Zawahiri Threatens Britain
The Egyptian physician is getting frisky again, with another video threatening Britain over the knighthood of Salman Rushdie.
In his second statement this week, al Qaeda top deputy Ayman al-Zawahri is threatening more attacks in the United Kingdom. Al Zawahri acknowledges Tony Blair has left office, and he addresses the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
“As for Blair’s successor, I tell him the policy of your predecessor has brought you catastrophes and defeat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and even in the center of London,” says al Zawahri in reference to the July 7, 2005, London suicide bombings. “If you did not learn the lesson, we’re willing to repeat it for you, God willing, until we are assured that you’ve fully understood it,” he says in the 20-minute audio statement found on the Internet today.
Al Zawahri criticizes Britain for awarding author of “Satanic Verses” Salman Rushdie the title of knighthood and considers it a “clear message” to Muslims. “I tell Elizabeth and Blair, your message has arrived, and we are preparing a precise response,” he says.
Al Zawahri has released eight statements since the beginning of the year. In this latest audio message, he indicates he uses the Internet.
He says, “While browsing through material published on the information network, I found an article by Abdul Aziz al Rantissi entitled ‘Why Don’t We Besiege America?’”