Bin Laden: Muslims Must Unite

Al-Qaida Leader Says U.S. Got What It Deserved

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Calling together Muslims for a holy war against the United States and its allies, Osama bin Laden spoke to the world in a rare appearance on television Sunday.

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"America is filled with fear," bin Laden said in Arabic, which was translated by an interpreter on CNN. Al-Jazeera television in Afghanistan aired the address, which took place before Sunday's military strikes.

"Today, America is tasting something Muslims have tasted for decades," bin Laden said. "It is time for America to suffer humility; to send its sons to their death."

The leader of the al-Qaida network, which the United States has tied to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, said of the attacks, "God has given back what they deserve."

Bin Laden, speaking alongside Ayman al-Zawahiri, the head of Egypt's al-Jihad and known to be bin Laden's second in command, listed other American campaigns that he said ended in failure -- Lebanon, Vietnam – and other American "war crimes," such as the bombing of Japan, that it never paid for.

"I swear by God that Americans will never taste safety and security unless we feel safety and security in our land and in Palestine," bin Laden said.

Al-Zawahiri, known for the assassination of Egyptian Pesident Anwar Sidat in 1981, addressed the American people.

"Why is there all this hate against America and against Israel?" al-Zawahiri said. "The answer is simple: America has committed so many crimes against Muslims that no one could bear, including the creation of Israel."

Al-Zawahiri, who spoke first, said "nations of infidels" have united against Muslims, and called for Muslims to fight, for a jihad -- a holy war.

In their first official reaction to U.S.-led strikes on Afghanistan, the ruling Taliban militia declared the assault to be a "terrorist attack," CNN reported.

The statement was issued by the Taliban ambassador to Pakistan, Abdul Salam Zaeef, soon after American and British forces launched strikes.

Bush Administration Reacts

U.S. officials aren't giving much weight to some comments from bin Laden that were released after Sunday's strikes.

In a videotape that was shown on an Arabic satellite channel, bin Laden warned that the United States "will never dream of security" until its armies leave "the land of Muhammad."

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer noted that the videotape must have been made before today's military strike in Afghanistan because it shows bin Laden in daylight.

He said bin Laden and the Taliban "have said all kinds of things that are often at odds with reality."

Fleischer added, "What he says is not as important as what he's done." He also said he doesn't think Bush had seen the tape.

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