The number two leader of al Qaeda is calling for holy war against Israel and the West until Sapin is reconquered by the sword of Islam. The AP reports:

Al—Qaida's No. 2 leader issued a worldwide call in a new videotape released Thursday for Muslims to rise up in a holy war against Israel and join the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza until Islam reigns from "Spain to Iraq."

In the message broadcast by Al—Jazeera television, Ayman al—Zawahri, second in command to Osama bin Laden, said that al—Qaida now views "all the world as a battlefield open in front of us."

The Egyptian—born physician said that the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah and Palestinian militants would not be ended with "cease—fires or agreements."

"It is a Jihad for the sake of God and will last until (our) religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq," al—Zawahri said. "We will attack everywhere." Spain was controlled by Arab Muslims until they were driven from power at the turn of the 16th century.

I have never understood the Spanish nonchalance toward the threatened reconquista. Like Israel, Spain is a nation which is a target for Islamists, not for any deeds, but for its existence as a non—Muslim land.

Thomas Lifson  7 27 06