HOW, WHY AND WHEN TO DESTROY THE UNITED
STATES
The following interview was conducted by a reporter for the Al-Jazeera network
with the third-in-command of the Al Queda organization, Mr. Mohammed Al-Asuquf.
Al-Asuquf's background is impressive; a doctorate in physics and masters in
international economics. In the interview, he talks of Al Queda's plans with
total detachment, with deep knowledge and an unshakeable commitment to his
cause. This interview was sent to Abel-Bari Atwan, chief editor of Al Quds, an
Arabic-language newspaper published in London, but was never printed, due to its
highly revealing [inflammatory?] contents. A copy of the interview came to
Foz-do-IguaÁu, and was translated into Portuguese by a university professor in
the city's Arab community.
This is probably the only existing version of this interview not in Arabic.
Al-Jazeera: What is the objective of the Al Queda network?
Al-Asuquf: To destroy the Great Satan, that is, the United States and Israel.
Al-Jazeera: Why?
Al-Asuquf: The USA over the past 60 years has been impregnating [infecting] the
world with its arrogance, greed and malfeasance. It is the incarnation of all
that is evil. The people of this planet don't deserve this torture.
Al-Jazeera: Isn't this view somewhat one-sided?
Al-Asuquf: No; one only has to observe recent events. The disrespect of the
Kyoto treaty; the case of the Permanent Court of International Justice, their
inaction with regards to our Palestinian brothers; the financial greed and
absurd speculations in Third World countries; the complete indifference to other
oppressed people and countless other situations which all of the world's leaders
well know. And on top of all that, the Bush doctrine of "shoot first and ask
questions later."
This is an unacceptable abuse and will therefore have very grave consequences.
Al-Jazeera: But the isn't the development and influence of America the fruit of
its own competence?
Al-Asuquf: Competence in extortion, competence in subjugation, competence in
lying. After the Second World War, the USA was the only industrialized country
with its manufacturing infrastructure intact. Loaning money like a good loan
shark, it ended up becoming a very rich and powerful country; however, its greed
remained undiminished.
Today, Americans live like maharajas [?], wasting more than any other people,
spending more than $80 billion per year just on gambling.
They've lost any notion of spirituality and live in constant sin.
With each passing day the USA demonstrates that it doesn't know how to live with
other peoples; for this, it deserves destruction.
Al-Jazeera: Wouldn't it be easier to simply assassinate President George Bush?
Al-Asuquf: In the first place, it would do no good, other than turning him into
a martyr. When you face a powerful enemy, the best strategy is not to kill him,
but to make him lose his leadership due to his incompetence, and let him live to
watch this unfold.
Al-Jazeera: Does the Al Queda network have the military capacity to make war on
the United States?
Al-Asuquf: If we analyze history, we will see that all great wars, before they
were started, were based on previously established concepts [of war]. But if we
observe well, we will see that these concepts and strategies came to nothing,
since a new type of war was ultimately waged. An example is the construction of
the Maginot line by the French before the First World War, which, in reality
proved to be completely useless against the invading forces. Aircraft carriers,
nuclear submarines, and spy satellites will be useless in the next war.
Al-Jazeera: American authorities hold more than 1,000 people suspected of
terrorism since September 11th. Won't this compromise Al Queda's plans?
Al-Asuquf: Of those imprisoned, perhaps 20 to 30 percent belong to Al Queda.
Moreover, they are from the second echelon. We have more than 500 members of the
first echelon and 800 from the second, inside the United States.
Al-Jazeera: What do you mean by first and second echelons?
Al-Asuquf: In the first echelon are Al Queda members who have been in the United
States for more than 10 years, many married with children. They have detailed
knowledge of our plans and are just waiting for a phone call. They are also
known as "sleepers." Those of the second echelon have arrived in the last five
years and have no idea of our plans.
Al-Jazeera: Are even those who are married, with children, ready to die with
their families?
Al-Asuquf: Yes. All of them are ready to die. Long live September 11th.
Al-Jazeera: What was September 11th to Al Queda's overall plans?
Al-Asuquf: As a general step, it was just the beginning. It was a way of calling
the world's attention to what is still to come.
Al-Jazeera: How many members does Al Queda have?
Al-Asuquf: In the first echelon, about 5,000; in the second, about 20,000, all
over the world.
Al-Jazeera: In the detention camp at Guantanamo, are there any members of the
first echelon?
Al-Asuquf: No, in fact, many of those there are not even Al Queda members.
Al-Jazeera: How does Al Queda intend to destroy the most powerful nation in
history?
