BULLETIN:  AL QAEDA CLAIMS CREDIT FOR PARIS ATTACKS – AT 8:28 A.M. ET:  Will the White House continue to claim that the term "Islamic terrorism" is "inaccurate"?  From CNN:

(CNN) Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility Wednesday for last week's rampage that killed 12 people at France's Charlie Hebdo satirical newspaper.

The attack was years in the making, AQAP claimed.

In a video, the group said the late Anwar al-Awlaki masterminded the attack. The U.S.-born Muslim scholar and cleric was spokesman for AQAP before his death in 2011.

The group did not claim responsibility for Friday's deadly siege at a kosher grocery store in Paris, but praised it.

The claim surfaced as Charlie Hebdo's new issue -- featuring the Prophet Mohammed on the cover -- sold all 3 million copies, in a sign of defiance against the terrorists. More copies are coming, the magazine said.

The claim for the Charlie Hebdo attack came in a video showing AQAP commander Nasr Ibn Ali al-Ansi, with pictures of the two dead Paris gunmen -- brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi -- in the background.

"When the heroes were assigned, they accepted. They promised and fulfilled," al-Ansi said.

He praised the attack, saying it was revenge for Charlie Hebdo's depictions of Mohammed.

Al-Ansi blamed not only Charlie Hebdo, but also France and the United States in his statement.

"It is France that has shared all of America's crimes," al-Ansi added. "It is France that has committed crimes in Mali and the Islamic Maghreb. It is France that supports the annihilation of Muslims in Central Africa in the name of race cleansing." ("Islamic Maghreb" refers to North Africa.)

COMMENT:  France has actually been one of the most pro-Muslim countries in Europe.  But it doesn't matter.  Crazed fanatics have their own view of reality.

We do hope the president of the United States takes time out from the important work of watching football reruns and examines the AQAP video.  The White House can make copies for a small fee.

January 14, 2015