Al Qaeda offers 'condolences' for innocent victims

[The Straight Story]

Al Qaeda offers 'condolences' for innocent victims

On the heels of a U.S. announcement of a massive troop surge for Afghanistan, an al Qaeda spokesman Saturday appeared to be trying to improve the group's image in the region with a new audio message in English.

Adam Gadahn, also known as Azzam the American, appeared in a 17-minute video released on Islamist online forums late Friday, offering condolences to the families of innocent people killed in al Qaeda attacks.

Gadahn said al Qaeda "have condemned and continue to condemn" all attacks by Western powers or "secular political forces."

"We express our condolences to the families of the Muslim men, women and children killed in these criminal acts and we ask Allah to have mercy on those killed and accept them as shohadaa (martyrs)," he says in the video.

"We also express the same in regard to the unintended Muslim victims of the mujahedeen's operations against the crusaders and their allies and puppets, and to the countless faceless and nameless Muslim victims of the murderous crusades" in Afghanistan, Pakistan's Waziristan regions and Swat Valley, and elsewhere, he said.

It is a rare example of al Qaeda offering condolences to the families of those killed in the group's own attacks.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/12/12/afghanistan.alqaeda/index.html

[AlphaCentauri]

1. Who knows if it is really it

[treestar]

2. Only the Muslim victims, it appears

[msongs]

7. isn't religion wunnerful? nt

[stray cat]

8. Only the devout Muslims that support their jihad - many Muslims are not "real Muslims"

by their standards and they are worse than the non-believing infidals!

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

3. Send a suicide bomber into a crowded market and then turn around and insist the deaths were

unintentional. Interesting.

[The Straight Story]

4. They are freedom fighters - hoping to remove the freedom of people who did them no harm

For some reason, killing people who are not attacking them makes sense...

[stray cat]

6. The deaths are intentional except for devout Mulims who support Al Queda

they are the only "innocent victims" the rest of us deserve to die - even other Muslims

[MercutioATC]

9. Whether suicide bomber or Tomahawk missile, civilian deaths are civilian deaths.

I'm certainly not supporting Al Qaeda's actions but we're killing our share of innocents, too.

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

14. While that's undoubtedly true, don't you generally feel there's a distinction

between an actor that kills civilians unintentionally and one that specifically targets them?

[MercutioATC]

17. Not when "unintentionally" means "without due care".

Well, there's a small difference, but the result is the same.

Tomahawks killing innocent civilians is the norm, not an aberration.

[stray cat]

5. Of course the only innocent victims are devout Muslims who think like them and support their jihad

So on 9-11 Muslims who died is ok just not any devout Muslims that they approved of - for that they offer their condolences

[CAG]

10. Hey al Qaeda, STFU

[alcibiades_mystery]

11. They're getting squeezed

Mao says fish in water. Turn the water against the fish.

[Turbineguy]

12. Well, if they are going to send sympathy cards they can kill

anybody they want.

:sarcasm:

[emulatorloo]

13. LOL n/t

[bigtree]

15. reminds me of what our military and government says

. . . when they finally admit (after several denials) that they 'accidentally' killed civilians in their bombing raids.

[Odin2005]

16. Go to Hell, Gadahn!