Transcript of Bin Laden Recording

Feb. 11, 2003 — -- A new audiotape verified as coming from Osama bin Laden urged suicide attacks against Americans. Read bin Laden's remarks here, as transcribed by ABCNEWS.

In the name of God, the merciful, the benevolent, this is a message to our Muslim brothers in Iraq, peace be on you, and God's mercy and blessings. You believers be pious and don't die unless you are Muslims, now, we follow with great attention and a lot of scrutiny, the preparations that the crusaders are doing to occupy the capital of Islam in the past and to usurp the wealth of Muslims and to put up a puppet government to control you.

This government will follow orders from its masters in Washington and in Tel Aviv, exactly like all the other agent puppet governments as prelude to establish the big Israel. We only have God to depend upon. God is our agent.

We would like to assert that this unjust war, the war of the infidels and the nonbelievers, which is lead by America and its allies and its agents, is launched to attain some important aims.

First, the sincerity of the intent for the fight has to be only for the sake of God, not to make nationalities win and not to support the archaic systems that pervade all over the Arab states, including Iraq.

God said, those who believe fight for the sake of god. But, the infidels fight for the sake of the despots. So, fight the agents of the devil because the devil has devious manner.

We remind you that victory comes only from God Almighty. All that we have to do is to prepare, instigate, and do Jihad. God Almighty said, if you support God, he will support you and make you victorious.

Second, we have to hasten and repent to God from our sins, esp. the big sins, as the prophet, God's prayers and peace be upon him, said, stay away from the seven sins, to worship more than one god, to do magic, to kill people whom God prevented you to kill, to take interest on money, to take the money of orphans, and doing something during the day of judgment, and the killing of pious women, in addition to all the big sins, such as drinking alcohol, adultery, disobeying parents, and bearing false witness. We have to hasten to obey God in general, and mention him all the time when the battle starts.

Abul Dardaa, God bless his soul, said, a good deed done before invasion means that you fight with your deeds.

Third, we realized from our defense and our fight with the American enemy that it depends, to a large extent, on the psychological warfare during its fight because it possesses a huge propaganda apparatus. Also, it depends on intensive air bombing and, that is to hide its biggest weakness point which is fear, coward ness, and the lack of the fighting spirit within the American soldiers.

Those soldiers are completely convinced of the lies and the unjust attitude of their government. Also, they miss a just cause to defend. The only fight for the interests of the rich and those that lend their money for interest and the traders of arms and oil, including the gang of crime in the White House.

Add to that the crusade grudge and personal grudge of Bush the father. We also realized that one of the most effective and available methods to let the crusader use up his arms is to dig a lot of trenches that are covered and disguised.

I had deferred to that in a previous talk during the battle of Tora Bora last year. That great battle where faith in God defeated all the material powers of the people of evil through sticking to our ideals, with the grace of God.

Now, I am going to tell you a part of that great battle so that I prove to you how coward they are on one hand, and how good are the trenches in the draining them, on the other hand. We were only 300 fighters. We had already dug one hundred trenches spread out in a space that didn't exceed 1 square mile, which means one trench for every 3 brothers, so that we can escape big injuries from the bombing.

Our centers were exposed from the first hour of the American campaign on 20 Ragab 1422 H, corresponding to Oct. 7, 2001. It started by concentrated bombings and then this bombing continued intermitted until the middle of Ramadan.

On the morning of the 17th of Ramadan, very heaving bombing started, esp. after the American leadership made sure that some of the leadership of al Qaeda were in Torra Borra, including myself and the Mujahid brother, Dr. Ayman El-Zawahry. The bombing became around the clock.

Not a second would pass without a fighter plan passing over our heads day and night. The operation room of the Americans defense department allocated all its time, along with all they allied powers, so that they can bombard and destroy this small spot and erase it from existence.

Airplanes were dropping bombs over us, especially after they finished their original mission in Afghanistan. American forces were bombing us by smart bombs and bombs that weigh thousands of pounds and bombs that penetrate caves and other kinds of bombs enter into caves.

The fighter bombers like b-52s, each one of them, goes over our heads for two hours and in every time it drops between twenty or thirty bombs.

Also, the amended C-130 planes were hitting us by night like explosive blankets and other sorts of modern bombs. Instead of this intensive bombing, along with the huge propaganda, which were not seen before concerning this small surrounded spot from ever side.

In addition to the forces of the agents whom they pushed to attack us for a continous half month. We fought back against all their attacks by the grace of God. And we defeated them every time. They were carrying their injured and their dead.

In spite of all that, American forces did not dare to go into our posts. What sign is more than that for their coward ness and their fear in their claimed stories about their power? The jest of the battle was the extreme defeat for the world alliance of evil.

