Bin Laden Tape Urges Europeans to Push Away from US or Face Retaliation

A new audio tape released Friday, with a voice purported to be Osama bin Laden, warns Europeans to distance themselves from the United States. The message further mentions that Americans are losing the war in Afghanistan.

A purported audio message claiming to be al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden urges Europeans to break ties with the United States.

Bin Laden warns America's European allies in the Afghan war to pull out from Afghanistan or else there will be retaliation against "the oppressor on behalf of the oppressed."

The tape was released by Al-Sahab Media productions with both English and German subtitles and featured a still photo of bin Laden in front of a map of Europe.

The release of the message comes two days before Sunday's German general election and follows a series of al-Qaeda videos directly addressed to Germany. After German NATO troops were involved in their deadliest use of forces since World War II earlier this month,
Germany's commitment to NATO forces in Afghanistan is a hot topic in the run-up to the election.

The al-Qaeda leader predicts that American forces will soon pull out of Afghanistan and abandon their NATO allies. Addressing Europeans, he warns that "just us and you will remain, for the oppressed to retaliate."

The authenticity of the tape could not be verified. However, the voice resembled previous recordings confirmed to be bin Laden.