New Bin Laden Tape Warns France - NYTimes.com

New Bin Laden Tape Warns France - NYTimes.com: "New Bin Laden Tape Threatens France
By MAÏA DE LA BAUME
Published: October 27, 2010



PARIS — Osama bin Laden warned France in an audiotape broadcast by Al Jazeera television on Wednesday that it would face killings and kidnappings if it did not withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

He also justified the kidnapping of five French citizens in Niger last month, saying that France mistreated its Muslims.

“The equation is very clear and simple: as you kill, you will be killed; as you take others hostages, you will be taken hostages; as you waste our security we will waste your security,” Mr. bin Laden said.

France has about 3,750 troops in Afghanistan, making it the fourth biggest contributor to the international military mission.

Al Qaeda’s North African affiliate claimed responsibility last month for the kidnapping of five French citizens in northern Niger. The five were connected to Areva, the French nuclear engineering giant, and to a subsidiary of the major French construction group Vinci. In July, the affiliate said it executed a 78-year-old French aid worker who had been abducted in Niger three months earlier.

“The taking of your experts in Niger as hostages while they were being protected by your proxy there,” Mr. bin Laden said, “is a reaction to the injustice you are practicing against our Muslim nation.”

Mr. bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda, said the injustice included France’s controversial ban on Muslim veils that cover the face, scheduled to start in April.

“If you unjustly thought that it is your right to prevent free Muslim women from wearing the face veil, is it not our right to expel your invading men and cut their necks?” Mr. bin Laden asked.

– Envoyé à l'aide de la barre d'outils Google"