Home | News Briefs | U.S. | World
| Celeb Buzz | Entertainment | Sports | Business | Health | Sci / Tech | Politics | Weird & Offbeat
--- Advertisment ---
Bin Laden Issues Second Message As Obama Meets With Saudi Leader
June 3, 2009 11:16 a.m. EST
--- Advertisment ---
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AHN) - Only hours after his deputy released a statement calling President Barack Obama a "criminal," Osama Bin Laden issued a message on Wednesday marking the U.S. president's arrival in Riyadh. Obama is set to give a speech in Cairo "reaching out" to the Islamic world, but Bin Laden said the American is only "antagonizing Muslims."
Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia early Wednesday for a four-day trip that aides say will continue his outreach to the Muslim world and re-iterate his support for key European allies. Much anticipated is his speech in Cairo that will discuss "how to bridge differences" and settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and a long-delayed visit to wounded U.S. troops in Germany.
Shortly after the President's arrival in Riyadh, Al Jazeera played an audio recording of Bid Laden saying Obama "has followed the steps of his predecessor in antagonizing Muslims ... and laying the foundation for long wars."
"Obama and his administration have sowed new seeds of hatred against America," the al-Qaeda leader added, referring to the U.S. support for Pakistan troops fighting militants in the Swat Valley. "Let the American people prepare for to harvest the crops of what the leaders of the White House plant in the next years and decades."
The Taliban have occupied the Swat Valley in Pakistan following a peace agreement with the government in February. But they have been attacking security forces and spreading into the adjacent areas, causing millions to flee the area as they battle with government troops.
American officials, concerned about Pakistan's nuclear weapons arsenal and militant attacks only 60 miles from the capital, had initially criticized Islamabad for its inaction, then later expressed confidence about Pakistan's efforts to fight the Taliban.
Bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, released a message Tuesday night saying Obama's "bloody messages were received and are still being received by Muslims, and they will not be concealed by public relations campaigns or by farcical visits or elegant words."
Zawahiri's voice recording was posted on an al-Qaeda website and, like Bin Laden's, could not be confirmed.
Obama is meeting with King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz about energy, Middle East peace and efforts to fight extremism, before proceeding to Egypt on Thursday to hold talks with with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, delivers a major address and visits a mosque.
He briefly spoke to reporters before his bilateral with the King, emphasizing the "long history of friendship" between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
"I thought it was very important to come to the place where Islam began and to seek His Majesty's counsel and to discuss with him many of the issues that we confront here in the Middle East," Obama added.
King Abdullah had replied, "Thank you, Mr. President, for the kind words and the kind sentiments expressed within them. I am not surprised, given the historicand strategic ties between our two countries, I believe that go back to the time of the meeting between the late Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the late King Abdul-Aziz."
Obama's speech in Cairo is much anticipated. It "will be an important part of his engagement with the Muslim world which began in his inaugural," Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a briefing last week. The President will also call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and an end to Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Obama is the first American president to use the word "Muslim" in an inaugural speech. He had also given his first TV interview after assuming office to Al Arabiya, saying, "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."
In March, he issued a video message to all Muslims celebrating Nowruz or the Iranian New Year. He followed this up with a trip to Ankara, where he addressed the Turkish Parliament with reminders that his own father was Muslim, and held a town hall with Turkish and international students.
The White House has pointed out that Obama's speech will be hosted by Cairo University and Al Azhar University, which is "one of the oldest universities in the region, to jointly host the event, underscoring the storied history and learnedness of Islam."
Some human rights advocates are raising concerns that the speech symbolically gives U.S. approval to what critics say are Egypt's repressive laws, but the White House has said Obama "will not hesitate to bring up [with Mubarak] some of the important civil society issues, democracy issues, that he has brought up with the Chinese and others."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also met with visiting Egyptian Democracy activists last week and told reporters, "We always raise democracy and human rights. It is a core pillar of American foreign policy. There is a great awareness on the part of the Egyptian Government... And so we're going to continue to engage in that dialogue."
Obama proceeds to Germany on Friday to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, visit a concentration camp, Buchenwald, and wounded U.S. troops at Landstuhl Regional Medical Facility. His last stop is in France on Saturday, where he holds a bilateral with President Nicolas Sarkozy and gives a speech at the American cemetery in Coleville to commemorate the Allied landing in Normandy, which culminated in the liberation of Europe from the Nazis.
Copyright © 2003 - 2009 AHN - All rights reserved.Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.License AHN news for your website, business, digital signage network or publication.
