MEMPHIS, Tenn. - In a newly released audio tape, Osama bin Laden heaped praise on al-Zarqawi in rhymed couplets traditional to Islamic poetry, calling him a "lion of Islam," and then threatened President Bush with America's destruction if American forces refuse to release the body of the slain Iraq insurgent leader so he can be be buried "next to his hero, rock 'n roll pioneer Elvis Presley, on the hallowed grounds of Graceland." Bin Laden explained that al-Zarqawi worshipped Presley, who died in his bathroom at his home, Graceland, of heart disease and drug abuse in August 1977. According to bin Laden, Al-Zarqawi, who videotaped himself personally beheading innocent Americans and other Westerners, frequently broke into Presley songs in public, once even warbling "Wise men say, only fools rush in . . ." while beheading a Red Cross worker.
Bin Laden's comments appear to be accurate since they confirm reports of American soldiers after they found al-Zarqawi near death following a U.S. airstrike on his hideout last month. Before he expired, Iraq's most famous terrorist asked the soldiers to see to it that he be buried at Graceland, now a kitschy shrine, "no more than five feet from the King." Al-Zarqawi then uttered his final word, "Rosebud," which reporters are still trying to understand, and died.
In the newly released audio statement, bin Laden fueled conspiracy theories that Presley never died by referring to Presley's "alleged grave site." Bin Laden has long maintained that America faked Presley's death and is holding him captive at its Guantanamo Bay prison facility.
