BIN LADEN: OBAMA IS POWERLESS TO STOP AFGHAN WAR; New tape marks 9/11.

Byline: MIRROR REPORTER

AL-QAEDA leader Osama bin Laden hit out at US President Barack Obama and said he was "powerless" to stop the war in Afghanistan.

He also threatened to step up guerrilla warfare there in a new tape released to mark the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

In the 11-minute tape, addressed to the US people, bin Laden said Obama is only following the warlike policies of his predecessor George W Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

And he urged Americans to "liberate" themselves from the influence of "neo-conservatives and the Israeli lobby". The tape was posted on Islamic militant websites two days after the eighth anniversary of the 2001 suicide plane hijackings. Bin Laden said Americans had failed to understand that al-Qaeda carried out the attacks in retaliation for US support for Israel.

He added that if America reconsiders its alliance with the Jewish state, al-Qaeda will respond on "sound and just bases".

The Saudi construction magnate's sonturned "holy warrior" has frequently sought to wrap al-Qaeda in the Palestinian cause, seeking to draw support in the Arab world, where the issue is one of the public's top concerns.

Al-Qaeda has also sought to depict Obama as no different from Bush, who was widely despised in the Arab world for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and his close support of Israel.

But Obama has won greater popularity in the region giving a landmark speech in Cairo in June, moving to withdraw US troops from Iraq and taking a harder stance on Israel in the peace process.

Bin Laden devoted much of his address to discussing US connections with Israel claiming the issue was behind al-Qaeda's animosity.

As he often does in his addresses, he cited books by American scholars and others that he said support his claim. Such citations also show he keeps close watch on current events and media despite being a fugitive in a war zone.

The message was issued on Sunday by al-Qaeda's media wing, Al-Sahab, in a video in which the recording plays over a still picture of bin Laden.

IntelCenter, a company that monitors terrorist propaganda, said the message is the 49th release by Al-Sahab this year.

CAPTION(S):

THREATING The new bin Laden tape