Usama bin Laden (search) made his first broadcast appearance in more than a year on Friday, admitting for the first time that he was the mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and accusing President Bush of “misleading” the American people. Bin Laden injected himself into the presidential campaign four days before the election, saying the US can prevent another Sept. 11-style assault if it stops endangering the security of Muslims. The Al Qaeda (search) commander did not openly warn of further attacks in the segment of the recording that was broadcast, but he did say “there are still grounds to repeat what occurred.” “Kerry, Bush, or Al Qaeda are not in charge of your safety. Your safety is entirely in your control “referring to the president and his Democratic opponent, bin Laden stated. “Any state that does not jeopardize our security has, by definition, ensured its own security.” Bin Laden admitted for the first time that he authorized the Sept. 11 attacks, claiming that he did so in response to Israeli and US atrocities against the Lebanese and Palestinians. Bin Laden said he intended to explain why he ordered the airplane hijackings that attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in what looked to be conciliatory language so Americans would know how to avert another assault. “My speech is to the American people about the best approach to avoid another Manhattan,” he stated. “Let me tell you something: Security is a crucial aspect of human life, and free people do not give up their security.” President Bush stated after the video broadcast that “Americans would not be scared” by bin Laden. Senator John Kerry chastised Bush for failing to apprehend Osama bin Laden earlier, saying, “I can lead a more successful war on terror.” The tape’s political ramifications might be both positive and negative. It supports Bush’s argument that the world is a dangerous place and plays to his strength as commander in chief in the war on terror, but it also emphasizes that more than three years after the terror attacks in New York and Washington, his administration has failed to capture or kill America’s No. 1 enemy. It was the first film of the fugitive Al Qaeda leader in more than a year, believed to be hiding in the foothills along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Bin Laden was shown with a long grey beard, wearing traditional white robes, a hat, and a golden cloak, standing behind a table with documents and in front of a simple brown curtain in the footage, which was broadcast on Al-Jazeera television. His hands were steady, and he seemed to be in good shape. The Bush government claims the footage is genuine and was made later, noting that bin Laden mentions 1,000 American military deaths in Iraq, which occurred in early September. For the time being, White House press secretary Scott McClellan stated that the government does not intend to elevate the nation’s danger level. The 18-minute recording, which has English subtitles but not in the segment released on Al-Jazeera, lacks a clear threat, according to the US source, and repeats well-worn themes. The recording is legitimate, according to many sources, and was made lately. Al-Jazeera, a Qatar-based news organization, aired around seven minutes of the clip. Jihad Ali Ballout, the station’s spokesperson, claimed Al-Jazeera aired what was “newsworthy and important,” but declined to say what was not shown, including if it contained any threats. Ballout claimed the video arrived at the station on Friday, but he wouldn’t specify how. According to a senior State Department official, the State Department sought Qatar’s authorities to prevent Al-Jazeera from airing the footage before it was broadcast. Bin Laden said in the film that Bush misled Americans by claiming that the assault was carried out because Al Qaeda “hates freedom.” According to the terrorist commander, his supporters have ignored nations that do not pose a threat to Muslims. “We fought you because we are free… and we want our country to be free again. As you jeopardize our security, you jeopardize yours “explained bin, Laden. He said that the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, in which Beirut’s skyscrapers and structures were damaged during the siege of the capital, motivated him to target the US. “As I was gazing at these destroyed towers in Lebanon, it occurred to me that the dictator should be punished similarly and that we should destroy towers in America so that it experiences what we taste and is discouraged from murdering our children and women,” he stated. “God knows it never occurred to us to strike the towers,” he continued, “but once our patience had run out and we saw the unfairness and inflexibility of the American-Israeli coalition regarding our people in Palestine and Lebanon, this came to mind.” Bin Laden said that Bush’s sluggish response to the September 11 attacks gave the hijackers more time than they anticipated. The president was listening to students in Florida read a book at the time of the attacks. “It never occurred to us that the commander in chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his citizens alone in the two towers to face these atrocities,” he added, referring to the number of individuals who worked at the buildings. “A small girl’s discussion about her goat and its butting seemed more relevant to him [Bush] than jets and their butting of buildings. Thank God, that provided us three times the time we needed to complete the surgeries “he stated. The Sept. 11 attacks killed 2,749 people in the World Trade Center, 184 at the Pentagon, and 40 in Pennsylvania, excluding the hijackers. Bin Laden stated he advised Mohammed Atta, one of the hijackers, that the attacks had to be carried out “within 20 minutes before Bush and his government realized” while preparing the assaults. The Bush administration, according to Bin Laden, is similar to authoritarian Arab regimes “in that half of them are dominated by the military and the other half are ruled by the sons of monarchs and presidents.” When Bush’s father was president and traveled to Arab nations, he saw the similarities, he claimed. “He was impressed by the royal and military regimes and envied them for being in power for decades and embezzling the country’s money without oversight,” bin Laden added. “He passed on tyranny and oppression to his son, and under the guise of battling terror, they named it the Patriot Act.” Bush the father did a good job of appointing his sons as governors, and he didn’t forget to pass on the knowledge in fraud from the leaders of the (Middle East) area to Florida so that it could be used in important situations.” The video of bin Laden making a message stood out among the few previous recordings of the Al Qaeda leader that have surfaced after the September 11 attacks. Bin Laden is shown going over difficult terrain with his senior subordinate Ayman al-Zawahri, both carrying automatic weapons, in the most recent footage, released Sept. 10, 2003. Bin Laden hails the “huge devastation to the enemy” on Sept. 11 in an audio message released at the same time, naming five hijackers by name. The Pentagon released a videotape showing bin Laden eating dinner with companions in Afghanistan on Nov. 9, 2001, in December 2001, claiming that the devastation of the September 11 attacks exceeded even his “optimistic” expectations. However, bin Laden never explicitly said that he authorized the assaults in any of his earlier audio or video statements. Although US authorities have long suspected bin Laden is hiding in Pakistan’s harsh, hilly tribal region on the Afghan border, there has been no solid evidence of his location for three years. The most recent audiotape purporting to be from bin Laden was released in April. The man on the video, who CIA experts believe is the Al Qaeda head, offered European nations a truce provided they withdraw their troops from Muslim countries. The recording alluded to Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin’s killing by Israel on March 22.Bin Laden timed the recording carefully, according to retired Lt. Col. Bill Cowen, a FOX News military commentator. “I believe he’s simply trying to smack the president about a little bit,” Cowen said, “and in my judgment, he’s attempting to sway the election.” While the footage proved that the most wanted terrorist was still at large, Cowen believes it should be seen in a different manner. “This audio also serves as a reminder of how we annihilated Al Qaeda’s senior leadership,” Cowen added. “It took us 20 years to track down Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, here in America.”
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