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In the years following the September 11th 2001 attacks, Osama bin Laden seemed very eager to appear on camera releasing numerous Al Qaeda propaganda videos. For the last 18 months, however, his public messages have been audio only, like the tape posted on the internet Wednesday. Between the threats and the rhetoric on this tape, however, one can also hear that bin Laden is quite short of breath for a man who is just 52 years old, suggesting a possible health issue. "This is the first real indication that we've had of a bin Laden health problem," said John Kiriakou,...

l-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden called on France to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in exchange for releasing French hostages being held by affiliates of the extremist group, according to a new audio message broadcast on an Arabic news channel Friday. "The exit of your hostages out of the hands of our brothers depends on the exit of your troops from Afghanistan," bin Laden said in the message broadcast by al-Jazeera. Bin Laden reminded the French people of President Nicolas Sarkozy's refusal in November to withdraw the French troops from Afghanistan and to negotiate with al-Qaida over the hostages.

I can't confirm that (al Qaeda's responsibility for the attack) nor can we confirm the authenticity of the tape, but assuming that it is him, his message contains the same hollow justifications for the mass slaughter of innocents that we've heard before," David Axelrod said on CNN's "State of the Union" program. The audiotape that aired on Al Jazeera television on Sunday claimed responsibility for the attempted Christmas Day bombing of the Detroit-bound plane. A Nigerian, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been

CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden warned Iraq's Sunni Arabs against joining tribal councils fighting al-Qaida or participating in any unity government, in a new Internet audiotape on Saturday. "The most evil of the traitors are those who trade away their religion for the sake of their mortal life," bin Laden said in the tape. He denounced Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, the leader of the Anbar Awakening Council, a tribal force fighting al-Qaida in western Iraq, who was killed in a bombing in September. Bin Laden said U.S. and Iraqi officials are seeking to set up a "national unity government" joining...

<p>Osama bin Laden stresses the importance of martyrdom for Muslim causes in a videotape that purportedly contains a 50-second message from the al Qaeda leader. ...</p> <p>The videotape was made in the last four weeks, but the clips appear to be old, said Octavia Nasr, CNN's senior editor for Arab affairs. There is no indication of where it was shot, and CNN cannot verify its authenticity. ...</p>

DUBAI (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden said Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in a U.S. court for the September 11 attacks, had nothing to do with the operations, according to a Web site audiotape released on Tuesday. Bin Laden said he had personally assigned tasks to the 19 hijackers who staged the attacks on U.S. cities which killed about 3,000 people. "The truth is that he has no connection whatsoever with the events of September 11. I am certain of what I say because I was responsible for entrusting the 19 brothers ... with the raids," said the speaker...

As a Ph.D. Islamologist and Arabist I really hate to say this, but I'll say it anyway: 9/11 had nothing to do with Islam. The war on terror is as phony as the latest Osama bin Laden tape. It's a tough thing to admit because I know on which side my bread is buttered and dropping Islam from the 9/11 equation is dropping my slice of bread butter-side-down. The myth that 9/11 had something to do with Muslims has poured millions, if not billions, into Arabic and Islamic studies. I finished my Ph.D. last year, so all I have to...

Interview of the Vice President by Neil Cavuto, FOX News FOX Studios New York, New York 2:18 P.M. EST Q Mr. Vice President, first off, there's a tape -- it seems to be official -- from Osama bin Laden. The CIA is saying as such. What do you make of it? THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, it's -- I'm sure it will be an interesting development, partly because we haven't heard anything from him in over a year. And if this is authentic, it will be the first indication that we've had from him. The other key question in addition to...

Taken from al-Jazeera The tape was broadcast shortly after 1500 GMT on Thursday The pan-Arab TV station al-Jazeera has broadcast an audio tape purporting to be by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, in which the speaker says al-Qaeda is preparing new attacks on the US. Here is the full text of the message as broadcast. My message to you is about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the way to end it. I had not intended to speak to you about this issue, because, for us, this issue is already decided: diamonds cut diamonds. Praise be to God, our...

Threat Matrix: Daily Terror Threat Thread Thirty-Three (Index) Yahoo News : Yahoo Images : News Hotlinks The Threat Matrix The title refers to a daily report given to the president of the United States detailing the most serious terrorist threats against the country. To tackle those threats, the government has formed a top-notch task force to infiltrate the terror cells and cut off the danger. "Every morning, the president receives a list of the top ten terrorist threats - this list is known as the threat matrix." We here at FR are trying to be in conjunction with the...

U.S. officials are treating skeptically a report on an Afghan news site about a new video showing Osama bin Laden. The story from Pajhwok Afghan News, dated Tuesday, describes a new 30-minute tape with a message from Taliban commander Mullah Dodallah and the al-Qaida leader, according to the IntelCenter, a U.S. government contractor that does work for intelligence agencies. A U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity in compliance with office policy, said the government could not confirm the tape's existence, but said officials are aware of the media report. U.S. authorities are viewing it skeptically, the...

The Osama bin Laden video tape was big news in the final days of the campaign, and this news event was spun by the media so as not to benefit Bush. A Washington Post story by Dana Priest and Walter Pincus said that bin Laden had "injected himself into the final days of the U.S. presidential campaign, warning that American voters will be held accountable for electing any president who seeks to destroy al Qaeda and persecutes Muslims." But near the end of the article, if you read that far, the authors cited evidence that bin Laden was on the...

Former CBSNEWS anchorman Walter Cronkite believes Bush adviser Karl Rove is possibly behind the new Bin Laden tape. Cronkite made the startling comments late Friday during an interview on CNN. Cronkite said he is "inclined to think that Karl Rove, the political manager at the White House, who is a very clever man, he probably set up bin Laden to this thing." Interviewer Larry King did not ask Cronkite to elaborate on the provocative election eve accusation. Developing...

The Kerry campaign's extraordinary response to the newly released tape from al Qaeda's leader.IN THEIR FORMAL STATEMENTS reacting to the new videotape from Osama bin Laden, both President Bush and John Kerry were statesmanlike. Each man called for Americans to unite against terror and vowed to defeat bin Laden and al Qaeda.The Bush campaign wisely avoided going political. But the Kerry campaign--in comments from a top adviser and the candidate himself--did not.Kerry gave what appear to be his first extemporaneous comments about the tape in a previously scheduled satellite interview with Kathy Mykleby, a veteran anchor with WISN TV in...

CBS and NBC were satisfied Tuesday night to note how Secretary of State Colin Powell contended Osama bin Laden's audio tape offered proof of his links to Iraq and then to point out how others in the government fear it's a signal of an impending terrorist attack on the U.S. But ABC's Peter Jennings wasn't satisfied with just doing that. He once again offered the most anti-administration spin of the night with a trilogy of three stories addressing subjects not touched by CBS or NBC. Anchoring the February 11 World News Tonight from Phoenix, Jennings argued that "a lot...