Osama Bin Laden Threatens Americans with Execution

Osama bin Laden has threatened the United States that if they execute Khalid Sheik Mohammed or any member of the terrorist network in U.S. custody, Al-Qaeda will kill the American captives.

In an audio tape released by al-Jazeera, Osama said, "The White House has declared its wish to execute Khaled Shaikh Mohammad. The day the United States takes such a decision, it would also be taking the decision that any of you falling into our hands will be executed." In the 74-second recording tape, Bin Laden refers to "the captives you have taken from us", but he specifically mentions Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the principal conspirator of the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.

The United States officials have said that Mohammed could face a death penalty for his alleged role in the attacks. Mohammed is among the five alleged co-conspirators of the September 11 terrorist attack plot, being held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Obama government was forced to move away from the earlier plan of prosecuting Mohammed in civilian court in New York City. Recently the White House indicated that the trial is now likely to be held before a military tribunal.

Osama Laden said that, "The White House has expressed its desire to execute him," He also mentioned that, "The day America makes that decision will be the day it has issued a death sentence for any one of you that is taken captive."

Though the US officials have brushed aside the threat, but a U.S. counter-terrorism official said that, "It's the height of absurdity for anyone associated with al-Qaeda to even suggest that - now, at long last - they're going to start treating captives badly," He also said that, "They may have forgotten Danny Pearl and all the others they've slaughtered, but we haven't." Danny Pearl was a reporter of Wall Street Journal, who was killed by the al-Qaeda in 2002.

A counter-terrorism expert at Georgetown University and former CIA officer Paul Pillar said that, Bin Laden's threat "takes advantage of the controversy over the issue of trying KSM . . . to sow additional fear among Americans." The execution of Mohammed was considered as a foregone conclusion, by the US administration officials whatsoever the trial venue. Earlier in January, Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary said that Mohammed was "going to meet justice, and he's going to meet his maker. . . . He will be brought to justice, and he's likely to be executed for the heinous crimes that he committed."

According to officials, Laden's tape may have been a belated reaction to those statements. He accused President Obama of "following the footsteps of his predecessor in many important issues such as escalating the war in Afghanistan and unjustly treating our people that you took as captives." According to experts of a US monitoring agency the tape "appears to be authentic". It is the first release by Bin Laden since January 24th in which al-Qaeda claimed responsibility for an alleged bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound airline on Christmas Day.

Al-Qaeda has its network in the Middle East, Africa and other parts too. These tape releases could be a strategy of Osama to remain 'worthy of raising in the context of discussion'. In 2010 he has released three audio tapes, while there were only four in 2008 and 2009.