A man believed to be Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was shown on videotape Wednesday for the first time in 17 months, while his deputy urged jihad fighters to “pounce on the Americans” and “bury them in Iraq’s graveyard,” according to broadcasts on the Al-Jazeera network.
The videotape, broadcast on the eve of the second anniversary of the terror attacks on New York and Washington, served to remind viewers throughout the Arab and Western worlds that bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, remain at large despite the efforts of U.S. forces to track them down.
The videotape, which Al-Jazeera said was probably filmed in late April or early May, shows bin Laden and Zawahiri using walking sticks to navigate rocky, downhill terrain in an unidentified mountainous area.
U.S. intelligence officials said they believe it is the two Al Qaeda leaders on the video, but said it was unclear when the footage was recorded. Audio analysts who listened to the tape said the recordings appeared to be authentic, but technical analysis will not be completed for a couple of days.
Although Arab media outlets have regularly aired audiotapes over the last two years purported to come from bin Laden or other Al Qaeda operatives, the footage would mark the first video appearance by bin Laden since April 2002, when the terrorist leader was shown outdoors wearing what appeared to be a sling on his left arm and marveling at the impact of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
In an audio track that U.S. intelligence officials said was laid over the video broadcast Wednesday, a voice identified as bin Laden’s praised the terrorists for inflicting “great damage to the enemy” in the attacks, which killed more than 3,000 in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Last week, the Homeland Security department warned of serious new terror threats against the United States, but did not raise the color-coded alert level from its current status of “elevated risk.”
Over the last two years, U.S. forces have mounted a series of sweeps, raids and surveillance operations along the Afghan side of the border with Pakistan, where many believe bin Laden has been hiding.
The mountainous region of southeastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan is largely controlled by tribal warlords.
Americans split over anti-terror laws
Most Americans do not believe their individual freedom has been eroded by post-Sept. 11 laws to combat terrorism, but two-thirds are worried that it could happen, according to an Associated Press poll. In other responses:
58%
Respondents who said they did not think people’s legal rights have been violated by anti-terror laws.
“They have to restrict some freedoms to keep the majority of the people safe” said Blair Palm, a 48-year-old conservative from Stafford, Va., who considers herself politically independent.
31%
Respondents who said they think people’s legal rights have been violated.
“I’m certain some people’s rights have been taken away,” said Jeff Warner, a 32-year-old Democrat from Flushing, Mich. “I’m sure that some people of Arab descent have been mistreated.”
51%
Respondents who believe it will be necessary for average people to give up some individual freedom as part of the fight against terrorism.
“They’re probably going too far,” said Ruth Soaeis, a 34-year-old housewife and mother from Pawtucket, R.I., who is a political independent. “But they’re trying to protect us.”
———-
Associated Press poll of 1,008 people conducted Sept. 4-8 with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points.
