The White House has rejected a truce offer by Osama bin Laden. The offer was included in a message of the al Qaeda leader to the American people, which was aired Thursday by al Jazeera TV.
The United States will not let up in the war on terror despite bin Laden's latest threats, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. "We do not negotiate with terrorists," McClellan said. "We put them out of business."
In the audiotape, bin Laden presented his message with a combination of threats, vows his followers can fight forever and a tone of reconciliation, insisting he wants to offer a way to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in order to rebuild them. The Saudi born leader said he decided to make a statement to the American people because he said President Bush was pushing ahead despite polls which showed "an overwhelming majority of you want the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq."
He said the Bush administration was lying about victories in the Iraq war. Bin Laden insisted the mujahedeen will eventually win the conflict. But he said that even if the U.S. does prevail in the war, "the nights and days will not pass without us taking vengeance like on Sept. 11, God permitting."
