine its role in Afghanistan....

More at the above link.

Bin Laden: AQ leader calls for creation of new relief body to help... Muslims

My Way:

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called for the creation of a new relief body to help Muslims in an audiotape released Friday, seeking to exploit discontent following this summer's devastating floods in Pakistan by depicting the region's governments as uncaring.
It was the third message in recent weeks from al-Qaida figures concerning the massive floods that affected around 20 million people in Pakistan, signaling a concentrated campaign by the terror group to tap into anger over the flooding to rally support.
But while the earlier messages by subordinates were angry, urging followers to rise up, bin Laden took a softer, even humanitarian tone - apparently trying to broaden al-Qaida's appeal by presenting his group as a problem-solving protector of the poor.
"What governments spend on relief work is secondary to what they spend on armies," bin Laden says on the 11-minute tape titled "Reflections on the Method of Relief Work."
"If governments spent (on relief) only one percent of what is spent on armies, they would change the face of the world for poor people," he said.

Interesting. Will AQ leader give the money he spents on terrorism to "the poor of the world"? I guess not. If he wouldn't have "listened to Allah's calling", he will be living amid luxury as all the others Saudi multi-millionaires. He's just exploiting (again) Western leaders' culpability complex.

Photo: 20minutes.fr.

Cross-posted from T&P.

"The Mujahideens can't be terrorists because Islam is the religion of peace"

A man accused of posting videos on the internet and of writing more than 1,500 comments on the web allegedly glorifying Al-Qaeda, named Gonzalo López Royo, defended last Monday in a court hearing, that a "mujahideen can never be a terrorist", because "Islam is the religion of peace". He compared mujaheedins with "Bosnians who defended their home, their wife and their sons".

State Prosecutor Teresa Sandoval has asked for an 18-months prison term for López Royo and for Fath Allah Sadaq, also at court hearing this Monday, for "glorifying, justifying and giving publicity to Islamist terrorist organizations, persons and deeds" since 2006 in an English-speaking website. Despite it being of restricted access, it had, at least, 1,300 users per year", according to an expert from the Civil Guard. The defense attorney is asking for a full acquittal of both defendants.

Both websurfers, of Spanish and Moroccan nationality respectively, acknowledged they publicized comments and posted videos about Al-Qaeda, Bin Laden and Islamic Jihad, although, according to Mr. López Royo's statement, his intention "was not to support damaging anyone, but to comment news in a positive and constructive way, not glorifying anyone who is a bad guy".

On the other hand, Mr. Allah Sadaq assured that he wanted to fight against "US censorship in the Iraqi war", because Al-Qaeda was an interested part in the conflict and "also the only source of information". He added he didn't know he was committing a crime and that, when he knew it, he erased the images, three months before being arrested.

According to the State Prosecutor's provisional conclusions, Mr. López Royo wrote about 1,500 comments claiming for the constitution of a Caiphate in Spain. He also acknowledged being the author of several drawings which were included in a video that Mr. Allah Sadaq made in June 2008 honoring Abu Mussab Al-Zarqawi, Al-Qaeda leader killed in Iraq.

Read more in the link above.

The psychiatric report on López Royo says that he "wanted to move away from mediocrity". Aren't there other ways to grow personally and professionally than glorifying Al-Qaeda and asking for a Caliphate?

Mirandizing Mutallab "Deprived Our Intelligence Agencies of Valuable Information"

Abdulmutallab's lawyer may prove to be very expensive indeed as security agencies here and in Europe scramble to gather intelligence on probable pending attacks by al Qaeda. More background from the In From the Cold site via The Jawa Report. (Don't miss the inspirational comments from "Guest" on the Jawa site with regard to re-naming of changes in European security alert levels.)

Monday, January 25, 2010
Waiting for the Next Shoe to Drop

It doesn't take an intelligence analyst to understand that the terror threat to the U.S. (and its allies) has increased significantly over the past six weeks. True, there has been only a slight increase in the official "threat" levels in both the United States and the U.K. But a look at events since late December affirms that terrorists are launching new attacks against the west--and security officials are scrambling to defeat them.

