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Nov 29, 9:52 PM EST
By MAAMOUN YOUSSEF
Associated Press Writer CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden called on Europeans
to stop helping the United States in the war in Afghanistan, according
to excerpts of a new audiotape broadcast Thursday on Al-Jazeera television.
Bin Laden said it was unjust for the United States to have invaded
Afghanistan for sheltering him after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, saying
he was the "only one responsible" for the deadly assaults on New York
and Washington. "The events of Manhattan were retaliation against the American-Israeli
alliance's aggression against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and I
am the only one responsible for it. The Afghan people and government
knew nothing about it. America knows that," the al-Qaida leader said. The message appeared to be another attempt by bin Laden to influence
public opinion in the West. In 2004, he offered Europeans a truce if
they stopped attacking Muslims, then later spoke of a truce with the
U.S. In both cases, al-Qaida then denounced those areas for not
accepting its offer. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the new tape as
typical of bin Laden's tactics and expressed faith in the European allies. "I think our NATO allies understand quite clearly what is at stake in
Afghanistan as well as elsewhere around the world in fighting the war on
terror," he told reporters. "It's going to require a sustained
commitment over a period of time and we have seen that kind of
commitment from our European allies." FBI analysts were reviewing the tape but were not immediately able to
say how long it was or when it might have been recorded nor could they
provide other details. Spokesman Richard Kolko said it was being
examined "to determine if it is authentic and for any intelligence value." "As the FBI has said since 9/11, bin Laden was responsible for the
attack," Kolko said in a statement. "In this latest tape, he again
acknowledged his responsibility. This should help to clarify for all the
conspiracy theorists, again - the 9/11 attack was done by bin Laden and
al-Qaida." This has been the deadliest year in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led
invasion in late 2001, with more than 6,100 people killed - including
more than 800 civilians - in militant attacks and military operations,
according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and
Western officials. In the new tape, bin Laden said European nations joined the U.S.
invasion of Afghanistan "because they had no other alternative, only to
be a follower." "The American tide is ebbing, with God's help, and they will go back to
their countries," he said, speaking of Europeans. Bin Laden urged Europeans to pull away from the fight. "It is better for you to stand against your leaders who are dropping in
on the White House, and to work seriously to lift the injustice against
the believers," he said, accusing U.S. forces and their allies of
intentionally killing women and children in Afghanistan. Al-Jazeera aired two brief excerpts of the audiotape, titled "Message to
the European Peoples," which al-Qaida had announced Monday that it would
release soon. Bin Laden issued four public statements earlier this year - on Sept. 7,
Sept. 11, Sept. 20 and Oct. 22. The Sept. 7 video was his first in three
years and was issued to mark the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Al-Qaida has dramatically stepped up its messages - a pace seen as a
sign of its increasing technical sophistication and the relative
security felt by its leadership. Bin Laden is believed to be hiding
along the Afghan-Pakistan frontier. Bin Laden's message was the 89th this year by Al-Qaida's media wing,
Al-Sahab, an average of one every three days, double the rate in 2006,
according to IntelCenter, a U.S. counterterrorism group that monitors
militant messaging.
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