Iraqi Al-Qaeda Group Calls For Holy War In Egypt

From My Stateline:

An Iraq-based al-Qaeda group is calling for holy war and jail breaks in Egypt.

In a statement posted on Islamist websites Tuesday, the Islamic State of Iraq urged Egyptian Muslims to topple Egypt's government as punishment for not imposing strict Islamic law.

The terror group said, quote, "If the people of Islam die trying to reach this goal, it is better for them than having a tyrant who rules them with laws other than God's Sharia law." It added, quote, "the doors of martyrdom have opened."

The statement came out the same day Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman revealed al-Qaeda-linked militants are among the many prisoners who have broken out of Egypt's jails since the uprising against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule began more than two weeks ago.

The Iraqi al-Qaeda group told Egyptian Muslims not to rest until all prisoners are turned loose and all the prisons are destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration is still pushing the Egyptian government to disband and to create a vacuum that would allow rogue elements to fill the void and take control of the country.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs on Wednesday echoed a statement that President Obama had made last week, in which the President had insisted that an orderly transition of power, in Egypt, "must begin now."

"I think ... that an orderly transition must begin now," said Gibbs.

Vice President Biden on Tuesday, however, appeared to offer a tad bit of breathing room to President Mubarak.

Borrowing a word which he and President Obama had often used in the past, Mr. Biden told Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman that an 'orderly transition' must take place and that the Egyptian government should work with the opposition to develop 'a TIMETABLE for transition'.

And while we're on the subject of 'timetables':

From Xinhua:

A total of seven people were killed and 80 others were wounded in bomb attacks [in Iraq] on Wednesday, including three car bombings in Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk...

From the Examiner - February 6, 2011:

The final 50,000 American troops are scheduled to leave Iraq on December 31, 2011... However, there are some in the Pentagon and elsewhere who say that US troops will need to remain after the December date.

Officials in the Pentagon are fearful that Iraq is becoming a “forgotten war” and is still too instable for US troop withdrawal...

Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of US Forces in Iraq said, “Sunni extremist groups like Al Qaeda will continue to target the government of Iraq, the Iraqi security forces...”

US Ambassador to Iraq, James Jeffrey also points to an Al Qaeda threat, "We will either step up to the plate, finish the job, and build on the sacrifice made, or we will risk core U.S. national security interests, be pennywise and pound-foolish, and cede the field to al-Qaida and other dangerous regional influences."

Even last month, Vice-President Joe Biden indicated that US troops may have to remain beyond the SOFA date.

Ah, yes, 'timetables"......