The latest campaign began on Christmas Day, with the attempted bombing of that Northwest Airlines flight between Amsterdam and Detroit. During a brief interrogation, the Nigerian suspect, 23-year-old Farouk Abdulmutallab, freely admitted his terror connections and suggested that other operatives had trained with him in Yemen, in a camp run by the local Al Qaida affiliate.

U.S. officials (and their counterparts in the United Kingdom) claim there is no hard evidence of pending attacks. But their actions also suggest that neither government is willing to gamble on the absence of definitive information. Not long after Abdulmutallab's failed bombing, the U.S. reportedly shifted 3,000 air marshals from domestic service, to international flights bound for this country. The move has put such a strain on the air marshal service that personnel from other law enforcement agencies--including the Secret Service and the Border Patrol--are being used to provide security on domestic flights.

The Obama Administration is also trying to plug holes in our intel collection and analysis efforts--gaps that allowed Abdulmutallab to board that flight, despite warnings from his father; terrorist chatter about a Nigerian's involvement in a possible airliner plot, and the suspect's presence on a "no entry" list in Great Britian. There were also missed clues at the Amsterdam Airport, including Abdulmutallab's purchase of a one-way ticket--with cash--and his lack of luggage.

Since then, there have been other, disturbing indications of other attacks in the offing. Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (which sent the young Nigerian on his mission) has promised more strikes, in retaliation for U.S. drone attacks on terror leaders.

After the failed bombing attempt, FBI agents began tracing a Ghana-to-Yemen pipeline that took Abdulmutallab to the Al Qaida training camp. They also initiated efforts to find other terrorists who may have trained with the Nigerian. Earlier this month, British intelligence sources told CBS News that at least 20 other terror operatives might have finished their training at the same time, and departed for locations--and assignments--unknown. Other estimates put the number of terrorists trained with Abdulmutallab at more than two dozen.

Reacting to these events, the British government raised its terror threat to the second highest level (severe) last Friday, saying that an attack was "highly likely," despite the lack of firm evidence. But the threat picture became more clear over the weekend, with the U.K. Mirror reporting that an "unusually high" number of people on no-fly lists had tried to board U.S.-bound jets over the past week. Given that revelation, Britain's elevated security policy seemed entirely justified.

We should also note that the U.K.'s heightened posture was implemented after a conversation between President Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, suggesting that the increased security measures may have been influenced by U.S. concerns.

And, if that weren't enough, Osama bin Laden himself weighed in over the weekend, releasing an audio tape that praised for Farouk Abdulmutallab's failed attack, and promising that more will follow, as long as the U.S. continues to support Israel. While it's highly unlikely that the Al Qaida leader had advance knowledge of the bombing attempt, his message was considered noteworthy for an important reason. In the tape, bin Laden repeats some of the same language heard in tapes that preceded the 2005 terror attacks in Britain, and the 2008 strike on the Danish Embassy in Pakistan. Use of identical phrases in the latest tape suggests it could be a prelude to a new attack, although bin Laden's warnings are sometimes issued up to a year in advance.

Is the U.S. prepared for a new Al Qaida attack--or perhaps, a wave of terrorist strikes? The Obama Administration has issued the usual statements of reassurance, but recent events have exposed holes in our defenses. The decision to "Mirandize" Abdulmutallab after limited interrogation deprived our intelligence agencies of valuable information. Unless the suspect decides to resume his cooperation (don't hold your breath), our spooks and security personnel will be at a disadvantage in trying to determine the limits of Al Qaida's new campaign, and the status of specific attack plans within that framework.

The coming months are shaping up as some of the most decisive--and dangerous--since 9-11.

Pic of the Day....

Not-so-subtle message.....

Go to Weasel Zippers for the whole story.

I think you will also want to read the following:

President Obama's Secret: Only 100 al-Qaeda Now in Afghanistan, With New Surge We're Sending 1,000 Soldiers and $300 Million for Every One al-Qaeda Fighter.....

