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Wait, didn't they say it was all about Gaza?
"Qaeda group demands prisoner swap for Austrians: report," from Agence France-Presse:
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Al-Qaeda's North Africa branch Thursday called for the release of prisoners in Tunisia and Algeria in exchange for freeing two Austrian tourists it claims to have kidnapped, a US monitoring group said.
The group gave Austrian authorities three days to comply starting at midnight Thursday, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamist websites.
The Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) -- an Algerian-based off-shoot of Al-Qaeda -- said it had abducted the pair in Tunisia on February 22 and warned Western tourists to stay away from northern Africa.
"Consequently, the state of Austria is responsible for the lives of the two hostages in the event of the expiration of the time period and not responding to our demands," the organization said in communique issued to jihadist forums, according to SITE.
"We call on Western tourists to avoid visiting the lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and he who was warned will not be excused," it said.
Posted by Marisol at March 14, 2008 12:04 AM
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"Wait, didn't they say it was all about Gaza?"
Nah. It was all about Iraq.
Posted by: S Perry![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at March 14, 2008 12:23 AM
No, Marisol. It is, always has been and always will be, about Islam.
Gaza is just another ruse, in a long line of Islamic ruses.
Posted by: awake at March 14, 2008 12:30 AM
Hey, that was a rhetorical question!
Seriously, though, the link to the Gaza story also has my commentary from the other day, which took issue with the Gaza angle:
In addition to further underscoring the global nature of local jihadist conflicts, "revenge" attacks like this are handy in that they don't have to make sense, as long as there's a sense of grievance and/or dishonor (however spurious) that can serve as a pretext for acts they'd probably commit anyway. If it weren't Gaza, it would be the "West Bank." Or simply the continued existence of the "apostate" Tunisian government. Everyone can play. Create your own.Posted by: MarisolJW
at March 14, 2008 12:49 AM
"Hey, that was a rhetorical question!"
I know. I love to answer your rhetoricals, as you already know.
I just crave your attention. What else can I say.
Spot on commentary. OK, so I guess I had something else to say.
Posted by: awake at March 14, 2008 12:55 AM
"Consequently, the state of Austria is responsible for the lives of the two hostages..."Can't you see we don't want to behead your citizens, but if you MAKE us...well then, how can we stop? Posted by: Xero G
at March 14, 2008 2:46 AM
An archbishop here, a couple of tourists there, Islam spreads its message of peace and tolerance.
Posted by: raven_ at March 14, 2008 3:57 AM
"Consequently, the state of Austria is responsible for the lives of the two hostages in the event of the expiration of the time period and not responding to our demands,"
So in other words "You do as I tell you to because if you don't give us what we want you will suffer and its your fault."
Sounds reasonable enough to me.
Posted by: havekoranwilltravel at March 14, 2008 7:23 AM
"We call on Western tourists to avoid visiting the lands of the Islamic Maghreb....."
So, lemme think about this for a sec.
Caribbean island or North African stink-hole for my vacation?
Gee that's a toughie.
Okay, I give in. Looks like it'll have to be the Caribbean.
Damn! And I was so looking forward to being harrassed constantly by beggars and carpet salesmen.
Posted by: Rab at March 14, 2008 8:01 AM
This is exactly the reason why you don't imprison Jihadists....the only way to deal with them is to execute them, or you invite these kidnappings, prisoner exchanges etc.
It's the only way to deal with them.
Posted by: Sneakyzionistcrusader at March 14, 2008 8:40 AM
Hey, that was a rhetorical question! --Marisol
Hi Marisol. Rhetorical questions sometimes don't translate well on the 'net I have learned. They can be misconstrued. Just letting you know my own experience.
I've also been in a situation where I said, exactly as you did, "Hey, that was a rhetorical question!"
Many people don't even know what a rhetorical question is. (My comments here have nothing to do with "awake's" comment to Marisol).
Posted by: darcy at March 14, 2008 9:16 AM
Awake has a crush on MarisolJW
Posted by: Crusader at March 14, 2008 9:39 AM
"We call on Western tourists to avoid visiting the lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and he who was warned will not be excused," it said.
I wholeheartedly agree. Infidels should avoid all parts of the ummah like the plague whenever possible. After all, we get more than enough contact with it at home.
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS at March 14, 2008 11:35 AM
"We call on Western tourists to avoid visiting the lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and he who was warned will not be excused," it said.
Well, you don't have to convince me not to visit any black hole of Calcutta, no matter where it is located. I will avoid the Meghreb like I would avoid the plague. There are plenty of other places to go and 'spend your money'.
I can't imagine why tourists would go there anyway. Do they think they can 'talk' their way out of anything? Foolish, but that does not excuse their captors, who seek to shift the blame for their own actions to another. How long till they realize that we are on to that trick?
at March 14, 2008 12:01 PM
"We call on Western tourists to avoid visiting the lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and he who was warned will not be excused," it said.The Muslims tell them not to enter Muslim lands, and the stupid liberal European kuffar do it anyway. If they choose to be suicidal, it is their responsibility. There is no justification for releasing Islamic murderers to save the lives of two idiots. Let the other liberal European idiots who want to travel and explore "exotic" lands learn from the fate of these two imbeciles. Posted by: US_infidel
at March 14, 2008 12:08 PM
Imagine Guantanamo as a quiet, inexpensive way-station for jihadis on their way to the gibbet, and a farm for well-fed sharks, instead of the outlandish multi-million dollar public relations fiasco it is.
Posted by: Emerson Twain at March 14, 2008 12:47 PM
How about the U.S. Gov't relay a message to Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah etc, that if they don't quit killing infidels, we'll be forced to execute the gitmo prisoners. And it will be Abbas's fault. How do you think that would work out at the UN?
Posted by: walterc at March 14, 2008 7:05 PM
"We call on Muslim terrorrists to avoid visiting or moving into the lands of the Europeans, and he who was warned will not be excused."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if the European union issued and fullfilled a threat like that?
Posted by: Crusader at March 14, 2008 7:09 PM
walterc said: "How about the U.S. Gov't relay a message to Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah etc, that if they don't quit killing infidels, we'll be forced to execute the gitmo prisoners. And it will be Abbas's fault. How do you think that would work out at the UN?"
Well, I'd bet that it would give Israeli arparteid/genocide and Anthropogenic Global Warming a run for their money as the top issues at the General Assembly....
Posted by: Emerson Twain at March 14, 2008 7:29 PM
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