(MEMRI) The pro-Saddam London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi conducted an interview with Nasser Ahmad Nasser Al-Bahri, also known as Abu Jandal, an al-Qaeda member who was formerly bin Laden's bodyguard. "A large number of al-Qaeda operatives have entered Iraq and they are currently fighting in the ranks of the Iraqi resistance.... The problem is that today al-Qaeda is not an organization in the true sense of the word but only an idea that has become a faith." "Many among the youth have begun to believe in al-Qaeda's views and beliefs regarding the struggle against America. Abu Mus'ab al-Zarkawi was in Afghanistan and in Kabul. He met with Osama bin Laden a great many times, but I do not believe that he is number one in the al-Qaeda organization, since al-Qaeda has Iraqi leaders present on the ground in Iraq and they are not in need of al-Zarkawi." "Those who blew up the foreign compound in Saudi Arabia spoke in their recorded messages on the Internet sites about the fact that they went to the jihad with the permission and sanction of the Saudi state." "The al-Qaeda organization's goal from its inception is to sow conflict between the U.S. and the Islamic world."
2004-08-20 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive