- THE FOLLOWING IS A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH DR. AYMAN
AL-ZAWAHIRI, USAMA BIN LADIN'S RIGHT-HAND MAN AND LEADER OF EGYPT'S JIHAD
ORGANIZATION, BY FARRAJ ISMA'IL FROM CHAMAN ON THE AFGHAN BORDER; DATE
NOT GIVEN.
-
-
- THERE ARE CONFLICTING REPORTS ABOUT THE FATE OF DR. AYMAN
AL-ZAWAHIRI, USAMA BIN LADIN'S RIGHT-HAND MAN AND LEADER OF THE EGYPTIAN
JIHAD ORGANIZATION. IT IS KNOWN THAT AL-ZAWAHIRI HAS AVOIDED DIRECT MEDIA
APPEARANCES EVER SINCE HIS LAUNCH OF THE JIHAD CASES IN EGYPT AND HIS ASSOCIATION
WITH BIN LADIN, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 11 SEPTEMBER EVENTS.
-
- DESPITE THE CONFLICTING REPORTS THAT HE WAS INJURED,
AL-ZAWAHIRI STAYED AWAY FROM THE SPOTLIGHTS WITHOUT ANYONE KNOWING HIS
REAL POSITION, THE ROLE HE IS PLAYING, OR THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS INJURY.
-
- IN THESE ATMOSPHERES, AL-MAJALLAH SUCCEEDED IN CONTACTING
HIM AND REPORTED THIS IN ITS PREVIOUS ISSUE UNDER THE HEADLINE "BIN
LADIN'S CLOSEST COMPANION." THAT COMPANION WAS AL-ZAWAHIRI.
-
- WE SPOKE TO HIM DIRECTLY BUT HE PREFERRED THEN NOT TO
HAVE HIS NAME MENTIONED IN THE INTERVIEW. FOR THIS ISSUE, AL-MAJALLAH WAS
EAGER TO CONTACT HIM AGAIN THROUGH A MEDIATOR WHO IS ONE OF HIS AND BIN
LADIN'S COMPANIONS SO AS TO LEARN ABOUT THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN AL-QA'IDA
AND ITS LEADERSHIP AND WHETHER IT WAS PLANNING FOR WAR OR CAPITULATION.
-
- AL-MAJALLAH INSISTED THIS TIME THAT THE INTERVIEW SHOULD
BE PUBLISHED DIRECTLY UNDER AL-ZAWAHIRI'S NAME. THE AGREEMENT FOLLOWED
NATURALLY DUE TO AL-ZAWAHIRI'S DESIRE TO ASSERT HIS PRESENCE ON THE STAGE.
-
- THE FOLLOWING IS THE TEXT OF THE INTERVIEW:
-
-
- [ISMA'IL] ARE YOU NOW ENCIRCLED INSIDE THE TORA BORA
MOUNTAINS?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THIS IS JUST ONE OF OUR POSITIONS BUT NOT
OUR HEADQUARTERS. WE ARE AT PRESENT LEADING GUERILLA WARFARE ALL OVER AFGHANISTAN,
INCLUDING THE NORTHERN PROVINCES AND THE MOUNTAINS OVERLOOKING KABUL.
-
- [ISMA'IL] CAN WE OFFER OUR CONDOLENCES TO YOU ON THE
DEATH OF YOUR FAMILY?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THEY ARE WELL.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHERE ARE THE WHEREABOUTS OF YOUR FAMILY AND
THE ARAB FIGHTERS' FAMILIES?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THEY ARE ALIVE. MANY OF THE FAMILIES OF
THE ARAB AND OTHER FIGHTERS ARE STILL IN KABUL, JALALABAD, KANDAHAR, AND
OTHER MAIN AFGHAN CITIES. WE TAKE IT FOR GRANTED THAT THEY ARE CIVILIANS
AND THAT NO ONE WILL HARM WOMEN AND CHILDREN. BUT SOME WOMEN WERE SUBJECTED
TO BARBARIC RAPE IN KABUL AND JALALABAD AND THIS BEHAVIOR IS ALIEN TO THE
NATURE OF THE AFGHAN PEOPLE WHO ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR PURITY AND COMMITMENT
TO THEIR CREED. BUT THE BRIBES AND THE DESIRE FOR MONEY TEMPTED THE WEAK-WILLED
TO SELL THEIR SOULS TO THE DEVIL IN ALL AFGHANISTAN.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] I MIGHT BE IN KABUL, KANDAHAR, JALALABAD,
ZABOL, OR HELMAND, AND PROBABLY ALL OVER AFGHANISTAN. THE REAL WAR HAS
STARTED AND WE ARE WAGING A WAR OF ATTACK AND RETREAT AND WE WILL INFLICT
HEAVY LOSSES ON THE AMERICANS. SUICIDAL OPERATIONS ARE GOING TO BE ONE
OF OUR EFFECTIVE MEANS.
