Osama Bin Laden - The dead man speaks...

Excerpts: Bin Laden address

Arabic TV station al-Jazeera has broadcast a videotape of Osama Bin Laden addressing the American people.

"O American people, my talk to you is about the best way to avoid another Manhattan, about the war, its causes and results...

"Security is an important pillar of human life. Free people do not relinquish their security. This is contrary to Bush's claim that we hate freedom...

"Let him tell us why we did not strike Sweden, for example. It is known that those who hate freedom do not have proud souls, like the souls of the 19 people [killed while perpetrating the 11 September 2001 attacks], may God have mercy on them...

"We fought you because we are free and do not accept injustice. We want to restore freedom to our nation. Just as you waste our security, we will waste your security...

"Despite entering the fourth year after 11 September, Bush is still deceiving you and hiding the truth from you and therefore the reasons are still there to repeat what happened."

Bin Laden added that the idea of striking the towers in New York occurred to him when "we saw the injustice of the US-Israeli alliance against our people in Palestine and Lebanon", when, in 1982 "the United States gave permission to the Israelis to invade Lebanon" with, he alleged, the help of the US Sixth Fleet.

He said that these events had generated a "strong determination to punish the "unjust ones". "We did not find it difficult to deal with Bush and his administration, because it is similar to regimes in our countries, half of which are governed by the military and the other half of which are governed by the sons of kings and presidents; and we have a long experience with them. In both categories, you find many who are characterised by hubris, arrogance, greed, and unlawful acquisition of money...

"Your security does not lie in the hands of Kerry, Bush, or al-Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Each and every state that does not tamper with our security will have automatically assured its own security."

(news.bbc.co.uk)

(The story from aljazeera.net)
(The story from cnn.com)
(The story from reuters.com)