Al Jazeera English reports:
A videotape has emerged purportedly of a speech by Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, in which he refers to the Bush administration's progress in Iraq and the performance of the Democratic party in opposing it.
The following are excerpts from the recording, the first videotaped speech from bin Laden to emerge in three years.
"I am sending you important messages so lend me your ears. I will begin with the war opposing us, and some of its repercussions for both of us.
"At first, I say that despite the fact America possesses the greatest economic power and the most powerful and modern military arsenal, despite spending on this war much more than what the entire world spends on its armies, and despite it being the superpower influencing world policies - as if it has a monopoly on the unjust veto right - despite all of this, and with God's help, nineteen young men were able to change the direction of its compass.
"Any speech about the "mujahidin" is an integral part of the speech of your leader. The impact and significance of this are not hidden."
"Bush mentions his co-operation with Maliki and his government to spread freedom in Iraq, but in fact, he is co-operating with the leaders of one sect against another sect, believing that this will lead him to a quick victory.
"Thus, he spread the so-called civil war, and things worsened on his hands and got out of his control. He became like someone who ploughs the sea and gains nothing but failure.
"These are some facts pertaining to the freedom he says he is spreading. Bush's insistence not to give the United Nations an expanded mandate in Iraq is an implicit admission of his loss and defeat over there.
"Among the most important items in Bush speeches since September 11 is his statement that the Americans have no options but to continue the war. Such statements are in fact a repetition of the words of the neo-conservatives, such as [Dick] Cheney, [Donald] Rumsfeld and Richard Perle, who said earlier that the Americans have no option but to continue war, or to face a holocaust."
"However, we are a people that do not tolerate oppression, we reject humiliation and disgrace, and we take revenge on the people of tyranny and aggression.
"The blood of the Muslims will not be spilled in vain, and the morrow is nigh for he who awaits."
"The genocide of peoples and their holocaust was perpetrated on your hands. All what is left from the Red Indians is a few specimens. A short while ago, the Japanese observed the 62nd anniversary of the annihilation of Nagasaki and Hiroshima with your nuclear bombs."
"How similar is your situation today to their situation about two decades ago? The mistakes of Brezhnev are being committed by Bush"
"Yet in spite of that, you [American citizens] allowed Bush to complete his first term. And what is even stranger is that you still chose him for a second term. This was a clear and explicit mandate you gave him, with your full knowledge and consent, to continue killing our people in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then you claim to be innocent.
"This innocence of yours is similar to my innocence of the blood of your sons on the 11th, were I to claim such a thing.
"But it is impossible to humour many of you in the arrogance and indifference you show for the lives of humans outside America, or to humour your leaders in lying. The whole world knows that they have the lion's share of that."
"In answer to the question about the reasons of the Democrats' failure to stop the war, I say that these are the same reasons of the failure of former President [John] Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war.
"Those who possess real power and influence are the ones who have the biggest capital. And since the Democratic regime allows the major corporations to support candidates, be they presidential or congressional, then there should be no need for astonishment at the Democrats' failure to stop the war. You are the ones who say 'money talks'."
"I also want to bring to your attention that among the greatest reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union was their being afflicted with their leader [Leonid] Brezhnev, who was dominated by pride and arrogance and refused to recognise the facts on the ground.
"Since the first year of Afghanistan's invasion, reports indicated that the Russians were losing the war. However, he refused to admit this so that it would not be added as a defeat in his personal history - even though refusing to acknowledge defeat not only fails to change the truth for the wise ones, but also exacerbates the problem and increases the losses.
"How similar is your situation today to their situation about two decades ago? The mistakes of Brezhnev are being committed by Bush. When asked about the date of withdrawing his troops from Iraq, he said that the withdrawal will not take place during his term, but during the term of his successor. The significance of these words is not hidden."
