Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appeared in a new video Monday, saying he is alive and well just weeks after a U.S. missile strike targeted him in Pakistan.
He also called President Bush a “loser” and the “butcher of Washington.”
“I will meet my death when God wishes,” al-Zawahiri said in the three-and-a-half minute video, which was broadcast on the Arabic-language television network Al-Jazeera.
Al-Zawahiri taunted the U.S. president, saying, “Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses, enjoying their care with God’s blessings and sharing with them their holy war against you until we defeat you.”
Al-Zawahiri specifically referred to an attack that was aimed at killing him January 13 in the remote Pakistan village of Damadola.
“Their claim was to target this poor man and four of my brothers,” al-Zawahiri said. “The whole world discovered the lies as the Americans fight Islam and the Muslims.”
Eighteen people were killed in the CIA-led attack, which prompted large-scale protests across Pakistan.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, who al-Zawahiri also blamed for the attack, has said he believed about five or six al Qaeda operatives were killed in the attack, but he also condemned the strike as a “violation of sovereignty.” (Full story)
Al-Zawahiri did not say if any al Qaeda members died in the attack. He also did not say if he was nearby or if he had plans to be at the homes that were targeted, as some reports have indicated.
“My first message is to the butcher of Washington, Bush: You are not just defeated and lying about it, but you are, with God’s help, a loser,” he said. “You are bad luck to your people; you brought them disasters and catastrophes, and you will bring them even more disasters.”
A U.S. counterterrorism official said a tape of this type would be “fully expected” after al-Zawahiri survived the assassination attempt, and there is “no reason to doubt its authenticity.”
The official said it is believed that the goal of the tape is to “provide reassurance to the al Qaeda rank and file that he really did survive.”
The bespectacled al-Zawahiri is wearing a white turban with white traditional Muslim garments in the video, which is set against a black backdrop. The video also bears the logo of As-Sahab, al Qaeda’s media production house.
Indicating a relatively swift turnaround time for the tape, it makes reference to an audiotape from bin Laden that surfaced January 19. In that tape, bin Laden offered the United States a truce, which was flatly rejected, and said it is “only a matter of time” before America is attacked again. (Full story)
“The lion of Islam, Sheik Osama bin Laden, offered you a decent exit from your dilemma, but your leaders, who are keen to accumulate wealth, insist on throwing you in battles and killing your souls in Iraq and Afghanistan — and, God willing, on your own land,” al-Zawahiri said.
“To the American mother I say, if the defense ministry called you to tell you your son is coming back home in a coffin, remember Bush,” al-Zawahiri said.
“To the British wife I say, if you got a call telling you your husband is coming back home with his body charred, remember [British Prime Minister Tony] Blair.”
Osama bin Laden’s top deputy was last seen in a video broadcast by Al-Jazeera on January 6. (Full story)
On January 20, al-Zawahiri recited poetry to jihadists on a 17-minute audiotape that was posted on the Internet. (Full story)
Al-Zawahiri — an Egyptian exile who has served as bin Laden’s personal doctor — has a $25 million reward posted for his head in connection with the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.
TEXT:
“The American airplanes, in collaboration with their agent of the Jews and the Crusaders, Musharraf, launched an airstrike on Damadola near Peshawar around the Eid al-Adha holiday, during which 18 Muslims — men, women and children — died in their fight against Islam, which they call terrorism. Their claim was to target this poor man and four of my brothers. The whole world discovered the lies as the Americans fight Islam and the Muslims. Before I discuss this incident, I have some messages to send out.
“My first message is to the butcher of Washington, Bush: You are not just defeated and lying about it, but you are, with God’s help, a loser. You are bad luck to your people. You brought them disasters and catastrophes, and you will bring them even more disasters.
“Bush, you failed crusader, know that we are the nation of monotheism, which believes that no one is greater than God. He sent us a prophet and a book that was never edited like the other books before it. A unique book that defies anyone to come up with anything like it.
“I will meet my death when God wishes. But if my time hasn’t come, you and all the Earth’s forces can’t change it, not even by a second.
“Bush, do you know where I am? I am among the Muslim masses enjoying their care with God’s blessings and sharing with them their holy war against you until we defeat you, God willing.
“My second message is to the American people who are drowning in illusions. I tell you that Bush and his gangs are shedding your blood and wasting your money in frustrated adventures. The lion of Islam, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, offered you a decent exit from your dilemma, but your leaders, who are keen to accumulate wealth, insist on throwing you in battles and killing your souls in Iraq and Afghanistan and, God willing, on your own land.
“Your leaders responded that they do not negotiate with terrorists and that they are winning in their war on terrorism. I tell them, O’ liars and greedy war merchants, who is pulling out of Iraq and Afghanistan, you or us? Whose soldiers are committing suicide out of desperation, you or us?
“To the American mother I say, if the defense ministry called you to tell you your son is coming back home in a coffin, remember Bush.
“To the British wife I say, if you got a call telling you your husband is coming back home with his body paralyzed, amputated or charred, remember Blair.”