Al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri has threatened more death and destruction in London. He specifically pinned the blame for past and future bloodshed in the British capital on the foreign policy of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Zawahri’s chilling message was aired on the pan-Arab television channel Al-Jazeera. His words were directed at all countries in the US-led coalition currently fighting in Iraq, although London was the only place named. Zawahri reiterated: “Our message for you is crystal clear: You will not be safe until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and wealth and stop supporting the corrupt rulers.” Mr. Blair has declined to comment on the tape.

Zawahri’s message also included a warning to the US that the greatest struggle was to come, which would make America “forget the horrors of Vietnam”. He warned that tens of thousands of US soldiers would perish if America did not withdraw from Iraq. He berated Washington, saying: “You spilled blood like rivers in our countries and we exploded the volcanoes of wrath in your countries.” He urged Western nations to accept Osama bin Laden’s exit solution: “Osama has offered you a truce if you leave Muslim lands. You will not dream of security until we live it as a reality in Palestine, and until all your infidel armies leave Iraq and Afghanistan.” Zawahri’s message is the first from Al-Qaeda since November.

WARM-UPS

1. IRAQIS: You are an average Iraqi person trying to live a normal life in Iraq. In pairs / groups, talk about the following:

Saddam Hussein Security Food prices The foreign soldiers in your country Suicide bombings

George W. Bush Your children’s future Al-Qaeda Fear Other

2. COALITION SOLDIER: You are a coalition soldier in Iraq. Introduce yourself to the other “soldiers” in the class and talk about your job and daily life. What do you think about events in Iraq? Are you happy to stay of would you prefer to go home? After you have spoken to several students, sit down with a partner and share what you heard.

3. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words are most interesting and which are most boring.

Al-Qaeda / death and destruction / bloodshed / British foreign policy / Al-Jazeera / US-led coalition / Iraqi oil / Vietnam / volcanoes / Palestine / Afghanistan

Have a chat about the topics you liked. For more conversation, change topics and partners frequently.

4. DESTRUCTION: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word “destruction”. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

5. TERROR MEMORIES: In pairs / groups, write down five different terror attacks that you can remember. Where were you and what were you doing at the time you heard the news of these attacks? What details do you remember about the attacks?

Change partners and compare what you talked about.

6. QUICK DEBATE: Students A think the US-led coalition should stay in Iraq indefinitely. Students B think the US-led coalition should leave Iraq immediately. Change partners often.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a.	Osama bin Laden has made a video warning of terror attacks.	T / F
b.	Al-Qaeda said Tony Blair was to blame for terror in London.	T / F
c.	Al-Qaeda said it has more plans to attack London.	T / F
d.	Tony Blair said the taped message was nothing to worry about.	T / F
e.	The message warned Iraq would be deadlier than Vietnam.	T / F
f.	Al-Qaeda has plans to use volcanoes as potential weapons.	T / F
g.	Osama bin Laden has offered a truce to Western countries.	T / F
h.	Al-Qaeda said peace cannot exist without security in Palestine.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a.	deputy	restated
b.	pinned	anger
c.	bloodshed	die
d.	reiterated	carnage
e.	crystal clear	fight
f.	struggle	rebuked
g.	perish	second-in-command
h.	berated	as plain as day
i.	wrath	heathen
j.	infidel	attached

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a.	death and	clear
b.	pinned	to comment on the tape
c.	Mr. Zawahri’s chilling	the blame … on
d.	Our message for you is crystal	greatest struggle was to come
e.	Mr. Blair has declined	a truce
f.	a warning to the US that the	message
g.	forget the horrors	destruction
h.	US soldiers would perish	if America did not withdraw
i.	Osama has offered you	leave Iraq and Afghanistan
j.	all your infidel armies	of Vietnam

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words in the column on the right into the correct spaces.

