OSAMA bin Laden yesterday attempted to taint Barack Obama's address to the Muslim world in Egypt today by issuing a fiery message accusing the United States president of planting the seeds of "revenge and hatred".
The audio message, released through the al-Jazeera television network, came the day after Ayman al-Zawahri, al-Qaeda's second-in-command, delivered his own audio message, urging Egyptians to ignore Obama's "polished words", to be delivered in a speec
h at Cairo University.
Bin Laden said: "Obama and his administration have planted seeds for hatred and revenge against America. Let the American people prepare to continue to reap what has been planted by the heads of the White House in the coming years and decades."
He accused Mr Obama of continuing anti-Muslim policies of his predecessor, singling out US opposition to militants in Pakistan.
Mr Obama's policies in Pakistan had raised "animosity" among Muslims, bin Laden said, adding that the US president had "ordered" Pakistan to fight the Taleban, al-Qaeda's allies, in the Swat region.
"Obama ordered (Pakistani president Asif] Zardari and his army to prevent the Swat people from implementing sharia (law] through killing and bombing and destruction," he said. "This has led to the displacement of about a million Muslims – elderly, women and children – from their villages and homes to become refugees in tents."
Some analysts said the propaganda attacks were proof that al-Qaeda was growing nervous about Mr Obama's attempt to dispel the hatred of the US that built up in the Muslim world during the Bush administration.
Edwin Bakker, an academic at the Dutch Clingendael Institute, said: "Al-Qaeda partly lives on anti-Americanism and the 'war on terror'. Now Bush has gone and been replaced by a guy whose second name is Hussein. And they fear his speech really is going to have a positive effect."
Mr Obama hopes his speech will help dispel the anti-Americanism that grew in the aftermath of the response to the 9/11 attacks, and help build the foundations for an Arab-Israeli peace deal.
Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi, said al-Qaeda had been unsettled by Mr Obama courting Muslim opinion. "They know Obama is popular in a huge part of the Arab and Muslim world because the man is actually trying to address America's record in the region," he said.
As important as anything Mr Obama says today is the signal he is sending out simply by making it. Cairo is one of the centres of the Muslim world, and analysts have noted his decision not to visit Israel during his Middle East trip, in stark contrast to the practice of George Bush.
The president began his trip with a visit yesterday to Saudi Arabia, seeking support from King Abdullah Bin Adbul Aziz for a revival of a peace plan in which Arab support of Israel would be linked to Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank.
In the US, opponents have criticised Mr Obama's decision not to visit Israel and his apologies for the actions of the Bush administration.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said it would weaken the US. "On Arab TV, he said that America dictates to other nations. That's not the kind of apology tour that is appropriate," he said.
But US congressman Andre Carson, a Democrat and a Muslim, said Mr Obama's trip would "open the door" for dialogue.
"President Obama is reaching the hearts and minds of the Muslim community," he said. "The first step to establishing a good relationship is communication. It's a great first step."
There is concern among critics of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarack, who blame him for crushing domestic opposition, that Mr Obama's visit will be seen as an endorsement of his government. But some note the US president's decision to make his speech at Cairo University, traditionally a hot-bed of pro-democracy opposition.
