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(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden delivered a new videotaped message in which he told Americans their security does not depend on the president they elect, but on U.S. policy.

The tape was aired on the Arab language network Al-Jazeera Friday, just four days before the U.S. presidential election.

It's the first videotaped message from the al Qaeda leader in nearly three years.

Bin Laden said the message was being delivered directly to the American people, saying the attacks of September 11, 2001 were the result of U.S. foreign policy in Arab lands, specifically referring to Lebanon and the Palestinians.

At one point, he mentioned both President Bush and Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry.

"Your security is not in the hands of Kerry or Bush or al Qaeda. Your security is in your own hands. Any nation that does not attack us will not be attacked," bin Laden said in the video.

Bush told reporters as he was boarding Air Force One for Columbus, Ohio, "Americans will not be intimidated or influenced by an enemy of our country. I'm sure Senator Kerry agrees with this. ... We are at war with these terrorists, and I am confident we will prevail."

Kerry told reporters in West Palm Beach, Florida: "Let me make it clear; crystal clear -- as Americans, we are absolutely united in our determination to hunt down and destroy Osama bin Laden and the terrorists."

He added: "They are barbarians. And I will stop at absolutely nothing to hunt down, capture or kill the terrorists wherever they are, whatever it takes. Period."

Bin Laden criticizes Bush
Bin Laden sharply criticized President Bush for his behavior on the morning of September 11, 2001, when the president was reading "My Pet Goat" to a group of schoolchildren in Florida at the time he was informed of the attacks.

"It never occurred that the highest leader of the military armed forces would leave 50,000 people to face the horror that they faced all by themselves when they needed him most," bin Laden said.

"He was more interested in listening to the child's story about the goat rather than worry about what was happening to the towers. So, that gave us double the time for us to execute our attacks."

Bin Laden was wearing a gold robe with a white headdress and white cloak. He had a long mostly gray beard, and appeared to be sitting behind a desk, reading from a paper statement, occasionally moving his right hand as he spoke.

Intelligence officials have warned previously about the possibility of al Qaeda trying to attack the United States around the time of next Tuesday's election, similar to the al Qaeda train bombings in Madrid on March 11 before the Spanish presidential election.

A U.S. government official said that based on initial analysis of the new bin Laden tape, "There have not been discussions about raising the nation's security posture or threat level."

The official said that the government is waiting for the intelligence community to further analyze the tape, but on first glance it did not appear to contain any specific threat information. The official said that among things analysts will be looking for are hidden messages.

In the video, bin Laden said he decided to attack the twin towers of the World Trade Center in 1982 after the invasion of Lebanon by Israel.

"In those dark moments, my soul was thinking about lots of things that are hard to describe but they brought a feeling to do something about the aggressors and punish them," he said.

"When I looked at the towers that were destroyed in Lebanon, it occurred to me that we should do the same to them. And the towers in America should have fallen down in order for Americans to feel what we have felt."

He underscored it was U.S. foreign policy that led to the attacks, saying, "Bush has told you that we do not like freedom. Then, why didn't we hit Sweden?"

The statement aired Friday is the first videotaped message from the al Qaeda leader since December 2001.

Since he was last seen speaking on tape, at least seven audiotapes have surfaced on which a voice believed to be bin Laden issued messages. The most recent came in April, when he made references to the train bombings in Madrid the month before.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast...tape/index.html

Esco

I've seen the transcript ... and I hate to say it, cuz I hate the fucker, but he does make some valid points. He basically calls out our foreign policy and the policy of some of the middle east "regimes" and calls bullshit to all the politics involved. I don't know what pisses me off more, the fact that he's still breathing or the fact that he actually made some sense.

Somebody put a bullet or two in him already.

Link to transcript: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3966817.stm

Car Enthusiast

what people don't understand, unlike spain who shrivels from terrorist, if they would attack us to try to change politics, the only reaction we have is of retaliation, so if someone was really smart and they wanted us for some reason to attack them that is the only reason i could possibly fathom someone actually attacking america, i don't see how they think they are going to change our lifestyle in benefit of them??

AmorMiHombre

Actually, Spain has its own in-house terrorist group, ETA and they deal with them harshly and don't shrivel from them....However, it wasn't worth it to them to continue fighting our fight and they withdrew..I don't blame them.

AmorMiHombre

P.S. Not to mention they DIDN'T have to help us out in the first place...France didn't. I give them credit for at least putting their troops on their line and trying to help "us".