Osama Bin Laden's son, Omar, says dad is evil in new memoir

His son has more sense than many of the Leftists in our country.

From the New York Daily News:

Nasser/AP

Omar Osama bin Laden says father gassed his dogs in chemical warfare experiments.

OSAMA BIN LADEN'S son Omar first realized the depth of his father's evil when his beloved dogs were taken away and gassed in a chemical warfare experiment, he says in a new memoir.

Omar also confirms whatU.S.officials have long believed - that his father was tipped off to a 1998 U.S. attempt to kill him.

He writes that Bin Laden got a secret communication and fled his Afghan camp two hours before cruise missiles struck it.

He does not identify the source of the tip, which the U.S. suspects was Pakistani intelligence.

Omar's book, "Growing Up Bin Laden," written with his mother, Najwa - theAl Qaedaleader's first wife - describes the ultimate dysfunctional family.

The Bin Ladens lived austerely as their father staked his horrific claim as the world's most wanted man. His son eventually concluded Bin Laden hated his enemies more than he loved his family.

Omar, 28, describes weeping as a teenager when told that Al Qaeda needed his pets to conduct chemical warfare tests.

"After I learned the truth about the puppies, I turned even further away from my father," whose jihad led only to death, Omar writes in the book set for release bySt. Martin's Presslater this year.

It has been widely reported that Bin Laden's goons tested nerve agents at theDeruntacamp inAfghanistan. In 2002,CNNobtained and showed video of dogs - fully grown - being gassed by visible toxic fumes.

Bin Laden's fourth son admits he knew in advance of plots against targets like the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies inEast Africa, where 224 perished.

He called the 9/11 attacks "horrific." They occurred after he was told by his best friend - Al Qaeda operativeAbu al-Haadi- that a "new mission" would be much bigger than the embassy bombings. Omar mourned al-Haadi's death in the resulting U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.

Osama Slams Obama Update and Bumped

Washington Post:

Obama arrives in Riyadh, gets blast from bin Laden
By Ross Colvin and Ulf Laessing
Reuters Wednesday, June 3, 2009; 8:45 AM

RIYADH (Reuters) - President Barack Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah on Wednesday on the eve of a much-anticipated speech in Cairo the U.S. leader hopes will help repair America's damaged image in the Islamic world.

After an airport welcome in Riyadh, Obama traveled to King Abdullah's farm where the two men were to hold talks expected to cover the Arab-Israeli conflict, U.S. overtures to Iran and oil.

Shortly after Obama arrived Al Jazeera television aired a recording by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in which he said the U.S. president had planted seeds for "revenge and hatred" toward the United States in the Muslim world.

Bin Laden said Obama was continuing in the steps of his predecessor George W. Bush and told Americans to be prepared for the consequences of the White House's policies.

Obama, whose father was a Muslim and who lived in Indonesia as a boy, is trying to repair a U.S. image badly damaged by Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the treatment of U.S. military detainees.

He was due to spend the night at the Saudi king's farm before heading on to Cairo for his speech to the Muslim world, which will fulfill a campaign promise last year to deliver an address from a Muslim capital early in his administration.

"I am confident that we're in a moment where in Islamic countries, I think there's a recognition that the path of extremism is not actually going to deliver a better life for people," Obama told NBC News before he left Washington

"I think there's a recognition that simply being anti-American is not going to solve their problems. The steps we're taking now to leave Iraq takes that issue and diffuses it a little bit," he said.

Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said earlier the speech was "about resetting our relations with the Muslim world."

Obama cautioned against expecting too much from the speech, which he said was just the first step in opening a broader dialogue with the Muslim world.

"After all, one speech is not going to transform very real policy differences and some very difficult issues surrounding the Middle East and the relationship between Islam and the west," Obama said.

Washington hopes Saudi Arabia will play a moderating role in OPEC against price hawks such as Iran after oil prices hit a seventh-month high, threatening prospects of global economic recovery.

Saudi Arabia and the United States have a near 60-year-old relationship based on guaranteeing oil supplies in return for U.S. protection for the Saudi monarchy.

