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The following clip is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On October 6, 2021, Al-Malahem, the media arm of the Yemen-based Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released a video featuring its senior official, Sudanese national and former Guantanamo detainee Ibrahim Al-Qousi, aka Khubayb Al-Sudani, who congratulated the Taliban for taking over Afghanistan and threatened the U.S. with attacks more painful than 9/11.
Ibrahim Al-Qousi: "In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, who fulfilled His promise, helps His worshiper, grants glory to his soldier, and defeats the confederates alone. I testify that Muhammad is His worshipper and messenger, who was chosen from among His creation, and is the friend of Allah, whom He sent with guidance and the religion of truth, to proclaim it over all religions, even if the infidels hate it. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, and his good, pure, and righteous companions, and upon all who followed his path and his Sunnah for as longs as the days and nights alternate.
"To begin, I would like to congratulate and salute the Muslims in general, then the people of Afghanistan and the Taliban movement and on the top of them, Emir of the Believers Hibatullah Akhundzada and his distinguished commanders and soldiers in particular, for this magnificent victory and evident conquest that shocked the world and all politicians and observers.
"This was not achieved by the sheer volume of their numbers or the strength of their arms and equipment, but it was achieved by the grace of Allah alone, then with faith combined with steady hearts, with determination, resolve, and perseverance of the men before whom mountaintops seem small, men who understand the essence of this religion and the nature of this conflict, and who did not give the world an ounce of consideration over their religion, and should presented sacrifices for the sake of Allah that exceed all imaginable thought.
"They are men whose hands by the grace of Allah alone, buried a third empire in the soil of Afghanistan, and restored the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to rule by the Shariah of Allah, and even if America and its allies hate it. And it was at their hands that the words were fulfilled of Emir of the Believers Mullah Omar, may Allah have mercy on him, which said: 'Allah has promised us victory and Bush promised us defeat, and we will see which one of the two promises is the true one.' So congratulations to you, O people of Afghanistan, for this great victory. You have every right to be proud of having sons like the genuine men of the Islamic Taliban movement.
"In this quick message, I want to make a brief comment on the claim of U.S. President Joe Biden in his speech after the departure of the last soldier from Afghanistan, in which he spoke with heartbreak and pain about their bitter experience and specifically, what the United States of America suffered in this war. He said that the daily expenditure over the past 20 years was $300 million, meaning America spent over $2 trillion dollar in Afghanistan.
"He also said that they suffered more than 6000 dead soldiers and American contractors, and more than 20000 wounded and permanently disabled, and there is no doubt that many times that number returned to their country and deal with chronic mental illness and other consequences. Perhaps the greatest loss America suffered, besides its material and human losses, is its reputation and prestige as a superpower and the most powerful country in the world.
"It is strange, that after all that it has suffered, the U.S. President then claims that they have succeeded and achieved the goals for shift they launched this war, which is the killing of Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him, and that Afghanistan, based in the commitments of the Taliban movement, will not be à base for which jihadi groups threaten the security of America and its allies. Was it really worth America paying these heavy costs to achieve these two goals?! Could America not have achieved these by any other way, to avoid such significant losses?!
"This confirms the words of Allah the Exalted and Almighty: 'The Unbelievers spend their wealth to hinder [man] from the path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend; but in the end they will have [only] regrets and sighs, at length they will be overcome: and the Unbelievers will be gathered together to Hell.' [Al-Anfal 36]
"In his speech on 16th August 2021, the day after the Taliban movement seized control over the Afghan capital m, Kabul, the whole world watched live as U.S. President Joe Biden recognized the defeat of America and its allies. He said: 'The events we’re seeing now are a proof that no amount of military force would ever build stability in Afghanistan, as it is known as the 'graveyard of empires.''
"What concerns us here in this speech, is to pause at a part of it, and what the U.S. President meant by saying: 'We have learned the lesson the hard way after 20 years.' Certainly, it was a precious lesson by all standards, which the U.S. President spoke of with grief and sorrow in both speeches. However, if the lesson to which the U.S. president refers is simply that their entry into Afghanistan, the graveyard of empires, was a strategic mistake that led to their defeat – and it is a shameful defeat – then this means that they did not learn nor understand the lesson in all its aspects.
"If the Americans want to fully comprehend the lesson in all its aspects, in order to be safer, they should refer to the repeated speeches and messages of Sheikh Osama bin Laden that he addressed to the American people, and specifically his speech on 13th September 2009, in which he said: 'O Americans, your security is still at risk as long as you do not comprehend the lesson in all its aspects, and as long as you do not act to remove the reasons for which the 11th September events took place,' which Sheikh Osama bin Laden, may Allah have mercy on him, explained to you in his speeches and messages.
"O Americans, even if you eliminate the last man in al-Qaeda and smash it, do not think that you will enjoy peace and security, as former U.S. President Bush had claimed. O Americans, your security is still at risk as long a you fight Islam and Muslims under different names, including 'counterterrorism.' O Americans, let it be known to you that the mujahideen today are not limited to borders, and that they can move from any part of the world to execute what they wish to deter your oppression.
"Every Muslim on the face of the earth is in fact an enterprising mujahid. The closest examples to you are what the mujahid hero Muhammad al-Shamrani, may Allah have mercy on him, and the mujahid hero Nidal Hasan, may Allah free him and heal him, did, when they hit you in your own backyard, even from within your bases. Upcoming operations by the mujahideen do not necessarily have to be a carbon copy of the 11th September operations, as they have many alternatives, and perhaps they will be more powerful, painful, and heartbreaking than those.
"O Americans, remember the famous oath of Sheikh Osama, in which he said: 'Neither America nor those who live in America will dream of security before we live it as a reality in Palestine, and before all the infidel armies leave the land of Muhammad, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.' And remember what he said in his message to the American people on 20th January 2006, titled, 'The Way to End the War,' in which he said: 'As for the delay in similar operations in America, it is not due to the inability to penetrate your security measures, but it is because the operations are under preparation, and you will see them in your home as soon as they are finished.'
He also said: 'The days and nights will not pass until we take revenge like we did on 11th September, Allah permitting.' That is the end of his words. Our last prayer is that all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
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