Bin Laden Makes No Threats to America in Video
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON – A new video of Osama bin Laden makes no overt threats against America and appears to have been made as recently as this summer, a government official said today.
The video includes references to current events in the American involvement in the war in Iraq, the official said. That would bolster the video’s authenticity, which intelligence officials still are trying to confirm.
The new video of the Al Qaeda leader – his first in three years – runs nearly 30 minutes long, said the government official who has seen a transcript of its contents and spoke on condition of anonymity because it has not been made public.
Mr. bin Laden makes “no overt threat” in the video, the official said.
The video, which the American government obtained only very recently, surfaced the week before the sixth anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Several intelligence agencies were analyzing the video today.
The Homeland Security Department said today it had no credible information warning of an imminent threat to America, and analysts noted that Al Qaeda tends to mark the September 11 anniversary with a slew of messages.