Home | News Briefs | U.S. | World | Entertainment | Sports | Business | Health | Sci / Tech | Politics | Weird / Offbeat
© 2009 AHN
Client Login |
Submit News |
Privacy Policy |
Terms of Use
|
Contact
| Content Services
All Rights Reserved
Other News on Thursday, 4 June 2009 Ahmadinejad says Holocaust a 'big deception'
US needs to address deficits: Bernake
Black boxes may never be found: crash investigators
Inflation in top economies slows in April: OECD
Pro-independence party wins Greenland poll
Obama launches maiden Middle East mission
Governments under pressure in EU Parliament vote
| International
|
Ahmadinejad calls Holocaust a great deception
| International
|
Bomb in Baghdad cafe kills 9, wounds 31
| International
|
All Israeli options against Iran on table: Barak
| International
|
Pregnant Briton gets life on Laos drug charge
BlackBerry maker warns on security vulnerability
| Technology
|
HIV/AIDS cases soar in Indonesia: official
Slip-up lays bare US secret nuclear sites: report
S.Korean president rejects prosecutor's resignation
Yahoo CEO says no pressure for deal despite Bing
| Technology
|
Myanmar delays Suu Kyi case for witness appeal
China clamps down ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
North Korea assembling long-range missile: report
Thousands of China milk sites closed: state media
Philippine House moves to rewrite constitution
China shuts down 7 'terror cells' in Muslim region
China to play major role in Hummer future: buyer
McCartney to play first show at Shea's replacement
| Entertainment
|
Italian royalty, Lithuania reality show host spice up Euro poll
U.S. novelist Robinson wins Orange Prize for women
| Entertainment
|
France's Pinault opens Venice modern art gallery
Appearing on reality TV is work: French court
Stolen Renoir turns up near Venice, after 15 years
Looking good, an obsession since antiquity
Chicago Law Banning Handguns Upheld In Appeals Court
Stephen Colbert To Be Guest Editor Of Newsweek
Princeton University Locked Down Due To Toy Gun; 4 Taken Into Custody
Saudi Arabia Confirms First H1N1 Flu Case
Former House Speaker Gingrich Backpedals On Calling Sotomayor "Racist"
Bin Laden Issues Second Message As Obama Meets With Saudi Leader
Obama Names New York Republican As Army Secretary
Data On Nuclear Storage Sites Put Online
Subpoenaed About Ties To Lobbying Firm, Rep. Visclosky Gives Up Subcommittee Chairmanship
Former U.S. Attorney Christie Wins Primary; Will Challenge Gov. Corzine In New Jersey
New Air France debris found, explosion unlikely
| International
|
Leaders fear protest vote in EU election
Data Domain accepts NetApp takeover bid
Israel eases restrictions at two West Bank checkpoints
Life, health insurers invest big in tobacco
China security tight in Tiananmen
| International
|
British government 'meltdown' as another minister quits
Putin warns of new European gas crisis
Google launches search tool 'Google Squared'
Gas explosion injures 3 in Istanbul cafe
North Korea to hold trial for two U.S. journalists
| International
|
Yushchenko denounces 'constitutional coup' plans
Bernanke rejects Merkel criticism, defends Fed
OAS ends Cuba suspension after 47 years
| International
|
Google tool tracks flu in Australia, New Zealand
Istanbul blast caused by gas leak
Pride, prejudice, petroleum stir Iraq's Kurdistan
First ships arrive in Air France crash zone
UK's Brown under pressure in European, local polls
| International
|
DirecTV exec named News Corp. deputy chairman
Justice probing tech company recruiting: WashPost
North Korea puts two U.S. journalists on trial
| International
|
British, Dutch turn out for European assembly vote
| International
|
China tightens information controls for Tiananmen anniversary
Berlusconi says plane scandal probe means nothing
| International
|
Americans spending more time on social networks: study
Iraq's Kurds, Arabs face choice: settle or fight
| International
|
Sony latest to demo videogame motion-sensing controller
Sony latest to demo videogame motion-sensing controller
Palm's Pre shines in ways, not in others
| Technology
|
Uighur exile leader rejects China 'terror' report
OAS agrees readmit Cuba after 47 years
Videogame industry prays for resilient 2009
| Technology
|
Dalai Lama begins Dutch visit
US judge rejects lawsuits in wiretapping cases