-
- [ISMA'IL] HAVE THESE OPERATIONS STARTED?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE ACHIEVED BRILLIANT MILITARY VICTORIES
IN THE PAST DAYS THROUGH THE SUICIDAL OPERATIONS. ONE OF THEM INVOLVED
ONE OF OUR MEN BLOWING UP A NORTHERN ALLIANCE HELICOPTER OVER THE FARKHAR
[AS TRANSLITERATED] AREA NEAR TALOQAN, THE PROVINCIAL CAPITAL OF TAKHAR.
-
- TWENTY MEMBERS OF THE HIGHLY TRAINED SPECIAL FORCES WERE
KILLED IN THE OPERATION, INCLUDING THREE IMPORTANT ALLIANCE COMMANDERS.
ONE OF THEM WAS MOHAMMAD MUSTAFA WHO WAS THE COMMANDER OF LEADER AHMAD
SHAH MAS'UD'S PERSONAL GUARD AND LATER COMMANDED ONE OF THE FACTIONS THAT
FOUGHT OUR FORCES IN MAZAR-E SHARIF AND CARRIED OUT SEVERAL BLOODY MASSACRES
AGAINST THE POPULATION THERE.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHO CARRIED OUT THIS OPERATION?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] HE WAS A MEMBER OF THE FORCES ENCIRCLED
IN KONDUZ THAT PRETENDED TO SURRENDER AND COLLABORATE WITH THE ENEMY. HE
IS ARBAB MOHAMMAD HASHIM.
-
- A BRITISH MUSLIM WOMAN CALLED UMM-HAFSAH CARRIED OUT
ANOTHER OPERATION DURING WHICH SHE KILLED TWO AMERICANS. SHE WAS WITH HER
HUSBAND AND BROTHER IN THE FORCES THAT WERE ALSO BESIEGED IN KONDUZ.
-
- UMM-HAFSAH STAYED WITH HER BROTHER ABDALLAH AL-WALID
IN KONDUZ AFTER THE BESIEGED FORCES LEFT IT. HER HUSBAND, AN ARAB, WENT
WITH THE FORCES THAT LEFT THE CITY SAFELY. UMM-HAFSAH AND HER BROTHER WERE
JEWS WHO CONVERTED TO ISLAM IN BRITAIN BEFORE THEY IMMIGRATED TO AFGHANISTAN
AND SETTLED IN IT. BUT THEY STILL CARRIED THEIR ORIGINAL PASSPORTS THAT
WERE ISSUED IN THEIR JEWISH NAMES.
-
- UMM-HAFSAH HID EXPLOSIVES UNDER HER CLOTHES AND SHE AND
HER BROTHER SURRENDERED TO THE SHIITE HEZB-E WAHDAT-E [ESLAMI] AND ABDOL
RASHID DOSTUM FACTIONS. WHEN THEY SPOKE IN ENGLISH WITH THESE FORCES' VANGUARDS,
THE LATTER THOUGHT THEY WERE AMERICANS BECAUSE OF THEIR EUROPEAN LOOKS
AND THEY WERE TAKEN IN A VEHICLE TO MAZAR-E SHARIF WHERE US UNITS WERE
DEPLOYED. THEY CLAIMED THERE THAT THEY WERE WORKING FOR OXFAM RELIEF AGENCY
INSIDE KONDUZ PROVINCE WHEN THE TALIBAN FORCES ENTERED AND TOOK UP POSITIONS
IN IT AFTER THEIR WITHDRAWAL FROM MAZAR-E SHARIF. THEY WERE SENT TO THE
US FORCES' COMMAND CENTER IN KABUL TO CHECK THEIR CLAIMS.
