In his October 27, 2006 column in the Egyptian government evening paper Al-Masa', Muhammad Foda wrote that he was happy to know that American and British soldiers were being killed in Iraq.
The following are excerpts from the article:
"I Am Very Happy When I Learn That an American or British Soldier Has Been Killed"
"By my nature, I cannot stand the sight of blood spilling out of a bird or an animal, not to mention of a human. My heart does not let me watch a chicken being slaughtered or a knife being waved over a lamb's or calf's neck on the Festival of Sacrifice. If I see a predator on television, like a lion or a tiger, chasing after a deer, I flip to another channel so as not to see the weak prey becoming a tasty meal in the claws and teeth of this beast.
"Nonetheless, I am very happy when I learn that an American or British soldier has been killed by the resistance forces in Iraq. It is true that this soldier and his family have no choice but for him to be in Iraq, so I express my condolences to the family for [the death of] a person like ourselves. However, I am happy at the downfall of the American statesmen, and especially President Bush, his vice president Cheney, and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, who dragged their people into this quagmire in order to murder the Iraqi people and slaughter its children and women.
"In October 2006 alone, the Americans lost 101 soldiers in Iraq... This number is relatively large in comparison with the number of dead in past months, and this proves that the Iraqi resistance is growing stronger day by day, week by week, and month by month. Thus it is developing its methods and is focusing on occupation soldiers at their posts, in their lodgings, in their training [facilities], and in their military bases."
"We Hope That the Resistance Forces Will Focus More on 'Hunting' American and British Soldiers"
"We hope that the resistance forces will focus more on 'hunting' American and British soldiers, and in this way will harm Bush and his people, who seem to be determined to stay in Iraq at any cost – even if over 50 soldiers are killed every hour. What matters to them is the implementation of their policy, even [if this be] over the remains of their soldiers' corpses.
"When the American President George Bush, Jr. and his English partner Blair understand that there is a high price for their forces' remaining in Iraq, and that Iraqi soil will be a graveyard for their invading soldiers, [only] then will [they] – this bloody man and his partner who walks in his footsteps – [understand] that they are guilty before their own countries, before they are guilty before Iraq and the Iraqi people."