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news
worldnews
al-qaeda
8523491
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# Osama bin Laden new tape an attempt to put al-Qaeda at heart of revolutions
## Osama bin Laden's new tape in which he lavishes praise on the revolutions
sweeping the Middle East appears to be an attempt to place al-Qaeda at the
centre of the Arab Spring.
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TelegraphPlayer-8522750
[Link to this video][1]
[![Rob Crilly][2]][3]
By [Rob Crilly][4], Islamabad 12:21PM BST 19 May 2011
[Follow Rob Crilly on Twitter][5]
Islamists have played little role in the uprisings that began in Tunisia
leading analysts to suggest that [**al-Qaeda**][6] had lost its relevance to
angry Muslim youth even before bin Laden was shot dead by US special forces.
"It seems a pretty transparent attempt to rewrite history and put al-Qaeda at
the heart of the revolutions," said a security expert in Pakistan. "I think
the young Arabs on barricades in Libya, Syria and Yemen will see through
this."
US Navy Seals killed bin Laden in a compound in Abbottabad, a garrison town
near the Pakistani capital on May 2. The incident has deeply embarrassed the
country's military and spy agencies and led to calls by members of the US
Congress for a tougher approach toward the country.
Bin Laden had not publicly reacted to the wave of demonstrations sweeping Arab
countries before his death.
However, in a statement, al-Qaeda said he had recorded a commentary only a
week before he was killed.
## Related Articles
* [Bin Laden: message from beyond the grave][7]
19 May 2011
* [Bin Laden's biggest video moments][8]
19 May 2011
The Middle East's Islamists may come to rue the fall of the region's autocrats
however.
Once they were the main opposition to dictators from Tunisia to Syria.
Banned and exiled they could position themselves as opponents of leaders
propped up by Western paymasters, carrying the scars of imprisonment and
torture like badges of honour.
Now they find themselves overtaken by a new generation of tech-savvy, liberal
leaders of largely secular uprisings.
That is not to say they haven't benefited from the Arab Spring.
In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, which has long been barred from contesting
elections, now has a gleaming new headquarters in an upmarket area of Cairo.
In Tunisia, Islamist Ennahada politicians have returned from exile to become
the best-organised and most widely known of the dozens of newly emerging
parties.
And in Syria, the Muslim Brotherhood claims to be trying to take a bigger role
in organising the disparate opposition groups as protests wilt in the face of
overwhelming force.
But that is a long way from claims made by Anwar al-Awlaki, the American-born
al-Qaeda propagandist based in Yemen, that the uprisings will make room for
Islamists to seize power.
More likely they will have to convince a sceptical young audience of their
merits at the ballot box.
"The Islamists can try but now they will be out in the open and it will be
easier to show why their arguments are all wrong," as one young rebel in
Benghazi put it.
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Telegraph
## [Al-Qaeda][6]
* ### [News »][14]
* ### [World News »][15]
* ### [Asia »][16]
* ### [Pakistan »][17]
* ### [Middle East »][18]
In news
[![Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban][19] ][20]
### [Taliban leader reported killed][20]
[![Pakistan naval base attack][21] ][22]
### [Taliban attack Pakistan naval base][22]
[![The killing of Osama bin Laden could be used as legal justification for the
death of Muammar Gaddafi, MPs have been told. ][23] ][24]
### [Bin Laden's posthumous message][24]
[![Osama bin Laden dead: Taliban suicide bombers kill 80 in Pakistan revenge
attack][25] ][26]
### [Witnesses describe bomb aftermath][26]
[![60 Minutes - CBS news][27] ][28]
### [Obama: Pakistan may have known bin Laden whereabouts][28]
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