-
- THEY LEFT IN A VEHICLE AND WERE HEAVILY GUARDED BY A
UNIT THAT INCLUDED FOUR HEZB-E WAHDAT-E MEN. THEY SAT IN THE BACK SEAT
AND THE TWO AMERICANS SAT IN THE VEHICLE'S CABIN. AT THE RIGHT MOMENT,
SHE KICKED HER BROTHER WITH HER FOOT TO MAKE HIM MOVE AWAY FROM HER AND
THEN BLEW HERSELF UP AS HER BROTHER LEAPT FROM THE VEHICLE THAT WAS DRIVING
AT HIGH SPEED.
-
- [ISMA'IL] DID ABDALLAH RETURN TO YOU?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] ABDALLAH IS WELL AND HE CAME TO US. HE
PERSONALLY CONFIRMED THE DEATH OF ALL THE PASSENGERS AFTER THE OPERATION.
HE ALSO SAW THE TWO AMERICANS DEAD INSIDE THE CABIN AND REMOVED THEIR DOG
TAGS, WHICH ARE NOW IN THE HANDS OF OUR FORCES' COMMAND.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHAT IS WRITTEN ON THESE TAGS?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THEY IDENTIFY THE TWO AMERICANS. I CHALLENGE
THE PENTAGON TO DENY THIS INFORMATION. WE HAVE ALL THEIR DOCUMENTS. THE
TWO AMERICANS ARE MICHAEL SIMON WATKINS FROM LOS ANGELES AND RONALD STEVEN
LEAF [AS TRANSLITERATED] FROM HOUSTON. THEIR FAMILIES MUST SURELY RECOGNIZE
THEIR NAMES.
-
- [ISMA'IL] ARE YOU MAKING THE CAVES YOUR HEADQUARTERS?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE ARE NOT HIDING IN THE CAVES AND NOT
AVOIDING THE CONFRONTATION. SUICIDE IS AN ASPIRATION AND A GAIN THAT WE
SEEK. THESE STATEMENTS FROM AFGHAN LEADERS WHO ARE SEEKING TO GET THE LARGEST
AMOUNT OF US BRIBES ASTONISH US. EVERY ONE OF THEM IS CLAIMING THAT USAMA
BIN LADIN IS IN HIS AREA SO AS TO RECEIVE THE US MONEY.
-
- AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE TORA BORA
VILLAGE. THERE ARE PEOPLE THERE WHO ARE AFTER THE MILLIONS THAT THE UNITED
STATES HAS ALLOCATED FOR THOSE WHO ARREST US. THEY ARE LIKE SOMEONE SEARCHING
FOR A TREASURE AND EACH ONE OF THEM IS ENTERTAINING THE HOPE OF BEING THE
WINNER. WE THEN HAVE THE STATEMENTS FROM THE PERFIDIOUS AFGHAN LEADERS
CLAIMING THAT WE ARE IN THIS AREA AND THAT USAMA BIN LADIN IS LEADING HIS
MEN IN HIS LAST STRONGHOLD. YOU MIGHT KNOW THAT THEY DID NOT FIND ANYONE
WHEN THEY REACHED THESE CAVES WHERE THEY SAID WE WERE ENTRENCHED.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHY DID YOU SURRENDER THE CITIES ALL OF A SUDDEN?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE PLANNED FOR THIS STAGE AND PREPARED
OURSELVES FOR IT BEFORE THE START OF THE US OFFENSIVE. THE REAL WAR HAS
STARTED NOW. THESE CITIES WILL BE CATASTROPHIC FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOW MAKING
THEM BASES FOR ATTACKING US. WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW IN KABUL AND THE NORTHERN
PROVINCES IS PROOF OF THIS. OUR FORCES ARE STILL THERE AND FIGHTING ORGANIZED
GUERILLA WARFARE. FOR EXAMPLE, THE HAMZAH AL-ZUBAYR BATTALION IS CARRYING
OUT VIOLENT NIGHT ATTACKS ON KABUL. A UNIT FROM THE BATTALION EVEN SUCCEEDED
IN ENTERING THE CENTER OF THE CAPITAL AND CARRIED OUT BOMBINGS AGAINST
THE FORCES OF NORTHERN ALLIANCE DEFENSE MINISTER MOHAMMAD FAHIM.
