Al-Qaeda No. 2 calls Obama a fraud, threatens attacks

A new video has been posted on radical Islamist websites of al-Qaeda's No. 2 in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In the video he criticizes United States President Barack Obama and warns of future terrorist attacks.

The video was posted on a number of different radical Islamist websites, according to CNN. In the video, he criticized the “smiling Obama” and forewarns of possible terrorist attacks against the United States, “The United States is deceiving us with the smiling Obama, who is searching for peace and defending human rights,” he said. In the video, he also makes reference to accused terrorist Ibn al-Sheikh al-Libi, and says he was tortured into making a false connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq. He consistently calls al-Libi a “veteran fighter” who fought against the hypocrites who work against the mujahedeens, according to AFP. It was later revealed by a Libyan newspaper that al-Libi died in May when he committed suicide in prison. The No. 2 leader of the terrorist group also says U.S. President Barack Obama claims to respect human rights, but al-Zawahiri asks about the expansion of the Bagram prison and the forgiveness of “CIA executioners.” “I will not ask him about his decision not to release the detainee abuse photos and will not ask him about the program to hand over detainees to other countries to be tortured, and will not ask him about the assassination teams that are deployed to assassinate anyone who is suspected to be an extremist," he said. Al-Zawahiri went on further by calling Obama a fraud because of his failure to halt expanded Israeli settlement construction, according to Politico. For several years, each video contained a message of bloodshed and danger to the United States and this video is no different, “It will be about your blood and the draining of your economy until you stop your crimes, you arrogant tyrants.” The messages also entailed resentment against NATO, particularly Germany, which he urges them to withdraw their forces from Afghanistan, “I am shocked by Germany, which was defeated by the British and the Americans and was also destroyed and occupied and is now willing to die in their place in a war which is destined to fail.” The video was released by as-Shabab Production Company