In what is believed to be an audio message from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden released shortly after the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, he says President Obama will not be able to make good on his election promises to pull the U.S. troops out of Iraq.
The tape was released on radical Islamic websites on Sunday claiming is was a message to the American people, reports CNN.
“To the American people, this is my message to you: a reminder of the reasons behind 9/11 and the wars and the repercussions that followed and the way to resolve it,” the message said.
“From the beginning, we have stated many times … that the cause of our disagreement with you is your support of your allies, the Israelis, who are occupying our land in Palestine. Your stance along with some other grievances are what led us to carry out the events of 9/11.”
While the voice could not be clearly confirmed as bin Laden’s, the audio footage was streamed over an undated photo of the al Qaeda leader. The video also shows a backdrop of the American flag and the image of the New York City skyline in which the Twin Towers still stood said Laura Mansfield, a terrorism analyst.
Obama was “a vulnerable man who will not be able to stop the war, as he promised, but instead he will drag it to the maximum possible extent,” the message said.
While many U.S. troops shave been withdrawn from Iraq’s major cities, tens of thousand are still in the country and are not expected to officially part ways for many years.
The voice in the message also says the Obama White House remains under Republican control, highlighting the fact that Obama kept Bush’s defense attorney Robert Gates.
“Prolong the wars as much as you like. By God, we will never compromise on it (Palestine), ever,” the message continued.
Mansfield made a point to acknowledge there have been no confirmed sightings of bin Laden since the sixth anniversary of the terror attacks on U.S. soil.