Obama has said he would discuss oil prices with King Abdullah and would argue that price spikes are not in Saudi interests.

Update: more from MSNBC:

CAIRO - Osama bin Laden has threatened Americans in a new audio tape, saying President Barack Obama inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants in Swat Valley and block Islamic law in the area.

Bin Laden claimed U.S. pressure led to a campaign of "killing, fighting, bombing and destruction" that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan. . .

'Revenge'
Bin Laden said Obama had ordered Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to stop people in the Swat Valley from practicing Islamic law.

"This means simply that Obama and his administration planted new seeds for hatred and revenge against America," bin Laden said. "With that Obama has followed the same footsteps as the last president to create more hatred against Muslims.

"Let Americans prepare to reap what the leaders of the White house sow."

The battle for Swat is seen by Washington as a test of Pakistan's resolve against militants in the northwestern border region with Afghanistan.

The United States strongly backs the campaign, and it has enjoyed broad support among Pakistanis tired of militant attacks in the country that have killed hundreds of civilians.

Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Wednesday that it was "ludicrous" to suggest that anyone but al-Qaida and the Taliban are responsible for the refugee crisis in Pakistan.

Pakistan's Taliban Invite Bin Laden to Visit New Domain

Now, c'mon. Ya knew it was only a matter of time. (but they sure didn't waste any time, did they?)

Newsmax:

Pakistan's Taliban Invite Bin Laden to Visit New Domain
Monday, April 20, 2009 4:24 PM

MINGORA, Pakistan - Pakistan was trying to end bloodshed when it let the idyllic Swat Valley fall under Islamic law last week. Instead, it has emboldened the Taliban to extend a hand to militants, including Osama bin Laden.

The local spokesman for the Taliban, which control the valley, told The Associated Press he'd welcome militants bent on battling U.S. troops and their Arab allies if they want to settle there.
"Osama can come here. Sure, like a brother they can stay anywhere they want," Muslim Khan said in a two-hour interview Friday, his first with a foreign journalist since Islamic law was imposed. "Yes, we will help them and protect them."

Khan spoke in halting English he learned during four years painting houses in the U.S. before returning to Swat in 2002. He averted his eyes as he spoke to a female journalist, in line with his strict understanding of Islam.

Pakistan reacted with alarm to his comments, saying it would never let him shelter the likes of bin Laden.

"We would have to go for the military operation. We would have to apply force again," said Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira. "We simply condemn this. We are fighting this war against al-Qaida and the Taliban."

But it is far from clear that the government has the means to do much of anything in the Swat Valley. It agreed to Islamic law in the region—drawing international condemnation—after trying and failing to defeat the Taliban in fighting marked by brutal beheadings that killed more than 850 people over two years.

"We lost the war. We negotiated from a position of weakness," said Afrasiab Khattak, a leader of the Awami National Party, which governs the province that includes Swat. He said the region's police force is too underpaid, undertrained and underequipped to take on the militants.

At the behest of the National Assembly, President Asif Ali Zardari last week signed off on a regulation establishing Islamic law throughout the Malakand Division, a strategic territory bordering Afghanistan, and Pakistan's tribal belt where bin Laden has long been rumored to be hiding. The Swat Valley, where tourists once flocked to enjoy Alpine-like scenery, is part of the area.

Whether Swat someday proves an alluring haven for bin Laden could depend on how threatened he feels in his current location, and how successful the Taliban militants are in keeping state forces at bay there.

U.S. officials said they would work with Pakistan to make sure militants aren't safe anywhere.

"With regard to Mullah Omar and Osama bin Laden, this is not a place where they should be welcome. We believe ... that violent extremists need to be confronted," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Monday.

In an interview with Pakistan's Geo TV, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani was asked about U.S. envoy Richard Holbrooke's concerns over the Swat deal.

"He doesn't need to worry about that," Gilani said. "This is our country. We know the ground realities better than he does. We will continue supporting this deal if peace comes there. I'm seeing peace is coming there."

