On July 17, 2005, on Egypt's Dream TV, Egyptian MP Hamadein Sabahi and Abd Al-Rahim Ali, a journalist and expert on Islamist movements discussed issues such as Iraq, killing American soilders, and Osama bin Laden. To view this clip http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=770 .
It is followed by another interview on the same program with Abd Al-Rahim Ali and an Egyptian truck driver who was kidnapped in Iraq. To view clip visit http://www.memritv.org/search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=774 .
Please note that […] represents a break in scene.
Segment 1: Egyptian MP Praises Killing American Soldiers
Hamadein Sabahi: "The responsibility for the slaughter of [the Egyptian ambassador in Iraq] lies, first and foremost, with George Bush, his administration, and his military forces, occupying Iraq."
Host: "And who else is responsible?"
Sabahi: "The Egyptian government. It's directly responsible.
[…]
"Since the beginning of the crisis in Iraq, the Egyptian government's position was submissive, meek and contemptible. This position did not reflect the will of the Egyptian people, or the interests of the Arab nation. Rather, it has reflected submission to the American interests."
Host: "And who was the third killer?"
Sabahi: "The third killer is the collaborating puppet government, which has no legitimacy in Iraq.
[…]
Sabahi: "When the conflict is directed against the Americans, it is good. Any weapon that kills an American is good. Any gun aiming at the Marines is good. Any kidnapping or slaughtering of an American in Iraq is good."
Abd Al-Rahim Ali: "In Iraq, there are a million Western and international intelligence agencies, which help Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi to disintegrate this country, and to keep the Americans there for another million years."
Sabahi: "Are you saying America is behind Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi?"
Ali: "Of course. There is no doubt. I want to tell you something."
Sabahi: "You mean that America is responsible for the killing of our ambassador?"
Ali: "Of course it is. The American occupation and the campaign in Baghdad between Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi and the Americans is the cause.
[…]
"Al-Zarqawi, the "Qui'dat Al-Jihad" organization in Iraq, and the Americans are the ones who slaughtered the Egyptian ambassador, and prior to that, slaughtered the Egyptian driver, and they are the ones slaughtering the citizens."
Sabahi: "You cannot but salute this organization when it kills any American soldier - I'm not saying a civilian. I say that the presence of the Al-Qa'ida squads in Iraq as resistance fighters, or as part of the resistance, is a positive phenomena that should be supported."
Ali: "I totally disagree."
Sabahi: "I support Al-Qa'ida when it kills Americans."
[…]
Ali: "Where is Al-Qa'ida? Tel Aviv is still standing. Those who attacked the two towers in America cannot attack Sharon and Tel Aviv? Osama bin Laden did not donate a single pound or dollar to the Palestinian resistance. Hamas and Islamic Jihad are there. Osama bin Laden did not donate a single pound to the Palestinian resistance. He did not send a single fighter to the Palestinian territories to blow himself up at those who oppress the Palestinians every day. Where is Osama bin Laden?"
Sabahi: "I agree with you completely..."
Ali: "Bin Laden's a liar."
Sabahi: "No, no. He's not a liar. Indeed, I call upon him to go to Tel Aviv."
Ali: "He won't go. What's stopping him?"
Sabahi: "I am not responsible for Al-Qa'ida, and I'm not Osama bin Laden's spokesman."
Ali: "But you welcome their presence in Iraq."
Sabahi: "Of course. I welcome them wherever there is American occupation."
Ali: "They are an arrow in the heart of Iraq."
Sabahi: "I welcome their presence, I support them, and I call to assist them, so that they attack every American soldier."
Segment 2: On Jihad in Iraq
The following are excerpts from a TV discussion with Adb Al-Rahim Ali and Muhammad Ali Sanad, an Egyptian driver who was kidnapped in Iraq. The program was aired on Dream 2 TV on July 17, 2005.
Host: "How were you kidnapped? You were a driver in Kuwait. Who sent you to Baghdad? How were you kidnapped by one of the resistance groups?"
Muhammad Ali Sanad: "A Sunni group kidnapped me. We were driving with cargo for the Americans."
Host: "Did you know the cargo was for the occupation forces?"
Sanad: "No. A Shiite group was protecting us. The moment they saw Sunnis pointing their guns at us, they turned around and fled to the mountains, leaving me alone."
Host: "You mean the Kuwaiti who sent you?"
Sanad: "Yes, it's a company in Kuwait. We left to deliver cement, computers, and kitchens in seven trailers, seven truckloads."
Host: "To the occupation forces?"
Sanad: "Yes."
Host: "What if you had known it was for the occupation forces?"
Sanad: "I wouldn't have gone."
[…]
Host: "What area did they take you to?"
Sanad: "To a city called Falluja. They told us we were going to Falluja. They took me and put me in a house, calmed us down, and then the television came to film us."
Host: "Muhammad, after your return, I feel you believe in this group which kidnapped you, and that you believe it is a resistance group with values and principles and a noble cause."
Sanad: "May Allah help them in Iraq and show them His mercy. Now that I'm back, if anybody asks me, I say these are the purest people I've met. May Allah help them to deal with the injustice they suffer. This is all I can say: injustice, injustice, injustice."
Abd Al-Rahim Ali: "On the one hand, there's the respectable and noble Iraqi resistance which carries arms, fights the American soldiers, and kills them - and they have the right to do this. On the other hand, there's the resistance led by Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, which kills and blows people up indiscriminately..."
Sanad: "No, no. They don't behave unjustly."
Ali: "I'm not talking about the group that kidnapped you."
Sanad: "These people do not behave unjustly."
[…]
Host: "But, Muhammad, this group slaughtered an Egyptian, and they took you and said, 'come and look'... Can we defend a group that slaughters someone who was your co-worker?"
Sanad: "He deserved it...
[…]
He collaborated with the Americans. He would indicate the houses of Jihad fighters with a laser beam."
Host: "Muhammad, your group is called "Tawhid and Jihad", I think."
Sanad: "They are all the same."
Host: "But you told me they were of different nationalities."
Sanad: "All those who fight the Jihad belong to Osama bin Laden, may Allah bless him. Honestly..."
