OSAMA BIN LADEN AUDIO TAPE WARNS U.S

In an 11-minute audio tape released on an internet site, a voice purporting to be of Osama bin Laden says US President Barack Obama is "powerless" to stop the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The voice also says that the attacks of September 11, 2001, came about because of American "support to your Israeli allies who occupy our land of Palestine".

• There was no independent confirmation that the voice on the tape addressing the American people was that of Bin Laden.
• Reports on Monday from two separate monitoring groups spoke of Bin Laden blaming the wars on the "pro-Israel" lobby and corporate interests.
• "The time has come for you to liberate yourselves from fear and the ideological terrorism of neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby," the voice says.
• "The reason for our dispute with you is your support for your ally Israel, occupying our land in Palestine."
• The release of the audio tape comes two days after the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, carried out by al-Qaeda operatives, in which nearly 3,000 people died.
• Bin Laden typically addresses the US in a message around September 11. The 11-minute video shows a still picture of bin Laden while the audio of the address plays.
• The voice says there has been little change in the White House under Obama and that Obama is "powerless" to stop the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• It also appears to refer to criticisms that Jimmy Carter, a former US president, made in June of Israel's Gaza invasion earlier this year.
• The tape makes reference to Obama's speech in Cairo in June, suggesting the message was recorded afterwards.
• The website where the message was posted had earlier said it would carry a "present" to Muslims from Bin Laden on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan.
• Bin Laden's last apparent message was issued just before Obama's speech, where the US leader talked of a "new beginning" between the US and the Muslim world.

Source: The Agencies