Haaretz
Cheshvan 15, 5765
Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden said in a video
tape aired late Friday that one of the reasons his organization carried
out the September 11 attacks was because of Israel's 1982 invasion of
Lebanon.
He also said that the United States could face renewed
attacks because the reasons for mounting the Sept. 11 strikes still
existed. The video tape was aired on the Qatari-based Al Jazeera satellite
television channel.
In his clearest comments yet taking
responsibility for the attacks three years ago, he said just days before
President George W. Bush faces re-election: "Despite entering the fourth
year after Sept. 11, Bush is still deceiving you and hiding the truth from
you and therefore the reasons are still there to repeat what
happened."
He said he thought of the idea of attacking the U.S.
skyscrapers when he saw Israeli aircraft bombing tower blocks in Lebanon
in 1982.
"While I was looking at those destroyed towers in Lebanon,
it sparked in my mind that the tyrant should be punished with the same and
that we should destroy towers in America, so that it tastes what we taste
and would be deterred from killing our children and women," bin Laden said
on tape.
Bush: U.S. not intimidated
President George W.
Bush said Friday that "Americans will not be intimidated" by bin Laden as
the new videotape of the terrorist leader surfaced four days before the
Nov. 2 election.
Democratic challenger John Kerry pledged to "hunt
down and destroy" bin Laden. The administration said it believed the tape
was authentic and had been made recently.
Bush expressed confidence
that the United States would prevail in the war against
terrorism.
Official: No change in U.S. alert level
The
United States will make no immediate change in its terrorism alert level
following the airing of the video tape, a White House official said on
Friday.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said the tape was
believed to be authentic.
"Our intelligence community has said that
they believe it is authentic and that it was taped recently. The
intelligence community continues to analyze the tape. If there is
actionable intelligence, we will act on it," he said.
A U.S.
official said the videotape did not appear to contain a specific
threat.
Another official said the tape was being taken seriously
and law enforcement officials were considering what extra steps they could
implement to protect the United States on election day on
Tuesday.
"Right now everyone involved in antiterrorism efforts is
on higher alert," the official said. "This has now given us new concern
for election-day security."
McClellan said there were no immediate
plans to elevate the U.S. terrorism alert level in response to the bin
Laden tape.
"That is something that we analyze all the time. We are
on a heightened state of awareness already. And there is no change in it
at this time," he told reporters.
McClellan said Bush was notified
late on Friday morning about the tape by national security adviser
Condoleezza Rice while he was traveling aboard Air Force One.
He
said U.S. authorities "are doing everything we can to disrupt and prevent
attacks from happening".
"Our military will remain on the offensive
to prevail in the war on terrorism, and that's where our focus
is."