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Hot on the heels of Osama bin Laden's latest
release, an audio tape that boosted
George W. Bush's poll numbers despite it being described as a
probable
fake by bin Laden expert Professor Bruce Lawrence, Ayman al-Zawahri
has popped up on the eve of the State of the Union to hand Bush all the ammunition
he needs to threaten American citizens for a sixth consecutive time.
Associated
Press reports,
CAIRO, Egypt - Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri said in a videotape aired
Monday that President Bush was a "butcher" and a "failure"
because of a deadly U.S. airstrike in Pakistan targeting the bin Laden deputy,
and he threatened a new attack on the United States.
A U.S. counterterrorism official, speaking on condition of anonymity in compliance
with office policy, said there was no reason to doubt the authenticity of
the tape, which U.S. intelligence officials were analyzing. The official said
the message broadcast by Al-Jazeera showed al-Qaida believed it was important
to convey that al-Zawahri is alive.
Bush's handlers don't have time to wait to see whether the story floats as
they did with the bin Laden tape before making a decision to refer to it in
the speech. However, analysis that suggests the tape is a forgery as was the
case with the previous offering won't surface until after Tuesday night's address.
Previous tapes which featured Ayman al-Zawahri were found to be cobbled
together from old footage but that doesn't bother a lapdog media well versed
in manufacturing consent and never offering retractions when said tapes turn
out to be questionable frauds.
Nor does it seem to concern them that Al-Zawahri was reportedly
arrested by the Iranians in February 2002.
Al-Zawahri and bin Laden seem to be amazingly adept at releasing statements at
the most politically expedient times that benefit the Bush administration.
On the eve of the Iraq war before Colin Powell's infamous presentation to the
UN, an audio tape in which bin Laden claimed he was allied with Saddam Hussein
surfaced, a gift-wrapped
present for the Neo-Cons who had consistently been proven wrong in their
assertion that there was a connection between Iraq and 9/11.
Four days before the 2004 presidential election, bin Laden appeared with Bush's
'October surprise' - claiming he ordered 9/11 and appearing to goad Americans
with threats of more attacks. The tape enabled Bush to recover
vital approval ratings that he had lost to John Kerry in the weeks before
and win re-election.
Even veteran newsman Walter Kronkite went public to suggest the
tape was a set-up masterminded by Karl Rove.
A Cornell
University study confirmed that whenever a terror alert or a terror threat
is issued, Bush's approval ratings show a significant jump.
Previous bin Laden tapes were proven
to be fraudulent by voice analysis labs in Europe.
