Al-Zawahri vows to continue fight on new tape
In a videotape screened tonight, Osama bin Laden’s top lieutenant, Ayman Al-Zawahri, vowed to continue fighting the United States until Washington changed its policies.
In the tape aired on al-Jazeera television, al-Zawahri spoke of the recent US presidential elections, but it was unclear from his words whether the footage was taped before or after the November 2 elections.
“The results of the elections do not matter for us. What matters is how the United States deals with Muslims,” al-Zawahri said on the tape.
"The results of the elections do not matter for us," al-Zawahri said in the excerpt, which lasted about three minutes.
"Vote whoever you want, Bush, Kerry or the devil himself. This does not concern us. What concerns us is to purge our land from the aggressors."
It was unclear if al-Jazeera planned to show more of the tape later.
Al-Zawahri also said the US was trying to coerce the Muslim world through force, to satisfy Israel and to achieve the US’s own interests.
And he said the fall of Baghdad was only a prelude to what the whole Muslim world might be subjected to by the United States.
He also addressed the American people, urging them to deal with Muslims “with respect and exchange and based on an exchange of mutual interests”.
He advised the Americans to choose between one of two things: “Either you choose to treat us with respect and based on an exchange of interests … or we will continue to fight you until you change your policies.”
The bearded and bespectacled al-Zawahri sat before a white background, half-covered with a blanket. His voice sounded calm and steady, as in previous tapes.
Days before the presidential election, in which George Bush beat Democratic contender John Kerry, bin Laden said in video footage that the United States must stop threatening the security of Muslims if it wanted to avoid “another Manhattan”.
While bin Laden did not directly warn of new attacks, the al-Qaida leader and September 11 mastermind warned: “There are still reasons to repeat what happened.”
