An English translation of the entire tape is not yet available, but the following is a list of all available quotes from it. Al Jazeera only broadcast portions of it and these quotes are a translation of what was played, and not of the original tape.

It should be noted that it is not yet clear if the voice on the tape played by al Jazeera is indeed that of Osama bin Laden. Even if this is bin Laden, it is not clear when the tape was made. Notice that the voice claims that Pentagon figures indicate a rise in U.S. casualties. In recent months, U.S. casualty rates have declined dramatically.

UPDATE: It just occured to me that bin Laden is admitting what we already know and which the Left continues to deny: that Iraq is the battlefield on which our war with al Qaeda is being waged. The 'truce' being offered is that al Qaeda will halt its war where? Iraq and Afghanistan.

UPDATE: Contrary to what is being said by talking heads in the media, bin Laden does NOT mention the London bombings. He simpley notes bombings in European capitals. This could also be a reference to the Madrid, Spain, bombings which would make this recording very old indeed.

UPDATE: Here is a full translation from the BBC. Much better than the original al Jazeera story which we've taken down. A note that the transcript is of what al Jazeera broadcast, not the actual tape which was not aired in its entirety.

My message to you is about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the way to end it.

I had not intended to speak to you about this issue, because, for us, this issue is already decided: diamonds cut diamonds.

Praise be to God, our conditions are always improving, becoming better, while yours are the opposite.

However, what prompted me to speak are the repeated fallacies of your President Bush in his comment on the outcome of US opinion polls, which indicated that the overwhelming majority of you want the withdrawal of the forces from Iraq, but he objected to this desire and said that the withdrawal of troops would send the wrong message to the enemy.

Bush said: It is better to fight them on their ground than they fighting us on our ground.

In my response to these fallacies, I say: The war in Iraq is raging and operations in Afghanistan are on the rise in our favour, praise be to God.

The Pentagon figures indicate the rise in the number of your dead and wounded, let alone the huge material losses.

To go back to where I started, I say that the results of the poll satisfy sane people and that Bush's objection to them is false.

Reality testifies that the war against America and its allies has not remained confined to Iraq, as he claims.

In fact, Iraq has become a point of attraction and recruitment of qualified resources.

On the other hand, the mujahideen, praise be to God, have managed to breach all the security measures adopted by the unjust nations of the coalition time and again.

The evidence for this are the bombings you have seen in the capitals of the most important European countries of this aggressive coalition.

As for the delay in carrying out similar operations in America, this was not due to the failure to breach your security measures.

Operations are in preparation and you will see them on your own ground once the preparations are finished, God willing.

Based on the above, we see that Bush's argument is false.

However, the argument that he avoided, which is the substance of the results of opinion polls on withdrawing the troops, is that it is better not to fight the Muslims on their land and for them not to fight us on our land.

We do not object to a long-term truce with you on the basis of fair conditions that we respect.

We are a nation to which God has disallowed treachery and lying.

In this truce, both parties will enjoy security and stability and we will build Iraq and Afghanistan which were destroyed by the war.

There is no defect in this solution other than preventing the flow of hundreds of billions to the influential people and war merchants in America, who supported Bush's election campaign with billions of dollars.

Initial reaction is that of Howies, but if the tape is real then it is certainly not of recent origin. At least, it is highly unlikely that it was made following the attack in Pakistan last week.

Also, does bin Laden actually believe he is winning in Iraq? If alive, he is hiding in a cave somewhere, his forces resort to murdering civilians by human bomb, a series of elections have been held in Iraq, Sunni terrorists are openly fighting against al Qaeda terrorists, etc. Winning indeed.

Hat tip BAF BAF, Sucram, and Tribeca.

UPDATE: Remove all liquid from vicinity. Click this link. Wait for it. Scroll a tiny bit down. (via Jay)

Hudna?

Posted by: Rusty at 11:26 AM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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