WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Preliminary assessments by U.S. intelligence indicate that an audio tape broadcast Tuesday by the Arabic news network Al Jazeera "very well could be" the voice of accused terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.
Cautioning that the tape is still being analyzed and it is premature to offer a final assessment on its authenticity, a U.S. official told United Press International, "The first blush is that this sounds like bin Laden. An initial assessment indicates that it very well could be bin Laden speaking on the audio tape."
If these initial assessments are correct, the tape -- which contains references to recent events like the Moscow theater siege -- would be the first firm evidence that bin Laden had survived the U.S.-led assault on his sanctuary in Afghanistan.
In the tape, broadcast Tuesday, bin Laden says America "has not yet learned its lesson," and issues a chilling warning to U.S. allies to prepare for the consequences of supporting Washington against his al Qaida network.
Bin Laden also praises the bombing of a nightclub in Bali and the killing of a U.S. soldier in Kuwait last month, as well as recent actions in Yemen and Russia -- all "warnings," he says to those backing the U.S. war against al Qaida.
Al Jazeera sources told UPI they received an audio cassette with bin Laden's message from al Qaida earlier this week.
"This is a clear message for the people who are allied with the United States," the voice on the tape says. "It is a warning for them to stop doing so or face dire consequences."
The voice referred to several recent terrorist attacks around the world and said it was in retaliation for Israel's policies in the occupied Palestinian territories.
"We have sent a warning to the German and the Tunisians. We sent a warning to the French in Karachi, Pakistan. In Bali, the warning was for the Australians and the British, and in Moscow, to the Russians," the voice said. "As long as our people are killed in Palestine and elsewhere, those supporting America will have to suffer as well."
Eleven German tourists were among 19 killed in the blast outside the historic Djerba synagogue in Tunisia in April.
Eleven French naval officials were killed in May in Karachi when an explosion hit their bus.
The blast outside a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, on Oct. 10 killed more than 180 people, mainly Australian and British tourists.
Chechen rebels held more than 700 people hostage in a Moscow theatre last month. The siege ended when Russian special forces used an opiate to quell the rebels, killing some hostages and the hostage-takers.
"We decided to send a warning to the Australians because of their role in East Timor and how they arranged for it to secede from a Muslim nation, Indonesia," the tape said. "Australians also received a warning for participating in the war against the Muslims in Afghanistan."
The tape said the West would continue to pay for its actions against the Muslim world.
"You have to continue weeping and crying for your loved ones as much as our people in Palestine, Iraq and elsewhere are crying for their loved ones," the voice said. "The Muslim nation will attack you with its young and enthusiastic and will defend Islam and ummah (the Islamic nation)."
Bin Laden and his al Qaida network have been blamed for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. The attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, led to the ousting of the pro-al Qaida Taliban regime in Afghanistan which is believed to have forced the Saudi millionaire and others leaders of his group to flee the country.
"(U.S. Defense Secretary Donald) Rumsfeld and other American officials rejoice in the killing of innocent Muslims," the voice on the tape said. "They have killed thousands of innocent Muslims. America has not learned a lesson yet.
"They will suffer and we will continue our jihad."
According to the U.S. official, who requested anonymity, the CIA is currently analyzing the tape against known recordings of bin Laden's voice from the National Security Agency.
Until 1998, the NSA had a reliable tap on bin Laden's satellite phone and recorded, among other things, conversations between the al Qaida leader and his mother.
The official said, "The basic gist is you have audio tapes of bin Laden you know are authentic and you employ various types of speech identification technology. You take this information and snippet and match it up against previous authenticated bin Laden recordings.