On Friday, Taliban fighters in pickup trucks with black flags rumbled through the rutted streets of the valley's main city of Mingora, demanding over loudspeakers that shops shutter their windows and prepare for prayers.

In the city center, a district police station lay in ruins, destroyed by a suicide bomber. The only music blaring praised the Taliban and extolled the young to fight holy war.

Aftab Alam, president of the district court lawyers, took a journalist through an open courtyard and closed the door to his office before whispering in a soft, angry voice about the Taliban.
"They are more than beasts. Our government is impotent, stupid and corrupt. We are helpless (facing) this militancy," he said, calling the Taliban "barbaric" and "illiterate."

Alam said he feared for his life, "but I dare to speak because I am worried about my nation, my religion, my home."

The Swat deal comes as Pakistan's hodgepodge of militant groups appear to be growing increasingly integrated and coordinated.

The Taliban spokesman counted among his allies several groups on U.N. and U.S. terrorist lists: Lashkar-e-Taiba, blamed for last year's bloody siege in Mumbai, India; Jaish-e-Mohammed, which trains fighters in Pakistan's populous Punjab province; the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan; al-Qaida, and the Taliban of Afghanistan.

"If we need, we can call them and if they need, they can call us," Khan said.

He said his forces would go to help the Taliban in Afghanistan if the United States and NATO continue to fight there.

"You must tell (the Americans) if they want peace ... to withdraw their forces, keep them on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean," he said.

Khattak, the provincial politician, described the implementation of Islamic law as replacing traditional judges with qazis, special judges trained in Islamic law. Already, a handful of qazis have begun hearing minor cases. The deal's broker, fundamentalist cleric Sufi Mohammed, has said no regular courts will be allowed in the region.

But Khan said the Taliban envisions an even a broader system: a whole new set of laws following a strict interpretation of Islam, akin to the system Afghanistan's Taliban imposed during their 1996-2001 rule. There, the government banned music and television, restricted girls' education and women's movement and cut off limbs and stoned women to death in public ceremonies.

"We don't need just qazis. We have to change the laws," Khan said.

He said his group wants to expand Islamic law, also known as Shariah, into all of nuclear-armed Pakistan.

"You will see the National Assembly will follow after one year, two years, six months," he said. "I don't know, but they will have to pass Shariah for all of Pakistan."

Already, Taliban fighters have moved unhindered into nearby Buner district—also part of Malakand Division—declaring themselves to be the enforcers of Islamic law and threatening tribesmen.

"It used to be that you crossed the Malakand Pass to Swat and you thought, 'I am in heaven,'" said Alam, the lawyer. "Now you think, 'I am in Hell.'"

© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Osama Bin Laden Says Cartoons Are A New Crusade

My latest YouTube offering is a Sky News broadcast regarding Geert Wilders film, Fitna, and the threats to Europe by Osama Bin Laden following the re-publication of the Danish cartoons.

He says that the cartoons are a New Crusade against Islam but fails to mention that 9/11 was the New Crusade against the West. It would seem that cartoons and films mean more than the murder of thousands of innocent people on 9/11 and ever since then. On the other hand maybe he didn't say anything, especially as he might be dead already.

Porn star's offer to Bin Laden

Via ANANOVA

Italy's most famous porn star Cicciolina has offered herself to Osama Bin Laden.
The 55-year-old actress said it was about time somebody tackled the terrorist and claimed she could be just the woman for the job.
Speaking at an erotic fair in Bucharest, Romania, Cicciolina said: "It is time someone did something about Bin Laden, and I am ready to do it.
"I am ready to make a deal, he can have me in exchange for an end to his tyranny. My breasts have only ever helped people while Bin Laden has killed thousands of innocent victims."
The blonde porn star, whose real name is Anna Ilona Staller, pointed out that Bin Laden could learn from Saddam Hussein's mistakes.
In the 1990s she offered herself to Saddam Hussein if he gave up dictatorship of Iraq, and added that if he had taken up her offer "who knows what might have happened."

Hee, hee. Go get her tiger.