Al-Asuquf: It's a question of logistics. Using its own poison, that is,
attacking the heart of what they consider the most important thing in the world:
money.
Al-Jazeera: How so?
Al-Asuquf: The American economy is an economy of false appearances. There is no
real economic ballast to the American economy. The American GDP of is something
around $10 trillion, of which just 1 percent represents agriculture, and just 24
percent represents industry. Therefore, 75 percent of the American GDP is
service and most of this is financial speculation. For those who understand
economics, and it appears that the American Secretary of the Treasury, Paul
O'Neil, doesn't or doesn't see it, it's enough to say that the USA acts like a
huge "dot-com," and dollars, strictly speaking, are its shares.
Al-Jazeera: Can you explain that?
Al-Asuquf: The value of a company's shares is directly proportional to the
profitability of the enterprise. When a business is just a service provider and
doesn't produce any durable goods, the value of its shares depends on its
credibility. Which is to say that if the credibility of the USA were shaken, its
shares (the dollar) would fall with incredible rapidity and the entire American
economy would begin to collapse.
Al-Jazeera: How can you be so sure of this?
Al-Asuquf: On a smaller scale, it's exactly what large financial groups do to
the countries of the third world to reap profits in one month that Swiss banks
couldn't get in four or five years.
Al-Jazeera: So how will Al Queda shock the American economy to this point?
Al-Asuquf: By provoking a deficit of between $50 and $70 trillion dollars, the
equivalent of the United States' GDP for five to seven years.
Al-Jazeera: How will this be done?
Al-Asuquf: With the destruction of the seven largest American cities, along with
other measures.
Al-Jazeera: By what means will this be done?
Al-Asuquf: Using atomic bombs.
Al-Jazeera: With all of the security in the USA, how, hypothetically, will these
bombs be smuggled onto American soil?
Al-Asuquf: They won't be smuggled in, they're already there.
Al-Jazeera: What are you saying?
Al-Asuquf: There are already seven nuclear devices on American soil which were
put in place before September 11th and are ready to be detonated.
Al-Jazeera: How did they get in to the USA?
Al-Asuquf: Before September 11, American security was a fiasco, and even after,
were it necessary, we could manage to smuggle bombs into the United States. They
entered through seaports, as normal cargo.
Al-Jazeera: How is that possible?
Al-Asuquf: A nuclear device is no bigger than a refrigerator; therefore, it can
be easily camouflaged as one. Millions of cargo containers arrive in seaports
each day, and no matter how efficient security is, it's impossible to check,
search through and examine each container.
Al-Jazeera: Where did these atomic bombs come from?
Al-Asuquf: They were purchased on the black market.
Al-Jazeera: From whom?
Al-Asuquf: We bought five from the defunct Soviet Union and two more from
Pakistan.
Al-Jazeera: How is it possible to buy an atomic bomb? Isn't there security?
Al-Asuquf: Before 1989 it was practically impossible, however after the fall of
the Berlin Wall, the Russian army began a process of self destruction, and some
high generals began to lose their privileges, and therefore, highly susceptible
to corruption. Even General Lebeb, now deceased, and Hans Blix, the head of the
arms inspection commission of the United Nations, have stated this,
notwithstanding denials by Russian Defense Minister Seguey Ivanov.
Al-Jazeera: How much does a nuclear bomb cost?
Al-Asuquf: Somewhere around $200 million.
Al-Jazeera: How did Al Queda get this money?
Al-Asuquf: We have numerous sponsors.
Al-Jazeera: Who are they?
Al-Asuquf: There are a number of countries which support us, and also numerous
wealthy individuals.
Al-Jazeera: Are all of these countries Arab?
Al-Asuquf: No, there are some European countries as well which have an interest
in the fall of the USA.
Al-Jazeera: Who are these wealthy individuals?
Al-Asuquf: People who are also tired of watching the USA suck the wealth out of
the rest of the world.
Al-Jazeera: Is Saddam Hussein one of them?
Al-Asuquf: You could say that he's just one of the collaborators, through Abdul
Tawab Mullah Hawaish, his vice-prime minister and the person responsible for
Iraq's arms program.
Al-Jazeera: Are these atomic bombs powerful ones?
Al-Asuquf: The five Russian devices are from the old T-3 missiles, also known as
RD-107s, and their potency is something around 100 kilotons each, that is, 5
times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb.
The Pakistani bombs are less powerful, somewhere around 10 kilotons.
Al-Jazeera: Can't the bombs be detected and disarmed by American authorities?
