Islamist terror suspect Osama bin Laden called on his followers to "concentrate on hitting the US economy with every available means" in a videotape aired by Qatar's Al-Jazeera television today.
He also hailed the 19 "students" who he said "shook the American empire" when they destroyed New York's World Trade Center and crashed into the Pentagon on September 11th.
"It is very important to hit the US economy with every available means," said a tired, gaunt looking bin Laden, whom Washington blames for the September 11th atrocities.
The US economy is the basis of the country's military might, "and if their economy is finished they will become too busy to enslave oppressed people," he said.
"I stress the importance of carrying on jihadi action (holy war or struggle) against America militarily and economically," he added.
Bin Laden, dressed in combat fatigues, spoke for 33 minutes, his left arm hanging limply at his side.
He said all 19 suicide attackers were Arabs, with 15 of them, including two brothers, coming from Saudi Arabia. He said two more were from the United Arab Emirates, another from Egypt and the final one from the Levant.
The Levant is the area of countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea, from Turkey to Egypt.
He said "Fifteen youths came from the country of the two holy mosques," a reference to Saudi Arabia, of which he is also a native.
"Two others came from the (United Arab) Emirates," as well as "Mohammed Atta of Egypt" and "another, Ziad al-Jarrah, from the Levant", he concluded, without giving a country of origin.
Bin Laden hailed "the 19 students who shook the American empire," saying their "blessed strikes" were "in response to what is happening in Palestine and Iraq."
They "hit... the mightiest power" and caused losses of "more than a trillion dollars on the New York market and elsewhere," he said.
"These blessed and successful strikes were in response to what is happening on our land in Palestine and Iraq," he said, noting that the attacks were not carried out by Arab armies and states "who have got used to submissiveness and injustice."
The latest manifestation of the elusive Saudi-born militant came courtesy of express mail from Pakistan, an official from the Doha-based satellite station said.
Al-Jazeera scooped the world once more with an amateur video tape received "a few days ago".
With the hunt still on for the chief suspect for the September 11th suicide hijacking and Washington floundering amid reports that bin Laden might already be dead, Al-Jazeera suddenly claimed it had proof he was alive just a couple of weeks ago.
Al-Jazeera first hit the world headlines after October 7th when Washington unleashed warplanes on Afghanistan to punish the then-ruling Taliban militia for refusing to hand over bin Laden.
It was the only channel with correspondents reporting live from the besieged Afghan capital and the Taliban's home city of Kandahar.
When the world's most wanted terrorist suspect first sought to broadcast his views as US missiles pounded Kabul, he chose the hard-hitting Arabic station.
The Saudi-born dissident dramatically appeared himself to vow there would be no peace for the United States.
A second bin Laden exclusive ran on November 3rd in which he urged Muslims to join a religious war against the West.
AFP
