The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States authenticated a new audio-taped message on Friday in which al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden vows to wage holy war in Iraq and Africa, while the White House brushed off the message as old news.
In the fourth tape this year, Bin Laden hails Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the slain al-Qaeda leader in Iraq, as a ”lion of Islam” and says Americans got the wrong man by convicting Zacarias Moussaoui of involvement in the September 11 attacks.
”I am responsible for assigning the roles of the 19 brothers who took part in the attacks of September 11 2001,” Bin Laden said.
The recording appeared on the As-Sahab internet site that is frequently used by al-Qaeda.
”We will keep up our fight to bleed your money dry, kill your men so that [your forces] go home defeated, as we defeated you in Somalia,” Bin Laden told US President George Bush.
”The banner [of jihad] has not fallen. It will be picked up by another lion of Islam. We will continue our fight against you everywhere, in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Somalia and in Sudan.”
A CIA official said the tape had been studied and authenticated, but other US officials played down its significance.
”Following a technical analysis of an audiotape [posted] on the internet, the CIA assesses it is the voice of Osama bin Laden,” a CIA official said.
A State Department spokesperson said the tape showed that, even though al-Qaeda was getting weaker, ”we still have our work cut out for us”.
”Their capabilities have been lessened, but they still remain a threat. The fight against al-Qaeda and others who practise terrorism is going to be a long one,” deputy spokesperson Adam Ereli told reporters.
But White House press secretary Tony Snow said that Bush had little reaction to the latest Bin Laden threats.
”No, it’s another Bin Laden audiotape. It is what it is,” he told reporters when asked if Bush had any reaction.
A counterterrorism official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dismissed the tape as a propaganda message aimed at showing that Bin Laden was relevant and on top of current events.
He said Bin Laden has claimed responsibility for the September 11 attack before, ”but he may feel a need to say it again as part of his continuing propaganda campaign”.
Officials said Bin Laden also was trying to brush over the fact that he and al-Zarqawi never had an easy relationship in life.
Bin Laden had ”an uneasy alliance” with al-Zarqawi but it was not surprising that he should extol him in death and exhort his followers to fight on in Iraq, said the US official.
”It’s a recognition on his part how important al-Qaeda in Iraq is in pursuing al-Qaeda’s central strategy,” he said.
Al-Zarqawi was the most-wanted man in Iraq until he was killed in a US air strike on his hideout June 7. US officials had put a $25-million bounty on his head.
Washington followed a similar strategy on Friday when US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had authorised a reward of up to $5-million for information leading to al-Zarqawi’s direct associate, Abu Ayyub al-Masr.
The State Department said Abu Ayyub al-Masri is an Egyptian national and a senior al-Qaeda leader in Iraq.
”Trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan, al-Masri is an explosives expert specialising in the construction of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices,” the same bombs responsible for large numbers of US troop casualties, the statement said.
Washington has been unable up to now to hunt down Bin Laden, the mastermind of the September 11 2001 attacks, who had previously been heard of in an audiotape released in May.
Bin Laden last appeared in a videotape in October 2004 and his whereabouts is unknown, although he is believed to be hiding out either in Pakistan or Afghanistan. He also carries a $25-million US bounty on his head. — AFP
