New bin Laden tape criticizes Musharraf
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden took direct aim at faltering Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in a recording released Thursday that could portend greater instability for the nation at a time when it is already experiencing deep political turmoil.
Bin Laden, who is believed to be hiding in Pakistan’s remote tribal regions, was unusually single-minded in the new 23-minute recording. He focused his wrath almost exclusively on the U.S.-allied general, and called on Pakistanis to rise up in revolt.
“I tell Pervez and his army: Your betrayal of your nation and people has been exposed,” bin Laden said, adding later that it was the duty of Pakistan’s Muslims to “carry out jihad and fighting to remove Pervez, his government, his army and those who help him.”
The message from bin Laden was his third this month, and it followed by a day the release of a recording from al-Qaida deputy Ayman al-Zawahri that also threatened Musharraf. U.S. intelligence officials continued to study the new tapes but said they appeared to be authentic.
The tapes seemed to underline Pakistan’s evolving status as a prime target for al-Qaida, in addition to being the organization’s operational base. The country’s military, led by Musharraf, has long had links to radical Islamic organizations but is now seen as the enemy by those groups because of the president’s U.S. ties.
With moderate Pakistanis pushing him for a return to democracy, Musharraf has become increasingly isolated, and is now struggling for political survival. Meanwhile, his military is reeling from punishing losses inflicted by insurgents in attacks across the northwest of this predominantly Muslim country.
More than 200 troops who were taken hostage by the Taliban late last month are still being held. More are kidnapped almost daily, with mutilated, uniformed bodies later dumped along roadsides.
Last week, a suicide bomber penetrated one of the most heavily fortified military installations in the country, killing 15 elite commandos. The week before that, a bomber left 18 dead when he detonated himself on a bus carrying workers from the nation’s powerful spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence.