A man stating he was Osama bin Laden claimed that he was behind the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day, yet officials have not confirmed it is indeed bin Laden. ”The message delivered to you through the plane of the heroic warrior Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was a confirmation of the previous messages sent by the heroes of the Sept. 11,” the man said. ”America will never dream of security unless we will have it in reality in Palestine,” he added. A senior U.S. intelligence official stated there is “no evidence whatsoever” that bin Laden had any direct involvement. The White House has thus far refused to comment other than the tapes have yet to be confirmed as being bin Laden.
Most likely, if the recording is bin Laden, it is an attempt to show he is still the figurehead of al Qaeda. Despite the unlikelihood of bin Laden having a direct influence in the planning, a Yemeni off-shoot of al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), is likely to be responsible. The group is composed of bin Laden’s ex-body guards and top ideologues from al Qaeda. The alleged support by bin Laden also underscores that al Qaeda and other terrorists groups see the Christmas Day bombing as a success.
In the recording the man claiming to be bin Laden also claims the United States should be ready for more attacks. The broadcast was one minute long and made on Al-Jazeera.
Read more at the NY Times or the Washington Post.
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