Post by Emerald City on Oct 29, 2004 17:52:04 GMT -5
By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer
CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden injecting himself into the campaign four days ahead of presidential elections, said in a videotape aired Friday that the United States can avoid another Sept. 11 attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.
In the segment broadcast, the al-Qaida leader refrained from directly threatening new attacks, although he said "there are still reasons to repeat what happened."
"Your security is not in the hands of Kerry, Bush or al-Qaida. Your security is in your own hands," bin Laden said, referring to the president and his Democratic opponent. "Any state that does not mess with our security, has naturally guaranteed its own security."
Admitting for the first time that he ordered the Sept. 11 attacks, bin Laden said he did so because of injustices against the Lebanese and Palestinians by Israel and the United States.
It was the first footage in more than a year of the fugitive al-Qaida leader, thought to be hiding in the mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The video, broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, showed bin Laden with a long gray beard, wearing traditional white robes, a turban and a golden cloak, standing behind a table with papers and in front of a plain, brown curtain. His hands were steady as he spoke and he appeared healthy.
The Bush administration said Friday it believes the videotape was authentic and had been made recently. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the administration did not plan to raise the nation's threat level for now.
"All Americans are united in our strength and resolve to defeat the ideology that bin Laden articulates in this tape," McClellan said. "We are doing everything we can to prevail in the war on terrorism."
Al-Jazeera said it broadcast one minute of the five-minute tape. The station's spokesman, Jihad Ali Ballout, said they aired what was "newsworthy and relevant" and refused to describe the unaired portions, including whether they included any threats.
There was no way to determine when the tape was made — but it offered evidence that bin Laden was alive and actively following events. Sen. John Kerry emerged as the Democratic candidate in the spring.
In Florida, Kerry said all Americans are united against bin Laden, adding he would "stop at absolutely nothing to hunt down, capture or kill the terrorists wherever they are, whatever it takes, period."
CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden injecting himself into the campaign four days ahead of presidential elections, said in a videotape aired Friday that the United States can avoid another Sept. 11 attack if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.
In the segment broadcast, the al-Qaida leader refrained from directly threatening new attacks, although he said "there are still reasons to repeat what happened."
"Your security is not in the hands of Kerry, Bush or al-Qaida. Your security is in your own hands," bin Laden said, referring to the president and his Democratic opponent. "Any state that does not mess with our security, has naturally guaranteed its own security."
Admitting for the first time that he ordered the Sept. 11 attacks, bin Laden said he did so because of injustices against the Lebanese and Palestinians by Israel and the United States.
It was the first footage in more than a year of the fugitive al-Qaida leader, thought to be hiding in the mountains along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The video, broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, showed bin Laden with a long gray beard, wearing traditional white robes, a turban and a golden cloak, standing behind a table with papers and in front of a plain, brown curtain. His hands were steady as he spoke and he appeared healthy.
The Bush administration said Friday it believes the videotape was authentic and had been made recently. White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the administration did not plan to raise the nation's threat level for now.
"All Americans are united in our strength and resolve to defeat the ideology that bin Laden articulates in this tape," McClellan said. "We are doing everything we can to prevail in the war on terrorism."
Al-Jazeera said it broadcast one minute of the five-minute tape. The station's spokesman, Jihad Ali Ballout, said they aired what was "newsworthy and relevant" and refused to describe the unaired portions, including whether they included any threats.
There was no way to determine when the tape was made — but it offered evidence that bin Laden was alive and actively following events. Sen. John Kerry emerged as the Democratic candidate in the spring.
In Florida, Kerry said all Americans are united against bin Laden, adding he would "stop at absolutely nothing to hunt down, capture or kill the terrorists wherever they are, whatever it takes, period."