Washington: CIA officials on Friday said they believe the audiotaped message threatening the United States is from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who warns that plans for terror attacks are under way — and also offers a 'long-term truce'.
Top US officials responded by saying the United States would not be swayed in its fight against terrorists. "Clearly, the al Qaeda leaders and other terrorists are on the run. They're under a lot of pressure," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "We do not negotiate with terrorists. We put them out of business."
CIA intelligence officials who analyzed the recording, which was aired on Thursday on Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera, said they believe the voice on the poor-quality audiotape is that of bin Laden.
In the tape Bin Laden offered a possible 'solution' — only to dismiss it because he said the Bush administration would never go for it.
"In response to the substance of the polls in the US, which indicate that Americans do not want to fight Muslims on Muslim land, nor do they want Muslims to fight them on their land, we do not mind offering a long-term truce based on just conditions that we will stick to."
"We are a nation that God banned from lying and stabbing others in the back. Hence, both parties of the truce will enjoy stability and security to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan, which were destroyed by war."
"There is no problem in this solution, but it will prevent hundreds of billions from going to influential people and warlords in America — those who supported Bush’s electoral campaign. And from this, we can understand Bush and his gang’s insistence on continuing the war," Laden said.
"The war against America and its allies will not be confined to Iraq," the voice on the tape said, adding that "Iraq has become a magnet for attracting and training talented fighters."
"It’s only a matter of time," the voice said, referring to attacks. "They are in the planning stages, and you will see them in the heart of your land as soon as the planning is complete."
J D Crouch, Bush's deputy national security adviser, said the message is a 'very strong reminder' that al Qaeda is continuing to plot against the United States, and demonstrates "why we’re very much on the hunt against al Qaeda senior leadership to keep them off-balance."
"Our job is to try to put terrorists out of business, try to keep them from hurting Americans and hurting our friends and allies around the world," Crouch said.
US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI plan to send out a bulletin to state and local law enforcement urging vigilance in the wake of the new tape.
Officials said the bulletin does not contain any specifics about potential targets or request that any particular security measures be taken. Rather, they said it was a general reminder to be on alert.
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