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By Shaun Waterman
UPI Homeland and National Security Editor
WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- In an hourlong audio recording believed to be of Osama bin Laden, the terror mastermind singles out for criticism U.S.-backed efforts to reform the education system in Islamic countries, and accuses those pursuing peaceful protest against the Saudi regime of being "insane."
He also calls for attacks on oil facilities, and says that Bob Woodward's book "Plan of Attack" -- which he does not name -- shows the mendacity of the Saudi royal family.
"Before the invasion, (Crown) Prince Abdullah ... gave publicly a malicious and deceitful statement, saying the U.S. massing (of military forces in the region) is not meant for war," bin Laden says in the recording, which was posted to an Islamic militant Web Site Thursday.
But, bin Laden points out, after the publication of "Plan of Attack," the Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Abdullah's nephew Bandar bin Sultan, acknowledged that he had met in advance of the invasion with senior U.S. officials to discuss their plans.
The book also revealed, says the recording, that "Abdullah pledged to provide support to the United States and urged it to invade Iraq. Thus his previous statements ... mean that he was intentionally lying and deceiving the nation."
Some reports noted that the recording was posted on the day a London-based Saudi dissident, Said al-Fagih, called for demonstrations against the royal family, suggesting that the recording was intended to bolster the reform effort.
But bin Laden actually makes a passionate plea to reject that strategy, returning to what al-Qaida analyst and author Peter Bergen described to United Press International as his "Golden Oldie theme" -- the financial and religious corruption and pro-Americanism of the Saudi royal family.
"We are talking about apostasy and subservience to the infidels," the recording says. "As there is no difference between (U.S. Administrator Paul) Bremer, the former U.S. ruler in Baghdad, and (current Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad) Allawi in the implementation of America's policy ... So there is no difference between Bremer and the rest of the rulers of the region in implementing U.S. policy," he added.
Since the royal family are infidels, he argues, it is every Muslim's religious duty to unseat them, by violence if necessary.
"How can (even) an insane person see an infidel ruler and his heavily armed soldiers and then claim that he wants reforms through peaceful means? This is completely false. This is meant to frustrate the efforts to establish justice."
The speech also singles out what it calls "definitely one of the most dangerous interferences in our affairs" -- education reform, which it calls "crusader interference in changing curriculums."
Recently there have been several efforts by the Saudi regime to change the curriculum in their schools, and U.S. officials have talked about education reform, especially of madrasas or Islamic schools in Pakistan, as an essential long term strategy for defeating terrorism.
"The objective is to erase the nation's character and Westernize its sons," the speech says of such efforts, adding that all the new curriculums will produce is "educated slaves who are champions of America, (and will) sell the interests of the country.
Characteristically, the speech -- delivered in the archaic but very poetic classical Arabic in which bin Laden is an accomplished orator -- is filled with Koranic references and verses and littered with melodramatic invocations.
"Strugglers, be patient, stand fast, and rely on God. For this is the road of the prophets and it is strewn with ... blood, fighting and dead bodies," the recording says.
The recording, which the CIA believes "with a high degree of confidence" is bin Laden, also calls attacks on oil facilities in the Gulf and U.S. troops in Iraq. "Targeting America in Iraq in terms of economy and loss of life is a golden and unique opportunity," he says.
"One of the most important reasons that our enemies control our land is the pilfering of our oil," he says, urging his followers to "prevent them from getting the oil and conduct your operations accordingly, particularly in Iraq and the Gulf," according to a U.S. government translation obtained by United Press International.
If the voice is indeed bin Laden's, it is not the first time he has called for attacks on U.S. and Western economic targets. One such call was followed shortly by an attack on the French oil tanker Limburg off the coast of Yemen.
Foreign workers -- mainly Western expatriates working in the oil industry -- have also been the targets of Islamic extremists in Saudi Arabia before.
Michael Shanahan, spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute declined to comment directly on the threat on the tape, but said there were many factors that could influence the price of crude oil, including concern about the possibility of future terrorist attacks,
"If the oil markets believe that there is a threat to the supply, that could have an effect on the price," he said.
"We're already paying a 'fear premium' on oil," Bergen said, "There's some debate about how much it is, but there is one."
"Raising the price of oil does appear to be one of bin Laden's strategic goals," said a U.S. official.
"It may give (al-Qaida militants) psychological satisfaction to blow up a synagogue," added Bergen, "but it does not advance their cause -- for that they need to inflict economic damage."
U.S. intelligence quickly concluded the recording was of bin Laden, and said it was the first to be posted directly to the Internet rather than sent to a television channel or other broadcast outlet first.
"The voice analysis has been done," a CIA official told UPI, "and we conclude with a high degree of confidence that it is him."
Aimee Ibrahim, an analyst with homeland security consultants DFI International told a conference in Washington earlier this month that a spokesman for al-Qaida's media center, the al-Sahab Institute, had recently threatened the Arabic news station al-Jazeera. If the station -- which has received the majority of bin Laden messages released since Sept. 11, 2001 -- did not play the institute's tapes in full, he warned, they would no longer be sent them.
Al-Jazeera and other Arabic TV stations had generally played only the parts of previous tapes they regarded as newsworthy.
"There's been a big debate about the role of al-Jazeera," said Bergen, noting that the station had been accused of incitement for playing even excerpts of the bin Laden recordings. "That looks like it's basically over now."
Bergen pointed out that the "chain of custody" of the tapes sent to al-Jazeera was probably one of bin Laden's most serious security concerns.
"Using the Internet this way isn't completely safe, but it's a lot safer than having to get the tapes to a TV station," he said.
Bergen and the U.S. official also confirmed that the recording had what Bergen called "the fastest turnaround" of any previous bin Laden message, in that it referred to an event that took place 10 ten days previously.
The recording, posted on a Web site called al-Qal'ah, or The Fortress, where messages from other Islamic extremists have previously appeared, praises the Dec. 6 attack on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
"We pray to Allah to welcome the souls of the mujahedin who attacked the American consulate in Jeddah," the speaker said about the assault on the U.S. mission that left nine dead, including four gunmen.
Al-Qaida has made extensive use of the Internet, posting claims of responsibility for attacks and political statements, and even publishing a magazine -- al-Battar -- online.
Teams of U.S. investigators, many working for government contractors, monitor Jihadi Web sites for this material and also seek to use computer forensics to ascertain its origins and try to discover where it was posted from.
This information is provided by PURE PURSUIT
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