AFGHANISTAN - Sept. 13 - Mullah Omar Pledges To Kick Out US.

The Qatar-based Al Jazeera television says it has received a statement from ousted Taliban leader Mullah Omar in which he says: "God willing the rule of [Islamic] sharia will return to Afghanistan and the believers will bask in God's victory. America will not relax in Afghanistan and we shall not rest until it is ousted reeling in its shame... America is being deluded by its apparent power that it will be better off than the previous invaders... but it did not read the history of Afghanistan well". He accuses Washington of being an "advocate of international terrorism", adding: "We are continuing in our holy struggle against America and all invaders". He says the US is "simple-minded and arrogant. Strong with its warplanes, bombs and equipment but weak in its content. It claims to be the mother of freedom justice, while it practices the worst forms of oppression and enslavement". He says "the weak have rejoiced" after the Sept. 11 attacks because of "US injustice... in Palestine, Iraq, Sudan, Kashmir, Afghanistan and all Muslim countries". Mullah Omar says the US had planned to attack Afghanistan before Sept. 11 as part of an attack on Islam. He adds: "It wanted to destroy the Muslim system and to prevent the implementation of sharia and the revival of the Islamic religion of which it is scared". An Al Jazeera official told Reuters the statement, which was faxed to the station, appeared to be genuine when compared to previous Taliban statements. Recently, Pres. Karzai said he was convinced Mullah Omar was still alive and blamed remnants of the Taliban militia, which ruled the country for more than five years, for attempting to kill him on Sept. 5 (see last week's Recorder).