http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,1011824,00.htmlBin Laden deputy warns US of attacks
Rory McCarthy, Islamabad
Monday August 4, 2003
The Guardian
Osama bin Laden's second in command warned yesterday that America would "pay dearly" if any of the al-Qaida suspects held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba were harmed.
In a taped message broadcast by the Arabic television channel al-Arabiya, a voice believed to be that of the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri said: "I swear by the almighty God... that crusader America will pay dearly for any harm done to any of the Muslim prisoners it is holding."
Zawahiri, who did not mention Bin Laden in the recording, added: "We tell America one thing: what you have seen so far is nothing but the first skirmishes. The real battle hasn't started yet."
The message appeared to be a direct response to last month's announcement by Washington that it would put suspects at Guantanamo Bay before military tribunals on terrorism charges. At least 660 suspects from 42 countries have been held without charge at Camp Delta, the site of a US navy base, after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan in December 2001.
"Let America know that if it tortures
, it will be torturing itself and if it tries them it will be trying its own sons, and if it sentences them then it will be sentencing its own people," the message said.
"Let it be clear to those who conspire with America that America cannot defend itself let alone defend others." ...>>>