Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, has voiced his concern about climate change and the recent floods in Pakistan, in an audiotape posted on the Internet on Friday. Osama's new tack is being seen as an effort to bolster his flagging image.
The speech titled "Reflections on the Method of Relief Work" came in an 11 minute video that had been posted on Islamist websites, and was released by American watchdog SITE Intelligence Group on Friday.
SITE said that it had been able to identify the voice, but the official authentication would come only from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This could be Osama's first public message since March.
Among what he said, according to the Independent:
- The number of victims caused by climate change is very big, bigger than the victims of wars.
- The United States has no problem ... standing up anywhere in the world and pledging our commitment and assistance to help its people in a tragic time.
- What governments spend on relief work is secondary to what they spend on armies. If governments spent [on relief] only one per cent of what is spent on armies, they would change the face of the world for poor people.
- The famine and drought in Africa that we see, and the flooding in Pakistan and other parts of the world, with thousands dead along with millions of refugees, that's why people with hearts should move quickly to save their brothers and sisters.
- The huge climate change is affecting our nation and is causing great catastrophes throughout the Islamic world. The challenge calls for generous souls and brave men to take serious and prompt action to provide relief for their Muslim brothers in Pakistan.
A leading Western analyst described the non-violent tilt in Osama's message to offset his loss of image among moderate Muslims. Paul Pillar, a former top US intelligence official, told Agence France-Presse (AFP), that the al-Qaeda leader may be taking his cue from radical groups like Hamas and Hezbollah who are known for providing humanitarian relief to the public.
The 46.3 MB video can also be downloaded from from the SITE website.
