CAIRO — A day before President Barack Obama was to deliver a speech here seeking goodwill with the Islamic world, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden tried in a new message Wednesday to convince Muslims they should hate him.
The message was the second from al-Qaeda in as many days criticizing Obama. Analysts said that shows the terrorist organization worries the president will succeed in improving America’s image in the Muslim world.
In his audiotape, aired on al-Jazeera television, bin Laden said Obama has inflamed hatred toward the U.S. by ordering Pakistan to crack down on militants and block Islamic law there. He claimed U.S. pressure led to a campaign of “killing, fighting, bombing and destruction” that prompted the exodus of a million Muslims from the Swat Valley.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said al-Qaeda wants “to shift attention away from the president’s historic efforts … (to) have an open dialogue with the Muslim world.”
