Osama bin Laden: 'Be patient in the jihad'

From a speech by the leader of al-Qa'ida, broadcast by al-Jazeera, the satellite TV station

We are following with great interest and extreme concern the crusaders' preparations for war to occupy a former capital of Islam, loot Muslims' wealth, and install an agent government that would be a puppet for its masters in Washington and Tel Aviv, just like all the other treasonous and agent Arab governments. This would be in preparation for establishing the Greater Israel.

Amid this unjust war, the war of infidels and debauchees led by America along with its allies and agents, we would like to stress some important values. Fighting should be for the sake of the one God. It should not be for championing ethnic groups, or for championing the non-Islamic regimes in all Arab countries, including Iraq.

The American enemy depends on massive air strikes so as to conceal their most prominent point of weakness, which is the fear, cowardliness, and the absence of combat spirit among US soldiers. Those soldiers are completely convinced of the injustice and lying of their government.

Your wish to the crusaders should be as in this verse of poetry: "The only language between you and us is the sword that will strike your necks." In the end, I advise myself and you to fear God covertly and openly and to be patient in the jihad.