Al-Qaeda warns of more attacks

Al-Qaeda’s _______ Ayman al-Zawahri has threatened more death and destruction in London. He specifically _______ the blame for past and future _______ in the British capital on the foreign policy of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Zawahri’s _______ message was aired on the _______ -Arab television channel Al-Jazeera. His words were directed at all countries in the US-led coalition currently fighting in Iraq, although London was the only place named. Zawahri reiterated: “Our message for you is _______ clear: You will not be safe until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and wealth and stop supporting the _______ rulers.” Mr. Blair has _______ to comment on the tape.		corrupt bloodshed pan deputy declined pinned chilling crystal
Zawahri’s message also _______ a warning to the US that the greatest _______ was to come, which would make America “forget the _______ of Vietnam”. He warned that tens of thousands of US soldiers would _______ if America did not withdraw from Iraq. He berated Washington, saying: “You spilled blood like rivers in our countries and we exploded the volcanoes of _______ in your countries.” He urged Western nations to accept Osama bin Laden’s exit solution: “Osama has offered you a _______ if you leave Muslim lands. You will not dream of security until we live it as a _______ in Palestine, and until all your _______ armies leave Iraq and Afghanistan.” Zawahri’s message is the first from Al-Qaeda since November.		reality horrors wrath included infidel perish truce struggle

AFTER READING / LISTENING

1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionaries / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘blood’ and ‘shed’.

• Share your findings with your partners.
• Make questions using the words you found.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

• Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
• Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the gap fill. Were they new, interesting, worth learning…?

4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.

5. STUDENT “AL-QAEDA THREAT” SURVEY: In pairs / groups, write down questions about the threat of Al-Qaeda.

• Ask other classmates your questions and note down their answers.
• Go back to your original partner / group and compare your findings.
• Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

6. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall exactly how these were used in the text:

threatened bloodshed chilling led crystal corrupt

struggle horrors berated wrath truce infidel

DISCUSSION

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

1. What were your initial thoughts on this headline?
2. Did the headline make you want to read the article?
3. Are you tired of this kind of news or do you avidly follow it?
4. Does Al-Qaeda frighten you?
5. Do you know of any atrocities that have taken place against Muslims in recent years, for example in Srebreniza or Iraq?
6. Do you think the media treats the loss of “Western” lives as being more serious than the loss of Muslim life?
7. What are the major aims of Al-Qaeda?
8. Do you think the “war on terror” would stop if there were a Palestinian state and US forces left Iraq and Afghanistan?
9. Do you think Iraqi oil is so important to Al-Qaeda?
10. Do you think Londoners need to worry about the new threat?

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

1. Did you like reading this article?
2. What did you think about what you read?
3. What is your country’s position on the US-led force being in Iraq?
4. Tony Blair said Iraq is not a reason for terrorism. Is he right?
5. What do you think would happen if the US left Iraq tomorrow?
6. Do you think Iraq could become worse than Vietnam for America?
7. Do you think Muslims have reason to be angry with the West?
8. America may never be able to bring security to Iraq. What then?
9. What do you think would happen if Al-Qaeda starts operating from inside Iran? Should America invade Iran too?
10. Did you like this discussion?

AFTER DISCUSSION: Join another partner / group and tell them what you talked about.

1. What question would you like to ask about this topic?
2. What was the most interesting thing you heard?
3. Was there a question you didn’t like?
4. Was there something you totally disagreed with?
5. What did you like talking about?
6. Do you want to know how anyone else answered the questions?
7. Which was the most difficult question?

SPEAKING

IRAQI INTERVIEWS: You are an international correspondent. Tomorrow you have an interview with someone living in Iraq. Students A interview an average Baghdad citizen, Students B interview a US soldier in Baghdad, Students C interview a Baghdad policeman, Students D interview an Al-Qaeda trained insurgent fighting the occupying coalition. Form pairs / groups and write down eight questions you want to ask.

1. _________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
5. _________________________________________________________________
6. _________________________________________________________________
7. _________________________________________________________________
8. _________________________________________________________________

After you have finished, speculate on the possible answers in your groups.

