Bin Laden tape probably genuine: CIA

A TAPE purportedly featuring the voice of Osama bin Laden is most likely authentic, US officials said yesterday.

The speaker said the US-led war in Iraq was the beginning of the "occupation" of Gulf states for their oil and called on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East.

The voice on the audiotape, which was broadcast on Sunday night on the Al-Jazeera satellite channel, referred to recent events including the December 13 capture of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and peace initiatives between Israel and the Palestinians.

The speaker urged Muslims to "continue the jihad to check the conspiracies that are hatched against the Islamic nation".

A CIA official speaking on condition of anonymity said that a technical analysis determined that the tape was likely an authentic audio message from bin Laden, the leader of the al-Qaida terror network.

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge also told CBS that "preliminary assessments say this is the voice of Osama bin Laden".

Al-Jazeera played the audiotape while showing a still photo of bin Laden against a dark blue background.

"My message is to incite you against the conspiracies, especially those uncovered by the occupation of the crusaders in Baghdad under the pretext of weapons of mass destruction, and also the situation in (Jerusalem) under the deceptions of the road map and the Geneva initiative," the speaker said.

A Mideast peace plan dubbed the Geneva Accord was launched on December 1 by Israeli and Palestinian negotiators. The phrase "road map" refers to a US-backed plan for a Palestinian state by 2005.

Ibrahim Hilal, Al-Jazeera's editor-in-chief, said the network received the message on Sunday. However, he declined to reveal how it was delivered.

Mr Hilal said he was certain the voice on the tape was bin Laden's.

"It is bin Laden's superb and special Arabic language that is very hard to emulate," Mr Hilal said. "It is undoubtedly his voice, his style, and the typical examples from history he uses."

The original message was 47 minutes long but the network aired only 14 minutes, Mr Hilal said.

In those excerpts, the speaker urged Muslims to "liberate the Islamic world from the military occupation of the Crusaders."

He said Gulf countries have given in to US pressures "thinking that would not open the door for toppling of the dictatorial regimes by military force from outside, especially after they saw the capture of their previous comrade in treachery, a hireling of America," referring to Saddam.

The speaker criticised Muslim leaders for refusing to pressure the US on the Palestinian issue and for not supporting the Palestinian resistance. He also criticised Gulf countries for receiving members of the US-appointed interim Iraqi Governing Council. He said the "big powers" were trying to control the region for its oil.

"The occupation of Iraq is the beginning of the full occupation of the other Gulf states. ... The Gulf is the key for control of the world in the point of view of the big powers because of the presence of the biggest deposits of oil."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said yesterday he had no confirmation that the voice on the tape was bin Laden's but that it was a safe assumption.