Al-Asuquf: No, in spite of their age they've undergone modernization and are
well hidden. Even if they were found, they have autodetonation provisions should
anything get close to them. Even electromagnetic pulses would be incapable of
deactivating them.
Al-Jazeera: Don't they emit radiation? Can't they be detected?
Al-Asuquf: No. They are wrapped in thick leaden cases.
Al-Jazeera: A suspected Pakistani ship was recently searched and all that was
found were lead bars. Does this have anything to do with the bombs?
Al-Asuquf: Yes, however that lead was just an extra layer, and was not
essentially necessary.
Al-Jazeera: How will the bombs be detonated?
Al-Asuquf: There are numerous methods, a cell-phone call, radio frequency,
seismic shocks or by timer.
Al-Jazeera: Once detonated, how many deaths will be caused by these bombs?
Al-Asuquf: It depends, since our plans are very malleable.
Al-Jazeera: So what is the entire plan?
Al-Asuquf: The beginning will be the detonation of a nuclear device, which will
cause the death of between 800 thousand and one million people and create chaos
on a scale never seen before. During this chaos, two or three cropsprayers that
are now dismantled and stored in granaries [silos?] close to little-used
highways in the countryside will take off on suicide missions to spray two or
three large American cities with smallpox. That means that once the smallpox has
been identified, all airports and seaports will be closed by quarantine. Land
borders will likewise be shut down. Not one airplane, ship or vehicle will enter
or leave the United States. This will cause total chaos. White House Press
secretary Ari Fleischman will be very busy.
Al-Jazeera: But the American government has guaranteed that within five days it
could produce enough smallpox vaccine to inoculate the entire population.
Al-Asuquf: There will be simultaneous suicide attacks against the vaccine
production plants.
Al-Jazeera: Which will be the first city?
Al-Asuquf: The first city will be that in which optimal conditions present
themselves, for example, clear skies, and winds of eight miles-per-hour or less
in the direction of the country's center so that radioactive dust can
contaminate the maximum possible area.
Al-Jazeera: Will this attack annihilate the USA?
Al-Asuquf: No. But the process will have begun. Who will buy food products from
the United States knowing they may have been contaminated by radiation? Who will
travel to the United States knowing the possibility of contracting smallpox? Who
will continue to invest in American institutions? Just as with the World Trade
Center, it will be simply a question of time before the entire economic
structure collapses and turns to dust. If our objectives are reached with one
bomb and the smallpox, probably we'll save the lives of others, however that's
risky [unlikely?], and it's probable that six more bombs will be detonated, one
per week, and other attacks with chemical weapons will be carried out.
Al-Jazeera: How many innocent people will die?
Al-Asuquf: According to estimates made by me and Ayman Al-Zawahiro, somewhere
around 15 million due to the atomic bombs and their radiation. Of those exposed
to smallpox, 25 percent will die, approximately five million, and many more due
to the ensuing chaos and disorder.
Al-Jazeera: What about the American military response?
Al-Asuquf: There will practically be none. Even if five or ten cities were
chosen at random to be destroyed, that would still be a small price to pay. The
problem is the economic despair will be so great that even economizing by not
using arms unnecessarily will occur, since the liquidity of American goods will
be almost zero and at that point the United States will make more selling its
Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, which cost about five billion dollars, to Turkey
or Italy for one billion dollars, since the country will so urgently need to
recapitalize, though it will be too late. Moreover, how will the morale of
American soldiers be knowing that their entire families have died and their
country no longer exists. Fight for what?
Al-Jazeera: And won't the global economy also be ruined?
Al-Asuquf: In the beginning it will be very difficult; a serious economic crisis
will ensue. However, without the United States, the world will soon arise in a
more just and fraternal manner.
Al-Jazeera: And Israel?
Al-Asuquf: As they say... it will be dessert.
Al-Jazeera: Does bin Laden's spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Gheith, know that you are
giving this interview?
Al-Asuquf: It was he and bin Laden who suggested I give it.
Al-Jazeera: Osama bin Laden is still alive?
Al-Asuquf: He is quite healthy, alongside his commanders Mohammed Atef and
Khalid Shaik Mohammed and Mullah Omar.
Al-Jazeera: Aren't you fearful that Al Queda's plans will be discovered?
Al-Asuquf: The plan is already in its countdown, and nothing can stop it.
Al-Jazeera: Not even if the United States asks forgiveness and changes its
attitudes?
Al-Asuquf: That won't happen, and even if it did, it's too late.
Al-Jazeera: When will the attack begin?
Al-Asuquf: I can't reveal that. Allah Akbar.