He's ticked off about the Danish cartoons.
CAIRO, Egypt -- Osama bin Laden, in a new audio message posted Wednesday, condemned the publication of drawings that he said insulted the Prophet Muhammad and warned Europeans of a "severe" reaction to come.Blah, blah, blah.
The message, which appeared on a militant Web site that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group's media wing al-Sahab, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming with an assault rifle.
"The response will be what you see and not what you hear and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God," said a voice believed to be bin Laden's, without specifying what action would be taken.
The five-minute message, bin Laden's first this year, made no mention of the fifth anniversary Wednesday of the U.S.-led invasion in Iraq.
It came as the Muslim world marks the Prophet Muhammad's birthday Thursday and amid the reigniting of a two-year-old controversy over some Danish cartoons deemed by Muslims to be insulting. Islamic law generally opposes any depiction of the prophet, even favorable, for fear it could lead to idolatry.
Bin Laden described the drawings as taking place in the framework of a "new Crusade" against Islam, in which he said the pope has played a "large and lengthy role."
On Feb. 13, Danish newspapers republished a cartoon showing Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban to show their commitment to freedom of speech after police said they had uncovered a plot to kill the artist.
Danish intelligence service said the reprinting of the cartoon had brought "negative attention" to Denmark and may have increased the risk to Danes at home and abroad.
The original 12 cartoons first published in a Danish newspaper triggered major protests in Muslim countries in 2006. There have been renewed protests in the last month.
Ben Venzke, the head of IntelCenter, a U.S. group that monitors militant messages, called Wednesday's message a "clear threat against EU member countries and an indicator of a possible upcoming significant attack."
...Adam Raisman, senior analyst at the SITE Institute, said that the message's release coincides with an increased buzz in online jihadi forums calling for revenge against Europe over the cartoons.
But Raisman noted that bin Laden's message did not specifically mention the republishing of the cartoons, only the publishing, and it did not give any other time landmarks to prove it had been recorded since then.
Raisman also noted bin Laden's silence on Wednesday's fifth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"The tape doesn't give any specific evidence that would allow us to determine when it was recorded," Raisman said.
..."You went overboard in your unbelief and freed yourselves of the etiquettes of dispute and fighting and went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings," he said, according to a transcript released by the SITE Institute, another U.S. group that monitors terror messages. "This is the greater and more serious tragedy, and reckoning for it will be more severe."
The flames of the controversy over the cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed have been kept burning for over two years. Initially, angry reaction to the cartoons included worldwide protests, rioting, and violence. Muslim extremists have continued to work to assassinate one of the cartoonists, Kurt Westergaard.
Now, the big man himself, bin Laden, reminds his followers that they must make Europe pay for the affront. Bin Laden vows that Europe will feel their wrath.
The al Qaeda leader also implicates Pope Benedict as being involved in a "new Crusade" against Islam.
Because bin Laden didn't specifically refer to the republishing of the cartoons and because he doesn't say anything that provides evidence as to when the message was recorded, it doesn't have a lot of punch.
It seems somewhat disconnected, like it was pulled out of al Qaeda's library of bin Laden taped messages.
The recording would have greater impact if it didn't seem like a two-year-old tape. Bin Laden really should have endorsed a candidate in the race for president of the United States or said something, anything to indicate that he's not functioning on a two year delay.
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