Accused terrorist Osama bin Laden surfaced on Qatar-based al-Jazeera television Wednesday with a videotape broadcast denouncing the West as haters of Islam. The tape was apparently made in early to mid-December.
Mr. bin Laden says on the tape that the September 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington were intended to stop U.S. support of Israel. He says the tape was issued to mark three months since the September 11 attacks and the second month of U.S. bombing of Taliban and al-Qaida targets in Afghanistan.
On the video, Osama bin Laden is dressed in a clean camouflage jacket and seated against either a cloth or canvas screen. A machine gun was propped up beside him.
The U.S. State Department says it is studying the tape and has no comment at this time.
Osama bin Laden is the world's most wanted man with a $25 million reward for his capture. He is being aggressively sought by U.S. and allied forces in eastern Afghanistan.
On an earlier video, Mr. bin Laden admitted he had previous knowledge of the attacks in which 19 highjackers, most from Saudi Arabia, flew commandeered jetliners into New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington. About 3,000 people died in the attacks.