Translation of Purported Bin Laden Tape

ByABC News
November 12, 2002, 5:35 PM

Nov. 12 -- This is an ABCNEWS translation of an audiotaped message aired today on Arab satellite television network al Jazeera purported to be the voice of Osama bin Laden.

From the slave of God Osama bin Laden to the people of the countries in alliance with the unjust government of the United States:

Greetings to those that have followed the faith. The road to safety starts with lifting aggression and it's fair to be treated equally.

What happened since the strikes of New York and Washington and until today, the killing of Germans in Tunis and of French in Karachi and the bombing of the huge carrier in Yemen and killing the marines in Failaka and killing the British and Australians in Bali and the recent Moscow operation, in addition to some other operations here and there, are only a reaction and an equal treatment that the sons of Islam have carried out, in fulfilling the orders of their God and their prophet.

What Bush, the pharaoh of today, does, in terms of killing our children and what Israel, the ally of America, does in terms of destroying houses on their residents, in destroying the houses on their residents, including elderly people, women and children, using U.S. planes in Palestine, should be enough for the wise of your leaders to stay out of this criminal gang.

Our people in Palestine are being killed and tortured for around a century now, and when we defend our people in Palestine, the world is disturbed and it unites against Muslims under what they call the fight against terrorism, unjustly.

What do your governments have to do with the criminal gang in the White House that's against Muslims? Don't your governments know that the White House gang is the greatest killer of this era? Here's Rumsfeld, the Vietnam butcher, he killed over 2 million people in addition to the injured, and Cheney and Powell are responsible for more killings and destruction in Baghdad than Holako of the Tatar.

So what do your governments have to do with an alliance with America to attack us in Afghanistan, and I specifically mention Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Germany and Australia. We had warned Australia before against its participation in Afghanistan, in addition to its unjust support of the separation of East Timor. It ignored the warnings until it woke up to the sounds of bombings in Bali. Its government then claimed, unrightfully, that they were not targeted.