-
- [ISMA'IL] HOW DID THE PASHTUN TRIBES TURN AGAINST YOU?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE SHOULD NOT GENERALIZE. THE MAJORITY
OF THESE TRIBES ARE WITH US AND THEY UPHOLD THE AFGHANS' SPLENDID ISLAMIC
TRADITIONS WITH WHICH WE HAVE LIVED. THEY GAVE US SUPPORT AND PROTECTION.
IT IS TRUE TO SAY THAT SOME ELEMENTS WERE BLINDED BY THE GREED FOR MONEY.
-
- THE UNITED STATES IS OFFERING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN
BRIBES AND REWARDS FOR ANYONE WHO BRINGS IT THE HEAD OF BIN LADIN OR ONE
OF HIS AIDES. WE ARRESTED TWO SPIES WORKING FOR THE US FORCES AND THEY
REVEALED THE HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY THAT WERE PAID TO BUY THE PASHTUN TRIBES
SO THAT THEY CAN LOCATE THE POSITIONS OF THE ARAB FIGHTERS AND USAMA BIN
LADIN. THESE TRIBES ARE NOT ONLY IN AFGHANISTAN BUT IN PAKISTAN TOO.
-
- [ISMA'IL] DID YOU NOT REALIZE BEFORE THE WAR THAT YOU
MIGHT BECOME GOODS FOR SALE?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] YES AND WE INCLUDED THAT IN OUR PLANS.
WE REALIZED THAT SOME AFGHAN ELEMENTS, ESPECIALLY THE TRIBES, MIGHT WEAKEN
BEFORE THE MONEY. THEREFORE WE DECIDED AT A LATER STAGE TO EVACUATE THE
CITIES AND DEPLOY IN FORTIFIED AND SAFE POSITIONS. WE DID THIS IN AGREEMENT
WITH MULLAH MOHAMMAD OMAR, THE PRINCE OF THE FAITHFUL. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES
OVER THIS MATTER BETWEEN US AS SOME REPORTS SUGGESTED. THE MAN IS A FIRST
CLASS FIGHTER AND WILLING TO SACRIFICE HIS LIFE IN DEFENSE OF HIS CREED.
-
- [ISMA'IL] US SPY SATELLITES ARE WATCHING YOU AND MONITORING
YOUR TELEPHONE CALLS. IT IS SAID THAT THEY HAVE SUCCEEDED IN PINPOINTING
YOUR LOCATION AS THEY DID WHEN THEY HUNTED DOWN ABU-HAFS AL-MASRI INSIDE
A BUILDING IN KABUL.
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE ARE NOT SURPRISED BY SUCH TALK IN THIS
PROPAGANDA WAR THAT IS TRYING TO DEPICT THE US MILITARY MACHINE AS IF IT
IS INVINCIBLE, WATCHES EVERYTHING, AND KNOWS EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN
THE WORLD. BUT WHAT WE SEE IN THE FIELD DISPROVES THIS. THE EVIDENCE IS
THAT THEY ARE SEEKING INFORMATION FROM AFGHAN COMMANDERS WHO HAVE TOLD
THEM THAT WE ARE IN TORA BORA, WE ARE ENTRENCHED IN IT, AND IT IS OUR LAST
STRONGHOLD. IF THEY KNOW EVERYTHING, THEN THEY WOULD NOT BE ATTACKING THE
MOUNTAINS NOW.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHERE ARE YOU NOW?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] IN ALL THE CITIES AND PROVINCES THAT THEY
THOUGHT THEY HAVE SEIZED.
-
- [ISMA'IL] AND WHERE IS USAMA BIN LADIN?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] HE IS ONE OF THE FIGHTERS FIGHTING IN THE
FIELD AND NOT HIDING IN THE CAVES AS THEY THINK. I SAID IN A PREVIOUS INTERVIEW
THAT HE PERSONALLY LED THE KONDUZ BATTLE AND THE AMERICANS DID NOT DISCOVER
HIM DESPITE ALL THE RESOURCES THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT.
