Baghdad, Oct 19: Governing Council member Muwaffak Rubai today dismissed a purported Osama Bin Laden message to the Iraqi people, urging the Al-Qaeda chief to stay out of Iraq`s affairs. "We ask him not to interfere in Iraqi affairs and to leave us alone," he told reporters after Qatar`s Al-Jazeera television aired an audiotape message attributed to the head of the Al-Qaeda terror network.
"We have lived through three deadly wars and we don`t want to get involved in (more) wars, internal or external, for others."
He warned Al-Qaeda against "falling in the Iraqi quagmire, because the Iraqi scene is complicated and doesn`t need it to be more so."
"We don`t want bin laden to use Iraq to settle old scores with the Americans," said Rubai, a Shiite Muslim member of the US-installed interim council.
"All Iraqis want to end the occupation as soon as possible. Encouraging terrorist activities will only give occupying forces an excuse to continue the occupation," he added in a reference to attacks against US-led coalition troops.
Bureau Report