A new audio tape allegedly from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden
claims responsibility for an attempt to blow up a plane en route to
Michigan on Christmas Day and warns the United States of more attacks.
The
tape, which aired on the Arabic-language news Web site Al-Jazeera on
Sunday, says "the United States will not dream of enjoying safety until
we live it in reality in Palestine."
The tape continues: "It is not fair to enjoy that kind of life while our brothers in Gaza live in the worst of miseries."
CNN
could not independently confirm the authenticity of the message, but
the CIA has in the past confirmed Al-Jazeera reports on tapes from the al Qaeda leader.
President
Obama's senior adviser David Axelrod told CNN's "State of the Union" on
Sunday that while there was no immediate confirmation that the message
was authentic, it "contains the same hollow justification for the
slaughter of innocent people."
In another section of the audio tape that Al-Jazeera
broadcast, the voice says: "God willing our attacks will continue as
long as you support the Israelis and may peace be on those who follow
guidance."
Bin Laden also claims responsibility for the foiled attack on Delta flight 253 in December.
"The
message intended to be sent to you was through the hero fighter Omar
Farouq, may God release him, confirming an earlier message that the
[September] 11th heroes delivered to you and it was repeated before and
after [that event]," he says.
A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, has been charged with attempting to blow up the Delta
Airlines plane as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam, Netherlands.
"Al
Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula was behind the failed attack on
Christmas Day. That's clear," a U.S. counterterrorism official -- who
is not authorized to speak publicly -- told CNN. "So a message like
this -- no matter whose voice it may be -- should come as no surprise.
Al Qaeda has, from time to time, tried to build support for its program
of murder by talking about the Palestinian issue. That line's never
gotten them much in the past, and it's unlikely to now, either."
Bin Laden had six messages in 2009. The last was on September 25 and was "to the European people."
In that message, he urged the countries to reconsider their involvement in the Afghanistan war.
"Today
Europe is suffering an economic crisis, and its export reputation
doesn't hold true anymore, while America is bleeding economically
because of all the wars it is involved in," his last message said.
"Think about how Europe will fare when America pulls out of
Afghanistan. You will be left to suffer alone the rage of the people
you oppressed."
A security expert said there's a possibility bin
Laden did not know about the attempted attack in December and al Qaeda
branches may be using it to prove themselves to the group's leadership.
"They
were able to get their man on an American plane on an American soil so
it is successful by all means," said Mustafa Al-Ani at the Gulf
Research Center. "The strategy is there, outlined by the mother
leadership and now we will see the branches doing their best to please
their leadership and implement al Qaeda vision in their own ways."
Bin Laden is thought to be hiding in the Pakistan-Afghanistan mountain region, according to intelligence experts.