Bin Laden Says He Is The "Only One Responsible" For 9/11, And To Stop Accusing Cheney

Bin Laden Warns Europe To Stop Aiding U.S.
In Audiotape, Al Qaeda Chief Calls On Europeans To Stop Helping America In Afghanistan

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...n3554140.shtml

(Gold9472: Yes, the title of this thread is a joke, but... is it?)

CAIRO, Egypt, Nov. 29, 2007

(AP) Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden called on the Europeans to stop helping the United States in the war in Afghanistan, saying America is "ebbing" in excerpts of a new audiotape aired Thursday on Al-Jazeera television.

Bin Laden said he was the "only one responsible" for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, arguing that it was unjust for the Americans to have invaded Afghanistan.

"The events of Manhattan were retaliation against the American-Israeli alliance's aggression against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and I am the only one responsible for it. The Afghan people and government knew nothing about it. America knows that," he said.

"Europe went along with it (the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan) because they had no other alternative, only to be a follower," he said.

He addressed Europeans, saying "the American tide is ebbing, with God's help, and they will leave back to their countries."

"Therefore it is better for you to press on your leaders who dropping in on the White House, to work seriously to lift the injustice against the believers and to get back to righteousness," he said, accusing U.S. forces and their allies of intentionally killing women and children in Afghanistan.

Al-Jazeera aired two brief excerpts of a few seconds each of the audiotape, titled "Message to the European Peoples," which al Qaeda had announced several days ago that it would release soon.

"What this tape shows, among other things, is that Osama Bin Laden is very much alive and well and paying very close attention to the news media," said CBS News consultant Jere Van Dyk.

Bin Laden issued four public statements earlier this year -- on Sept. 7, Sept. 11, Sept. 20 and Oct. 22. The Sept. 7 video was his first in three years and was issued to mark the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

In 2004, bin Laden offered Europeans a truce if they stopped attacking Muslims, then later spoke of a truce with the United States. In both cases, al Qaeda later denounced the countries for not accepting its offers.

Bin Laden eluded coalition troops who invaded Afghanistan in late 2001, and is believed to be hiding along the Afghan-Pakistan frontier.

This has been the deadliest year in Afghanistan since the invasion. More than 6,100 people have been killed -- including more than 800 civilians -- in fighting, according to an Associated Press tally of figures from Afghan and Western officials.

Al Qaeda has dramatically stepped up its messages, a pace seen as a sign of its increasing technical sophistication and the relative security felt by its leadership.

Bin Laden's message was the 89th this year by Al Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab, an average of one every three days, double the rate in 2006, according to IntelCenter, a U.S. counterterrorism group that monitors militant messaging.