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| 'Bin Laden' urges US to convert | 'Bin Laden' urges US to convert |
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| A new video tape purportedly made by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has urged the American people to embrace Islam in order to stop the war in Iraq. | A new video tape purportedly made by al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has urged the American people to embrace Islam in order to stop the war in Iraq. |
| Date references suggest it may have been made as recently as this summer, US officials studying the tape said. | Date references suggest it may have been made as recently as this summer, US officials studying the tape said. |
| They also say the speaker makes no overt threats against the US. | They also say the speaker makes no overt threats against the US. |
| The release of the tape comes ahead of the sixth anniversary of the 11 September attacks. Bin Laden has not been seen in a video since 2004. | The release of the tape comes ahead of the sixth anniversary of the 11 September attacks. Bin Laden has not been seen in a video since 2004. |
| 'Two choices' | 'Two choices' |
| US intelligence officials have yet to confirm the authenticity of the latest 30-minute tape, a short excerpt of which was aired by al-Jazeera TV on Friday evening. | US intelligence officials have yet to confirm the authenticity of the latest 30-minute tape, a short excerpt of which was aired by al-Jazeera TV on Friday evening. |
| It appears to show Bin Laden sitting at a table, dressed in a white robe and turban and beige cloak. His beard looks shorter and darker than in the video issued in 2004. | It appears to show Bin Laden sitting at a table, dressed in a white robe and turban and beige cloak. His beard looks shorter and darker than in the video issued in 2004. |
| You made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war [in Iraq] Bin Laden tape class="" href="/1/hi/uk/6984560.stm">Excerpts from video | |
| Beneath him a banner reads in English "A message from Sheikh Osama Bin Laden to the American people". | Beneath him a banner reads in English "A message from Sheikh Osama Bin Laden to the American people". |
| The speaker makes no overt threats to the US and did not directly call for attacks, according to transcripts of the tape obtained by several media organisations in the United States. | The speaker makes no overt threats to the US and did not directly call for attacks, according to transcripts of the tape obtained by several media organisations in the United States. |
| Instead, he tells the American people that they have failed to persuade the Bush administration to stop the war in Iraq. | Instead, he tells the American people that they have failed to persuade the Bush administration to stop the war in Iraq. |
| "You made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war," the speaker in the tape says, according to the transcript obtained by ABC News. | "You made one of your greatest mistakes, in that you neither brought to account nor punished those who waged this war," the speaker in the tape says, according to the transcript obtained by ABC News. |
| "You permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you... to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan". | "You permitted Bush to complete his first term, and stranger still, chose him for a second term, which gave him a clear mandate from you... to continue to murder our people in Iraq and Afghanistan". |
| The speaker tells the American public that there are two ways to end the war in Iraq: "The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you." | The speaker tells the American public that there are two ways to end the war in Iraq: "The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you." |
| The second way, he continues, is to reject America's democratic system and convert to Islam. | The second way, he continues, is to reject America's democratic system and convert to Islam. |
| "It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interest of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations". | "It has now become clear to you and the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interest of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations". |
| "I invite you to embrace Islam," the speaker says. | "I invite you to embrace Islam," the speaker says. |
| The transcript also makes reference to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which indicates that the tape was recorded after Mr Sarkozy's victory in May. | The transcript also makes reference to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which indicates that the tape was recorded after Mr Sarkozy's victory in May. |
| 'New plots' | 'New plots' |
| Correspondents say a new video would serve to dispel persistent rumours that the al-Qaeda leader has died. | Correspondents say a new video would serve to dispel persistent rumours that the al-Qaeda leader has died. |
| Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks Michael HaydenCIA director | Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks Michael HaydenCIA director |
| The US Department of Homeland Security said it had no credible information of an imminent threat in the wake of the video announcement. | The US Department of Homeland Security said it had no credible information of an imminent threat in the wake of the video announcement. |
| Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: "I don't think that anything he is likely to say or do is going to change our resolve or the resolve of our international partners to confront extremism." | Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: "I don't think that anything he is likely to say or do is going to change our resolve or the resolve of our international partners to confront extremism." |
| But in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, CIA director Michael Hayden warned that al-Qaeda was plotting new attacks on the US. | But in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Friday, CIA director Michael Hayden warned that al-Qaeda was plotting new attacks on the US. |
| "Our analysts assess with high confidence that al-Qaeda's central leadership is planning high impact plots against the American homeland," he said. | "Our analysts assess with high confidence that al-Qaeda's central leadership is planning high impact plots against the American homeland," he said. |
| "Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks." | "Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks." |
| $50m bounty | $50m bounty |
| In his October 2004 video, Osama Bin Laden threatened new attacks against the US on the eve of the presidential election. | In his October 2004 video, Osama Bin Laden threatened new attacks against the US on the eve of the presidential election. |
| Another tape - audio - was released in January 2006. It referred to identifiable events, including the situation in Somalia. | Another tape - audio - was released in January 2006. It referred to identifiable events, including the situation in Somalia. |
| Bin Laden did appear in footage on a militant website in July this year but the clip was undated and correspondents said it might be old footage, which had been recycled. | Bin Laden did appear in footage on a militant website in July this year but the clip was undated and correspondents said it might be old footage, which had been recycled. |
| Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri has appeared in a greater number of videos, including one berating the Pakistani army's assault on radical Islamists in Islamabad's Red Mosque in July. | Al-Qaeda second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri has appeared in a greater number of videos, including one berating the Pakistani army's assault on radical Islamists in Islamabad's Red Mosque in July. |
| The US Senate voted to double the bounty on Bin Laden to $50 million (£24.6 million) in July. | The US Senate voted to double the bounty on Bin Laden to $50 million (£24.6 million) in July. |