Philippine House moves to rewrite constitution
Sony Ericsson unveils two greener phones
| Technology
|
Taiwan ex-leader's daughter named defendant in graft case
Intense Saudi talks launch Obama Mideast mission
U.S. Justice Dept probing big tech recruiting: source
| Technology
|
Bin Laden scorns Obama charm offensive
Apple plans first East Coast data center
| Technology
|
Japanese fertility rate crawls up
Exiled Tiananmen dissident tries to re-enter China
Sony lifts curtain on new PSP
| Technology
|
DISH, EchoStar win stay of TiVo patent award
| Technology
|
U.S. court dismisses suits in warrantless wiretaps
| Technology
|
Anti-piracy pup sniffs out 35,000 illegal DVDs
China tightens security for Tiananmen anniversary
'Untouchable' elected India's first woman speaker
Rapper Eminem admits Bruno encounter was a stunt
| Entertainment
|
Hollywood actors seen approving new labor pact
| Entertainment
|
Obama, in another first, named power celebrity
| Entertainment
|
Obama-fueled NBC wins Tuesday ratings
| Entertainment
|
New Hampshire is sixth US state to allow gay marriage
Taiwan dollar down on weak US econ data, eyes stocks
Dave Matthews Band expected to top album chart
| Entertainment
|
France's Pinault unveils modern art gallery in Venice
Korea Hot Stocks
US author Marilynne Robinson wins Orange prize for fiction
Seoul shares down after U.S. data; banks fall
Costello celebrates new album with intimate NY show
| Entertainment
|
Madrid photography festival focuses on 'everyday life'
Iran, China sign $5 bln gas deal
Sacha Baron Cohen sued over Bruno stunt
| Entertainment
|
Stolen Renoir turns up near Venice, after 15 years
Ssangyong Motor threatens to use police to end strike
Heroes casts new villain
| Entertainment
|
India says keen on swift EU free trade deal
Poverty-stricken Albanians hunt for gold
Wang Dang Doodle blues singer Koko Taylor dies
| Entertainment
|
China, Taiwan mulling joint undersea telecom cable
German parents fail to stop 'Big Brother with babies'
Pakistan 6-mth T-bill cut-off yield at 13.1420 pct
Obama seeks new beginning in ties with Muslims
| International
|
United eyes huge jet order despite recession: report
No Russia economic recovery until year-end: minister
EU agrees deal on accepting Guantanamo detainees
| International
|
Actor David Carradine Commits Suicide
Veteran Actor David Carradine Found Dead From Apparent Suicide
Scottish Susan Boyle Invited To Sing For President Barack Obama On U.S. Independence Day
Death toll now 76 in South Africa gold mine tragedy
| International
|
Iran leader issues veiled criticism of moderates
| International
|
"Scrubs" Actor Robert "The Todd" Maschio Sued For Allegedly Choking Bartender
YouTube Scam Reportedly Cost Susan Boyle "Britain's Got Talent" Win
Angelina Jolie Crowned Most Powerful Celebrity In The World Forbes
Sri Lanka seizes boat funded by Tiger backers
| International
|
Eminem Admits MTV Stunt Was Planned
Sacha Baron Cohen Faces Lawsuit For Bruno Bingo Altercation
Stephen Colbert To Be Guest Editor Of Newsweek
Obama heads to Egypt to heal rift with Islam
Cher Sues Record Label UMG For Over $5 Million Of Unpaid Royalties
Judge rejects US claim in Islamic wiretapping case
Obama heads to Cairo for landmark speech
Dalai Lama honours Tiananmen dead
China blocks commemoration of Tiananmen crackdown
NKorea still counterfeiting dollars: paper
Malaysia royals: sex allegations 'private affair'
Australian defence minister resigns: PM
Australia swine flu toll hits 634
YouTube to premiere movie to up ad revenues: report
| Technology
|
Russia launches antitrust probe of Microsoft
| Technology
|
Living in the shadow of Kim Jong-Il's army
Sri Lankan hostage rescued in Philippines
China clamps down ahead of Tiananmen anniversary
IATA chief says outlook bleak for airline industry
Japan Inc shrinks at record pace, says govt
NZ dollar settles sharply lower, debt flat
Seoul shares post biggest daily pct loss in 5 wks
S.Korea may take steps against excessive liquidity
Standard Chartered, HSBC China yuan bonds issue
ADB lends Indonesia one billion dollars
Bands catching rhythm of music videogames
NZ commodity export prices rise in May-survey
Liquor laced with methanol kills 25 in Indonesia
David Carradine found hanged in Thai hotel: Police
| Entertainment
|
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights