CAIRO, 10 September 2004 — Osama Bin Laden’s deputy, Ayman Al-Zawahri, said the United States was on the brink of defeat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a tape aired on Al-Jazeera TV yesterday. The release of the tape comes two days before the third anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and appears to be a rallying call for Al-Qaeda followers.
“The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a matter of time, with God’s help,” Zawahri said on the tape, which the station said it obtained yesterday.
“The Americans in both countries are between two fires, if they continue they bleed to death and if they withdrew they lose everything.”
Zawahri spoke to camera for several minutes in the videotape, wearing a white turban with a machine gun at his side. He appeared little different from previous videotapes.
