Spiegel Online breaks down the latest Al-Qaeda pep-talk and Q3 action plan.
Unite in Jihad: In the one-and-a-half hour video entitled "The Advice of One Concerned," Ayman al-Zawahri, who is al-Qaida's No. 2 after Osama bin Laden, talks about the terror organization's future strategy.
The video, produced by the production firm as-Sahab, which is close to al-Qaida, is al-Zawahri's eighth so far this year and, with its English subtitles, is obviously intended for a Western audience.
He encourages Iraqis and Muslims in general to show greater support for al-Qaida's insurgent front in Iraq, which he calls the Islamic State of Iraq. However, he implicitly acknowledges problems with the front and admits, without going into further detail, that certain detractors say it lacks the "necessary qualifications."
He also criticizes Saudi Arabia's growing influence in Iraq and its support for what he called the "Zionist crusade led by America" in the Middle East. Al-Zawahri refers to Western media to back up his criticism of Saudi Arabia's support for the West, quoting US journalist Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack" and other Western reporting while discussing Saudi Arabia's culpability in the Iraq war.
Al-Zawahri, the top deputy of Osama bin Laden, called on Muslims to follow a two-pronged strategy: work at home to topple “corrupt” Arab regimes and join al-Qaida’s “jihad,” or holy war, in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia to fight and train “to prepare for the next jihad.”
