An audiotape whose purported author is Osama bin Laden surfaced on April 15, 2004. Through a taped message the speaker, who sounded more like the supreme leader of current worldwide anti-West Jihad movement, offers a conditional truce to European countries for the next three months. If the Europeans agree to the demands of the extremists, then the truce can be extended for another three months.

Every time an audiotape surfaces in popular Arab TV or radio stations, the entire western media organizations go crazy to devour and analyze its content. The April 15, 2004, audiotape is no exception in this regard. The taped message is simple and straightforward: European nations should withdraw troops from Muslim nations. Nonetheless, the person behind the voice reiterated that his people would fight the U.S. and Israel. The voice in the tape said the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people were retaliation for Spain's role in Iraq, Afghanistan and with the Palestinians. The voice went on to say, “I offer a truce to them (Europe) with a commitment to stop operations against any state which vows to stop attacking Muslims or interfere in their affairs.”

The voice in the tape also made specific demands such as: “The announcement of the truce starts with the withdrawal of the last soldier from our land and the door is open for three months from the date of the announcement of this statement. Whoever rejects this truce and wants war, we are its (war's) sons and whoever wants this truce, here we bring it.” The tactic is clear: drive a wedge between America and its western allies. No sooner the Europeans heard the content of the tape, they rejected the truce offer right away. Here is a sampling of reaction from European leaders: President Jacques Chirac of France said there could be no “bargaining with terrorists”; Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said it was “completely unthinkable” to talk with the al-Qaeda leader; European Commission President Romano Prodi remarked that there would be no negotiating under a “terrorist threat; Britain said the right response was to “continue to fight terrorism”; Germany said it would not negotiate with “criminals” like bin Laden.

Mr. Osama bin Laden’s terror organization did not blast any bombs or perform any terrorist acts in the soil of European countries since September 11, 2003 for 30 months. But the blasting of multiple bombs in Madrid train on March 11, 2004, changed the dynamics of terror attacks in Europe. The Europeans were awed by the casualties resulted from the blasts. They so very quickly learned that they are not immune from al-Qaeda’s devastating terror attacks. This bomb blast incident in Madrid gave enough ammunition to Mr. Bush’s propaganda to vilify Osama bin Laden’s terror organization. The perpetrator of terror in Madrid and worldwide did realize that they have to do some fence mending with the Europeans. That is the reason they made an audiotape to soothe the weary Europeans who are coming to terms with Madrid bombing.

The original recorded message was delivered in Arabic language. In the media, we saw translation of it kindly provided by Reuters and other International news agencies. Here are some excerpts from the audiotaped message: “President (George W.) Bush and leaders in his sphere, big media institutions and the United Nations ... all of them are a fatal danger to the world, and the Zionist lobby is their most dangerous and difficult member, and we insist, God willing (inshallah), on continuing to fight them.” “Our actions come in response to your actions of destroying and killing our people in Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. It is enough to witness the event that shocked the world, the killing of the elderly, wheelchair-bound Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, God have mercy on him, and we pledge to God to take revenge on America.”
“What happened on September 11 and March 11 are your goods returned to you so that you know security is a necessity for all.” “This is a message to our neighbors north of the Mediterranean Sea with a proposal for truce in response to the positive reactions which emerged there.” “"Stop shedding our blood to save your own and the solution to this simple but complex equation is in your hands. You know matters will escalate the more you delay and then do not blame us but blame yourselves. Rational people do not risk their security, money and sons to appease the White House liar.”

Clearly, the voice behind the taped message took time out to summarize what happened in the Middle East in the last month or so. Even though the Madrid train blast incident is not mentioned in the tape, Europeans know that the Arab extremists have seen how much sympathy poured in the aftermath of the bloody terror attack. That is precisely why Osama bin Laden’s organization came out with this taped message to wave an olive branch to Europeans hoping they would forget the carnage of Madrid blast. Nonetheless, the reaction to taped message is just the opposite. The new government in Spain is not paying attention to the message purportedly made by Osama bin Laden. Spain’s new foreign minister, Miguel Angel Moratinos, told Spanish television, “Bin Laden is the enemy of all of us who seek peace, democracy and freedom. Therefore, we must not listen to him or pay attention to him.”

One could expect a prompt American response to tape-recorded message of April 15, 2004. The U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told Polish television that “this is a time for all of us to be ever more resolute and say to Osama bin Laden, ‘No, we will not listen to any of these demands. You are the one who is wrong. You are the one who must be brought to justice’.” We should not blame Secretary Powell for his terse response. After all, the bulk of the threats are directed towards America and its ally Israel.

The timing of the release of tape-recorded message to Europeans purportedly by Osama bin Laden, who according to the U.S. intelligence is somewhere in the border area of Pakistan and Afghanistan, seems to coincide with the incidence of insurgencies in the “Sunni Triangle” of Iraq. Jill Lawless, an AP reporter based in London wrote today (April 15, 2004) the following: “Charles Heyman, an analyst at Jane's Defense Weekly, said the tape was “a not very subtle attempt to break whatever coalition there is and to destabilize the situation in Iraq.” There is some truth in Mr. Heyman’s analysis. Take the case of Poland in this regard. The Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski while addressing a small group of European reporters hinted for the very first time his criticism about war in Iraq. He said Poland might start withdrawing its troops from Iraq early next year, months earlier than the previously stated date of mid-2005. It remains to be seen if any other European nation would criticize the U.S. position vis-à-vis Iraq.

In summary, an audiotaped message had surfaced in the Middle East, which is purported to be spoken by al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden. The unequivocal message a diabolical person such as bin Laden sounded an alarm bell in Europe even though he offered a truce to European nations while vilifying the U.S. and Israel. Nevertheless, most European governments have soundly rejected the offer of truce. It remains to be seen if al-Qaeda terror organization now mounts terror attack on European soil on the face of this rejection by the Europeans. This scribe thinks Osama bin Laden is smart enough to realize that Muslim nations now need European’s support for more than ever to spread the word that grievous injustice was done to Palestinian people while creating Israel in 1948. Therefore, the latest ploy to send tape-recorded message to Europeans was done with the intention of escalating the on-going insurgencies in Iraq. Fighting the Americans has become a passion for the religious extremists. Iraq mired with civil war is offering that rare opportunity for Jihadists to come face-to-face with their enemy. The veiled threat to Europeans to pull their army from Iraq justifies this notion that al-Qaeda men may enter Iraq to strengthen the insurgency.
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Dr. A. H. Jaffor Ullah, a senior researcher and columnist, writes from New Orleans, USA