Bin Laden takes on capitalism - In a new video, he blames corporations for wars, global warming and debts and tells Americans they must embrace Islam to end the Iraq war.
WASHINGTON — Appearing in a video message for the first time in nearly three years, Osama bin Laden tells the American people to reject their capitalist way of life and embrace Islam to end the Iraq war, or his followers will "escalate the killing and fighting against you."
"This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask God to grant them resolve and victory," the Al Qaeda leader said in the politically laced video, which was aired widely Friday on the Internet and TV.
The video apparently was made by Al Qaeda's media wing As-Sahab to be released in concurrence with the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon next week.
If confirmed as authentic, it would be the Al Qaeda leader's first video communique since just before the U.S. presidential election in 2004. In that missive, Bin Laden also made a veiled threat to the American people, saying that they could save themselves from violence by not supporting a crackdown on his Al Qaeda network.
President Bush, in Australia for the annual summit of Asian Pacific leaders, called the video message "a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live."
"I find it interesting that on the tape, Iraq was mentioned, which is a reminder that Iraq is a part of this war against extremists," Bush said as he concluded a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "If Al Qaeda bothers to mention Iraq, it's because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive attacks and develop a safe haven."
Bush said it remained clear that Al Qaeda wanted to launch new attacks on the United States.
"Therefore it's important that we show resolve and determination to protect ourselves, deny Al Qaeda safe haven and support young democracies, which will be a major defeat for their ambitions," he said.
Bin Laden appears to be healthy and well-rested in the video, which was being scrutinized Friday by U.S. government intelligence analysts. He has a black beard, a sharp contrast to the grizzled facial hair that he has had in most sightings and photographs in the last decade.
Some U.S. counter-terrorism officials initially said they were not convinced that the man in the video was Bin Laden, particularly because the beard looked so different.
Several noted that As-Sahab has been known to artfully splice old footage of the Al Qaeda leader into current video and audio messages.
- First Bin Laden video in three years Sep 08, 2007
- U.S. Verifies Bin Laden Tape, Calls His Offer of a Truce a Ploy Jan 20, 2006
- Government Wraps Up Terrorism Case Apr 05, 2001
