Muslims urged not to be fooled by Obama By Al Qaeda commander

Zawahri talked about U.S. president Obama’s policies being the same as the as those of Bush, on an Islamist website on Monday. Al Qaeda’s second-in-command asked Muslims of the world not to be fooled by the changes made my Obama.

Ayman-Al-Zawahri said that even though this looks like a change, the US is coming with a new face to change the Muslims and derail them from their religion and rights. He says this via an audio recording on the website.

Zawahri claimed that Obama has not changed the image Muslims have in America and that that Muslims are still being killed there. But he also added that the election of Obama was a sign that the Bush administration had failed.

Obama has promised to change the policies adopted by the Bush administration during the offensive post the 9/11 incident, while also saying that he would continue the war on terrorism. Obama has decided to send in an additional 17,000 troops into Afghanistan to join the roughly 70,000 international troops that are already stationed there.

Zawahri criticized even this step saying that the US troops were losing the fight in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In an effort to counter the Taliban and the Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama plans to send in more financial assistance and increase the diplomatic efforts.

Zawahri asked Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, not to give in to the pressures of the Egyptian Government and the Government of Palestine under President Mahmoud Abbas. They are both urging Hamas to recognize Israel. Zawahri told the Palestinians to launch an offence against Israelis and their international allies.

He was heard saying that their enemies, who he mentioned as the “Crusaders and the Jews”, were distributed widely and that if the situation was difficult in one place, they would be easier in other places.

There was an Israeli offensive in the coastal strip in the December and January and following this the Egyptian Government has been trying to arbitrate between Israel and the Hamas. The later controls the Gaza strip.

Muslims and Arabs often see it as s joint cause and the Al Qaeda, in an apparent effort to extend their influences, is highlighting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. However, the intelligence officials are saying that there are no signs of the group being there at the present moment.