Muslims the world over are ”boiling with rage” at Western double standards over Iraq, Israel and Palestine, a prominent London-based Arab commentator, who has met Osama bin Laden, writes in Thursday’s Guardian newspaper.
Abdel Bari Atwan, editor of the al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, warns the threat from al-Qaeda will grow and says the United States war on terror ”has started to backfire”.
Atwan, who has become a widely cited commentator on Arab affairs since the September 11 attacks last year, says he believes Bin Laden is still alive on the basis of the recorded message broadcast by al-Jazeera TV this week.
Bin Laden is seeking to convey an ”extremely serious message” to the US and its allies, the timing of which is significant, coming during preparations for an attack on Iraq, according to Atwan.
”The purpose is clear: to stir up the emotions of Arabs and Muslims everywhere against the US and its attack on Iraq. He also hopes to agitate the masses against Arab regimes whom he charges with collaborating with the US plan.
”Like never before, the Muslim world today is boiling with rage. Anti-US sentiment is at its peak,” Atwan says.
He adds that in its focus on Iraq, the US is ignoring official confirmation that North Korea has nuclear weapons. It is also employing double standards over the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories on the West Bank and Gaza, and Israel’s possession of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
”Support for Bin Laden is only bolstered by such double standards. A further boost will come when US cruise missiles and bombs begin dropping on Baghdad,” Atwan says.
Atwan says that he met Bin Laden in November 1996 and has studied him ever since. He predicts ”the emergence of more men in his mould once the war on terrorism is extended to include Iraq, under the pretext of disarming it”. – Sapa-DPA