Thursday, April 15, 2004

The New York Times > International > Europe > Bin Laden Tape Offering Europe a Truce Is Called Authentic:
"'The truce will begin when the last soldier leaves our countries,' the man on the tape, speaking in Arabic, added."

he C.I.A. said today that an audiotape of a man identifying himself as Osama bin Laden, who offered to stop terrorist actions in European countries that ended military action in Muslim nations, was probably authentic.

"After conducting a technical analysis, the C.I.A. assesses that the voice is likely that of Osama bin Laden," an agency official said.

The official described it as "an attempt by bin Laden to drive a message between Europe and the United States. This would fall into the category of other bin Laden tapes as a propaganda ploy to bolster morale of Al Qaeda's rank and file. "

The official, who did not want to be named, said the tape was probably recorded during the past several weeks because it referred to the killing by Israel last month of Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the founder of Hamas.…

Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain quickly rejected the offer, with a British Foreign Ministry spokeswoman telling Reuters: "We cannot negotiate with Al Qadea. Their attacks are against the very idea of co-existence."

The speaker on the tape vows revenge against the United States for the killing.

The tape, broadcast today by two Arab satellite televison stations, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, said "the door to a truce is open for three months," but that it could be extended.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/15/international/europe/15CND-TAPE.html?8bl

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