Change partners and role play your interviews. Take turns being the journalist and the interviewee.

After the role play, return to your original partner(s) and talk about what you heard from your interviewees. Discuss whether or not the answers you received from the interviewees are realistic or true.

LISTENING

Listen and fill in the spaces.

Al-Qaeda warns of more attacks

Al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri has threatened more death and ________ in London. He specifically ________ the blame for past and future bloodshed in the British capital on the foreign policy of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Zawahri’s ________ message was ________ on the pan-Arab television channel Al-Jazeera. His words were directed at all countries in the US-led ________ currently fighting in Iraq, although London was the only place named. Zawahri ________: “Our message for you is crystal clear: You will not be safe until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and wealth and stop supporting the corrupt ________.” Mr. Blair has declined to comment on the tape.

Zawahri’s message also included a warning to the US that the greatest ________ was to come, which would make America “forget the __________ of Vietnam”. He warned that tens of thousands of US soldiers would __________ if America did not withdraw from Iraq. He __________ Washington, saying: “You spilled blood like rivers in our countries and we exploded the volcanoes of __________ in your countries.” He urged Western nations to accept Osama bin Laden’s exit solution: “Osama has offered you a __________ if you leave Muslim lands. You will not dream of security until we live it as a reality in Palestine, and until all your __________ armies leave Iraq and Afghanistan.” Zawahri’s message is the first from Al-Qaeda since November.

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google’s search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.

2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find more information on Al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri. Share your findings with your class in the next lesson.

3. THREE COUNTRIES: Make a poster about the three countries Al-Qaeda is fighting for – Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Explain how each is related to the war on terror. Show your posters to your classmates in your next lesson. Did you all find out similar things?

4. LETTER: Write a letter to Al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri about his message. Explain what you think should happen to end the war on terror. Read your letter to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all write about similar things?

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. F

b. T

c. T

d. F

e. T

f. F

g. T

h. T

SYNONYM MATCH:

a.	deputy	second-in-command
b.	pinned	attached
c.	bloodshed	carnage
d.	reiterated	restated
e.	crystal clear	as plain as day
f.	struggle	fight
g.	perish	die
h.	berated	rebuked
i.	wrath	anger
j.	infidel	heathen

PHRASE MATCH:

a.	death and	destruction
b.	pinned	the blame … on
c.	Mr. Zawahri’s chilling	message
d.	Our message for you is crystal	clear
e.	Mr. Blair has declined	to comment on the tape
f.	a warning to the US that the	greatest struggle was to come
g.	forget the horrors	of Vietnam
h.	US soldiers would perish	if America did not withdraw
i.	Osama has offered you	a truce
j.	all your infidel armies	leave Iraq and Afghanistan

GAP FILL:

Al-Qaeda warns of more attacks

Al-Qaeda’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahri has threatened more death and destruction in London. He specifically pinned the blame for past and future bloodshed in the British capital on the foreign policy of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Mr. Zawahri’s chilling message was aired on the pan-Arab television channel Al-Jazeera. His words were directed at all countries in the US-led coalition currently fighting in Iraq, although London was the only place named. Zawahri reiterated: “Our message for you is crystal clear: You will not be safe until you withdraw from our land, stop stealing our oil and wealth and stop supporting the corrupt rulers.” Mr. Blair has declined to comment on the tape.

Zawahri’s message also included a warning to the US that the greatest struggle was to come, which would make America “forget the horrors of Vietnam”. He warned that tens of thousands of US soldiers would perish if America did not withdraw from Iraq. He berated Washington, saying: “You spilled blood like rivers in our countries and we exploded the volcanoes of wrath in your countries.” He urged Western nations to accept Osama bin Laden’s exit solution: “Osama has offered you a truce if you leave Muslim lands. You will not dream of security until we live it as a reality in Palestine, and until all your infidel armies leave Iraq and Afghanistan.” Zawahri’s message is the first from Al-Qaeda since November.

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