"In both countries, if they continue they will bleed to
death and if they withdraw they lose everything," said Zawahri,
the right-hand man of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (news - web sites).
"East and south Afghanistan have become an open arena for
the Mujahideen (jihad fighters). The enemy are limited to their
capitals," the Egyptian-born Zawahri said.
"The Americans are hiding in their trenches and refuse to
come out to face the Mujahideen, as the Mujahideen shell and
fire on them, and cut roads off around them. Their defense is
only to bomb by air, wasting U.S. money as they kick up dust."
Zawahri, wearing a white turban with a machine gun at his
side, spoke to camera for several minutes.
Turning to Iraq, where U.S. forces are battling an uprising
against the U.S.-backed government, he said insurgents had
turned Washington's plans for the oil-rich country upside down.
"In Islamic Iraq the Mujahideen (jihad fighters) have
turned America's plan head over heels. The defeat of America in
Iraq and Afghanistan has become just a matter of time," he
said.
Al Qaeda, Washington's sworn enemy, is blamed for the
September 2001 attacks on U.S. cities.
Al Jazeera, an influential Arabic broadcaster, did not say
how it obtained the tape.
But it said Zawahri had referred to the Darfur conflict in
Sudan, suggesting the video was made in recent months. The al
Qaeda leader cited the crisis as an example of U.S. desires to
split the Arab and Muslim world, Al Jazeera said.
"CRIMES AGAINST MUSLIMS"
Zawahri looked little different from how he has in previous
videotapes.
In March, Al Jazeera aired a recorded message, which the
CIA (news - web sites) said was likely authentic, calling on Pakistanis to
overthrow their U.S.-allied government.
Zawahri and bin Laden also appeared in a video aired on Al
Jazeera in September 2003 which showed them walking in a
mountainous area. It was not clear when the images were
recorded.
Pakistan, with U.S. military back-up, has been trying to
capture bin Laden, Zawahri and other al Qaeda supporters
thought to be hiding in the mountainous region between Pakistan
and Afghanistan, which also has a U.S.-backed government.
"In Kabul, the Americans and peacekeeping forces are hiding
from the shells of the Mujahideen and expect martyrdom
(suicide) attacks at every moment," Zawahri said in Thursday's
tape.
The excerpts appeared to be part of a longer message. Al
Jazeera said elsewhere on the tape he announced that "the age
of security has passed for Americans, and they will not have
security until they stop their crimes against Muslims in Iraq,
Afghanistan and Palestine."
A U.S. intelligence official said the Zawahri tape follows
a pattern of al Qaeda leaders releasing a tape shortly before
the Sept. 11 anniversary since the 2001 attacks.
"It's a message from the al Qaeda leadership that fits the
pattern," the official said on condition of anonymity.
One U.S. government source scoffed at Zawahri's comments
about Americans "hiding in their trenches."
"These guys are in hiding too and that's what they do is
hide and then kill innocent men, women and children," the
source said.
Some analysts say video and audio messages from bin Laden
and Zawahri may be aimed at triggering attacks by followers.
They point to messages in advance of the Bali disco bombing
and Limburg tanker attacks in Yemen in 2002, as well as the
Madrid bombing earlier this year.
"In some cases messages may have worked as a trigger for
attacks, and the Bali bombing stands out as an example," said
Ken Katzman, a terrorism expert at the Congressional Research
Service in Washington.
"But the jury is still out. Ultimately, I think the key
thing is opportunity. When they think they have a shot at the
plots actually working out successfully, that is the ultimate
determinant of when these attacks go forward."
(Additional reporting by Caroline Drees in Washington)