With all its forces that were fighting against a small group of Mujahideen, 300 Mujahideen in the trenches, inside one square mile, in minus 10 degree of temperature. The result of the battle was that we lost 6 percent, approximately, of our fighters, may God bless them.

But our loss in the trenches was only 2 percent, thanks be to God. So, if all the evil powers of the world could not realize the aim in only one square mile that contained a modest number of Mujahideen who have very modest capabilities, how can these evil powers defeat this Islamic world?

This is impossible, by the grace of God, if people are pious and attached to their religion. Our brothers, who are fighting in Iraq, don't be scared of what American propaganda is saying of lies concerning their might or about their smart bombs or the bombs that are directed by laser.

Smart bombs don't have any effect in the middle of mountains or trenches, in the plains or in the forest. They have to have obvious targets. But, the targets and the trenches that are camouflaged in a very good way, neither the smart bombs nor the stupid bombs can reach, except by indiscriminate bombing, which finishes the weapons and money of the enemy.

You have to keep digging a lot of trenches. Omar, God bless his soul, said to use the earth as a shield. That is enough with God's grace to use up all the deposits of the enemies' ammunition within a few months.

As for the enemy's daily production, that is something we can endure. We also advise that we should drag the forces of the enemy into a protracted, weakening, and long fight.

We have to make use of the camouflaged defense posts in the fields and the cities and the planes and mountains. The most frightening thing for the enemy is fighting in the cities and the streets. This is the fight that the enemy expects to have great losses in their lives.

We stress the importance of martyr operations against the enemy. These operations took revenge in America and in Israel in a way they never witnessed before. We also explain that any Iraqi hypocrites who support America or anyone who agrees with the Americans or goes along with them in their crusade fight by fighting with them or by providing bases or administrative support or any sort of support or alliance with them, even by words, to kill Muslims in Iraq, he has to know that he is an infidel and a someone who rejects religion and he is justified to be killed and his money taken.

God said, you pious people don't take Jews or Christians as your sponsors. Those who go with them are part of them and God doesn't approve of the oppressors. We stress upon true Muslims that they have to move and instigate the nation in these serious times and hard circumstances so that they would move and get rid of the oppressive and infidel regimes that are in power, those regimes that are slaves to America, so that the rule of god will be established on Earth, some of the parts that are ready to be liberated are Jordan, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

This crusade war means, first and foremost, to do with the people of Islam regardless of the survival or the destruction of the socialist party or Saddam. Therefore, Muslims, in general, and in Iraq in particular, have to work very hard against this unjust campaign. They have to make sure to obtain weapons and ammunitions because this is a duty they have to fulfill.

God Almighty said they have to take care and be careful for their weapons and belongings. Fight is not permitted to make the pagans victorious. Also, every Muslim has to be clear in his faith and his banner to fight for the sake of God.

The prophet said, those who fight to uphold the word of God, it is for the sake of God. It doesn't hurt, under these conditions, that the interests of Muslims contradict the interest of the socialists in the fight against the crusaders.

That's with our belief and our disclosure that the socialist are infidels. The socials and those rulers have lost their power a long time ago. The socialists are infidels where ever they are, whether they re in Baghdad or in Aden.

This fight that's going on, or that will be going on one of these days, resembles to a great extent, the fight of Muslims against the Romans and the contradiction of interests does not hurt because the fight against the Romans was against the interest of the Persians but that did not hurt the disciples of the prophet.

Before we conclude, we have to stress that is important to raise up the spirits and to the valiance and to stay away from fear, disappointment, disarray, and confusion. The Prophet, God's blessing and mercy be upon him.

Give good alms, and don't disappoint people. The voice of the believer in the battle is much better than a thousand men.

It is said in the books that someone said to Khaled, during the battle of Yarmouk that the Romans are too many, and the Muslims are too few, then, Khaled, God bless him, told him, that this is nonsense because armies don't defeat others according to their numbers.

But, armies get defeated by letting them down. God said, no prophet can have captives until he sticks to his ground. God said, if you meet the infidels, it is the slashing of the necks. Your argument with the crusaders, as the poet said, there is no argument between me and you, except stabbing the kidneys and slashing the throat.

At the end, I advise you and myself to pious and to obey God in secret and in public, to be steadfast, patient, and to do Jihad. There is no victory without patience. I advise you and myself to pray and mention the word of God all the time.

God sad, you pious people, if you meet any group, be steadfast and mention God a lot and maybe you will be victorious. Oh God, who wrote down the book and made the clouds and defeated the enemies, let us be victorious upon them and make them defeated.

Please God grant us goodness on earth and in heaven and protect us from the torture of hell. May God's prayers and peace be upon the prophet Muhammed and his followers.