-
- [ISMA'IL] IS IT TRUE THAT MULLAH MOHAMMAD OMAR WAS CAPTURED
BY ONE OF THE COMMANDERS IN KANDAHAR?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THESE ARE BASELESS CLAIMS. AN AFGHAN COMMANDER
TRIED TO CLAIM THIS SO AS TO RECEIVE US MONEY.
-
- [ISMA'IL] SO HOW WAS THE LOCATION OF ABU-HAFS DISCOVERED
AND HE WAS KILLED?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] HAVE THEY DISPLAYED HIS BODY? DO THEY HAVE
ANY PROOF? THEY DERIVED ALL THEIR INFORMATION FROM TELEPHONE CALLS, WHICH
THEY SAID THEY HAD MONITORED. I ASSERT THAT ABU-HAFS IS STILL FIGHTING
AND HAS NOT BEEN MARTYRED YET.
-
- [ISMA'IL] WHERE IS SULAYMAN ABU-GHAYTH WHO IS DESCRIBED
AS YOUR OFFICIAL SPOKESMAN?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] HE, TOO, IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF THE FIGHTERS.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN HOWEVER THAT WE ARE ALL IN ONE FRONT OR ONE PLACE WITH
BIN LADIN. EVERY ONE OF US IS FIGHTING IN HIS POSITION AND COULD BE HUNDREDS
OF KILOMETERS FROM THE OTHERS.
-
- [ISMA'IL] BUT HOW CAN YOU CONTINUE THE BATTLE WHEN YOU
ARE BESIEGED IN THE MOUNTAINS?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE HAVE PREPARED FOR EVERYTHING. I CAN
SAY THAT TALIBAN IS NOT FINISHED AND THAT THE BATTLE WILL CONTINUE. THE
ENEMY'S LOSSES ARE LARGE BUT WE DO NOT HAVE A MEDIA TO BRING THE TRUTH
ABOUT OUR POSITION AND THEREFORE THE WORLD THINKS THAT WE ARE REELING AND
THAT TALIBAN IS FINISHED AND ITS STATE HAS DISAPPEARED.
-
- [ISMA'IL] DO YOU THINK THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU
AT PRESENT?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THEY DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING, EITHER ABOUT
OUR CONDITIONS, POSITIONS, OR THE NUMBER OF OUR FIGHTERS. IT IS DIFFICULT
FOR THEM TO KNOW. THEY ARE RELYING ON A TRIBAL GROUP THEY HAVE BOUGHT WITH
THEIR MONEY AND THIS GROUP WILL BLEED THEM DRY. WE ATTACKED SOME OF THEM
IN HELMAND AND NIMRUZ PROVINCES AND KILLED MORE THAN 80 OF THEM.
-
- [ISMA'IL] THEY ARE SAYING YOU ARE PLANNING TO ESCAPE
AND THAT USAMA BIN LADIN HAS LEFT AFGHANISTAN.
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] WE HAVE PLEDGED TO FIGHT UNTIL DEATH. THEY
ARE DISSEMINATING REPORTS OF ESCAPE IN ORDER TO SAVE THEIR FACE. THE MILITARY
CAMPAIGN HAS ENTERED ITS THIRD MONTH WITHOUT ACHIEVING ITS OBJECTIVES.
-
- [ISMA'IL] HOW, WHEN THE TALIBAN RULE HAS INDEED ENDED?
-
- [AL-ZAWAHIRI] THE REALITY SAYS THAT THE ISLAMIC EMIRATE
DOES NOT RULE AFGHANISTAN'S CITIES AND PROVINCES. BUT THIS REALITY ALSO
SAYS THAT IT HAS BEEN REPLACED BY DOZENS OF WARRING GOVERNMENTS THAT ARE
NOW FIGHTING EACH OTHER. YOU CAN SEE THIS IN KANDAHAR THAT IS UNDER SEVERAL
COMPETING FACTIONS. THE SITUATION IS GOING TO GET WORSE AND THAT IS WHAT
WE HAVE EXPECTED. ___
-
-
- [DESCRIPTION OF SOURCE: LONDON AL-MAJALLAH IN ARABIC
-- LONDON-BASED SAUDI-OWNED WEEKLY; SISTER MAGAZINE OF AL-SHARQ AL-AWSAT
NEWSPAPER PROVIDING INDEPENDENT COVERAGE OF ARAB AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES]
|
