US forces 'near defeat', says bin Laden's deputy

Osama bin Laden’s deputy proclaimed the United States would ultimately be defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a videotape broadcast that appeared to be a rallying call for al-Qaida before the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

“The defeat of America in Iraq and Afghanistan has become a matter of time, with God’s help,” Ayman al-Zawahri said on the tape, which was broadcast yesterday by the pan-Arab television station Al-Jazeera.