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Or else

Last week, Al Qaeda sent a letter to Al Jazeera making more threats. The news got less attention because it happened at the same time that the alleged Osama Bin Laden tape surfaced. Or, at least, I paid it less attention for that reason. But perhaps it would have been useful to focus on Al Qaeda's specific demands:

[A statement attributed to Al Qaeda threatened more attacks in New York and Washington unless the United States stops supporting Israel and converts to Islam, according to a reporter for Al Jazeera television news who said he received the unsigned letter.

[The reporter, Yosri Fouda, told The Associated Press that he received the six-page letter on Wednesday, a day after Al Jazeera broadcast an audiotape purportedly made by Osama bin Laden. He said the statement called on Americans to stop supporting Israel and other governments that "oppress" Muslims or face more attacks. It also called on all Americans to convert to Islam, he said.

[The statement also demanded that American troops leave the Arabian Peninsula, and justified the killings of American civilians because they pay taxes that finance the military, Mr. Fouda said.]

Everyone in the Blame America First crowd is quick to point out the specific grievances that Al Qaeda claims -- support for Israel, support for other Middle East governments, troops in Saudi Arabia. But they conveniently ignore what some of us have been saying for a long time: Islamofascists doesn't want "peaceful coexistence" with the west. They don't believe Islam is a religion of peace. They want conversion by the sword. Or suicide bomb.
posted by David Nieporent at 11/20/2002 05:28:00 PM |