Al Qaeda scoffs at President Obama's peace message to Islam
Al Qaeda scoffs at President Obama's peace message to Islam
BY Kenneth R. Bazinet
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Wednesday, June 3rd 2009, 4:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Al Qaeda's No. 2 dismissed President Obama's planned outreach to the Islamic world Tuesday, insisting the overture is trumped by wars against Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"His bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words," said Ayman al-Zawahiri in an audio message posted on the Internet.
The apparently well-timed message appeared just hours before Obama was due to fly to Saudi Arabia to begin a six-day trip centered on his long-promised speech of hope and friendship to the Muslim world.
There was no immediate White House comment on Zawahiri's diatribe.
Obama plans to extend a hand of friendship to the Islamic people in a speech tomorrow at Cairo University in Egypt. Ahead of that address, Obama told NPR, "The main thing for me to do is to project what our values are," like democracy and the rule of law.
"I am confident that we're in a moment where in Islamic countries, I think there's a recognition that the path of extremism is not actually gonna deliver a better life for people," Obama said in an NBC interview.
Obama also unexpectedly popped into a meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and national security adviser Jim Jones. Obama has warned the Israelis to halt illegal settlement building in the West Bank.
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