Osama bin Laden warned that al-Qaeda was preparing new attacks inside the United States, but said the group was open to a conditional truce with Americans, according to an audio tape attributed to him today.
It was the first purported tape by bin Laden since 2004. Al-Jazeera television, which aired the tape, said it was recorded in December.
"The operations are under preparation and you will see them in your houses as soon as they are complete, God willing," said the speaker on the audio tape, who sounded like bin Laden.
In the tape, bin Laden said al-Qaeda was willing to "respond" to US public opinion in favour of withdrawing troops from Iraq. He did not specify conditions for the truce, but indicated that it was linked to US troops quitting Iraq.
"Based on the substance of the polls, which indicate 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 stand by," he said.
"There is nothing wrong with this solution except that it deprives the influential people and warlords in America from hundreds of billions of dollars, -- those who supported Bush's election campaign with billions of dollars."
Responding to the truce offer, the White House said that the United States "does not negotiate with terrorists."
Bin Laden also offered a truce to Europe in a tape in April 2004 but not to the United States.
Al-Jazeera declined to give any details about how it had obtained the tape and an editor said there was a reference in the recording that indicated it had been made in December.