A video of Osama bin Laden airs on Al-Jazeera
"Be glad of the good news: America is mired in the swamps of the Tigris and Euphrates. Bush is, through Iraq and its oil, easy prey. Here is he now, thank God, in an embarrassing situation and here is America today being ruined before the eyes of the whole world."
—Osama Bin Laden, in a video message broadcast October 18
In a video addressed to Iraqis, and broadcast on Al Jazeera, Osama Bin Laden congratulates followers on their efforts at jihad and denounces democracy as a deviation from Islam. Bin Laden calls upon Muslims and Iraqis especially to avoid supporting "American crusaders." "Any government set up by America will be a puppet and traitorous regime," says Bin Laden. He also claims that the war will drain the U.S. of its economic strength, which he points out has already begun to weaken. As he puts it: "Moreover, they have had a budget deficit for the third consecutive year. This year, the deficit reached a record peak of more than US $4.5 billion. Praise be to Allah."