Zawahri Calls For Attacks On Israel In New Audio Tape

First off, if authentic, it answers the question whether or not Al Qaeda #2, Ayman Al Zawahri, was killed in a recent U.S. airstrike in Pakistan. In the audio tape, Zawahri states the following:

O Muslims. Today is your day. Hit the interest of the Jews and the Americans and all those who participated in the aggression against Muslims,’ said the speaker on the tape who sounded like Zawahri.
‘Monitor the targets, collect the money, prepare the hardware, plan accurately and then attack,’ he added, without specifically naming any targets. ‘No one can say today that we should fight the Jews in Palestine only.’
‘They cannot ... insult our prophet and support Israel, and expect to live in peace in their countries,’ he added, referring to the publication in the West of cartoons mocking Prophet Mohammad.

Now, it's not only Israel that Zawahri is all bent out of shape over - he had some warnings for his Arab cousins in the region:

‘The satanic alliance shows us its ugliness and how low it is, an alliance of the crusaders and the Jews and with them (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak, and (Saudi Arabia’s ruling) Saud family and the son of Al Hussein (Jordan’s King Abdullah).

Which brings up the point...who exactly is Zawahri calling on to make these attacks on Israel? I mean, al Zawahri is a Sunni and although al Qaeda has formed some loose alliances with Shia across the world, his warnings have pretty much eliminated the top Sunni powers in the region of Israel - his words basically would only fall on the ears of al Qaeda in Gaza, Hamas, Hezbollah and Syria. Perhaps Zawahri has been couped up in that cave in Pakistan so long he's forgotten which islamists follow HIS true brand of islam and which don't?

At the same time, one has to think long and hard to remember the last time any al Qaeda in the entire world did ANYTHING that Zawahri has called for - there is more than just a disconnect between #1 and #2 and their jihadists around the globe. Al Zawahri...you've been in that cave much too long bud...maybe it's time you made a public appearance. (evil grin)

Here's the full story from Khaleej Times.

Zawahri urges anti-Isreal attacks over Gaza

DUBAI - Al Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman Al Zawahri called for attacks on Israeli and Western targets to avenge Israel’s raids on the Gaza Strip, in an audio tape posted on the Internet on Monday.
‘O Muslims. Today is your day. Hit the interest of the Jews and the Americans and all those who participated in the aggression against Muslims,’ said the speaker on the tape who sounded like Zawahri.
‘Monitor the targets, collect the money, prepare the hardware, plan accurately and then attack,’ he added, without specifically naming any targets. ‘No one can say today that we should fight the Jews in Palestine only.’
The recording, posted on Web sites often used by Al Qaeda and other Islamic militant groups, was produced by Al Qaeda’s media arm As-Sahab.
Zawahri called for Muslims to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in the face of Israeli air strikes, but said demonstrations only served to let out steam, and that they should focus on armed struggle.
‘Let them know that they would bleed for every dollar they spend on killing Muslims,’ Zawahri said.
‘They cannot ... insult our prophet and support Israel, and expect to live in peace in their countries,’ he added, referring to the publication in the West of cartoons mocking Prophet Mohammad.
Zawahri accused Arab leaders of collusion with the United States and Israel in blockading Palestinians in Gaza. He singled out the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan, calling them part of a ‘satanic alliance’.
‘The satanic alliance shows us its ugliness and how low it is, an alliance of the crusaders and the Jews and with them (Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak, and (Saudi Arabia’s ruling) Saud family and the son of Al Hussein (Jordan’s King Abdullah).
Israel has launched frequent air raids on the Gaza Strip and vowed to continue to stop missile attacks by Palestinian militant groups on Israel.