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December 21, 2006 Al Qaeda Warns U.S. on Fighting in Muslim Lands By
MONA EL-NAGGAR

CAIRO, Dec. 20 — Ayman al-Zawahri, Al Qaeda’s second in command,
has threatened the United States with more attacks if it does not end its
military activity in Muslim countries. He spoke on a videotape broadcast
Wednesday on Al Jazeera’s news channel.

“If we are attacked in our countries, then we will not stop attacking
you in your countries,” he said.

On the tape, he also appears to reproach Hamas, the militant Islamic group
that won Palestinian elections in January and now heads the government,
for taking part in the formal political process and undermining “holy
war” or resistance efforts.

In his remarks aimed at the United States, Mr. Zawahri warned of “more
failures” if the United States failed to negotiate with the “real
force in the Islamic world.”

“You are trying, in a panic, to find an exit from the disasters
surrounding you in Iraq and Afghanistan,” he says on the tape, appearing
impassive. “It looks like you will go through a painful journey of
failed negotiations until you come back, forced to negotiate with the
real force.”

Mr. Zawahri has made about 15 taped appearances this year in which he
has repeatedly threatened the United States and other Western countries
with more attacks.

“Part of the reason for his appearance in the media is just to
assert the presence of Al Qaeda on the scene,” said Diaa Rashwan, an
Egyptian expert in Islamic movements at the Ahram Center for Political
and Strategic Studies in Cairo. “The other part is to counter the
noticeable rise of political Islam in the region.”

Mr. Rashwan was referring to groups like Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood
in Egypt and others that want to establish a state based on Islamic law
but are seeking power through politics.

“How did they not demand an Islamic constitution for Palestine before
entering these elections?” Mr. Zawahri said in a clear reference to
Hamas. “Are they not an Islamic movement?” Al Qaeda deems any dealing
that is “based on secular constitutions” un-Islamic.

Osama Hamdan, a representative of Hamas in Lebanon, said in response,
“We do not see the contradiction in being an Islamic movement and
taking part in democratic elections that are in accordance with general
Islamic principles.”