Al-Qaeda, Hamas say Muslim duty is to attack Americans; problem for White House seen

The Arabic television station Al Jazeera played an audio tape today purportedly of Osama bin Laden calling on all Muslims to resist any U.S. attempt to destroy Saddam Hussein’s regime.

The Palestinian group Hamas also called on its terrorists to murder Americans – a development that should complicate the White House’s relations with several US Islamic activist groups whose leaders have expressed support for Hamas in the past. The Center for Security Policy and its leadership have come under attack in recent days for questioning the actions of certain administration officials who brought Hamas backers into the White House.

In a show of solidarity, the al-Qaeda leader told Iraq that we are with you and we will fight in the name of God. He went on to say, We stress the importance of martyrdom attacks against the enemy, which threatens more suicide attacks against the U.S.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, testifying before the Senate Budget Committee this morning, told Senators that the tape demonstrated this nexus between terrorists and states that are developing weapons of mass destruction can no longer be looked away from and ignored.

The release of the bin Laden tape follows a call by the leader of the terrorist group Hamas, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, that should war break out between the U.S. and Iraq, Muslims should threaten Western interests and strike them everywhere. At the same time Sheik Yassin repeated his intention to destroy this cancer that is called Israel.