The Taliban is lashing out at the United States, calling the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan "a permanent stigma on the face of Western democracy."
Saturday's statement from the Taliban also warns the U.S. that the Afghan people have an "endless stamina for war" and says the Taliban will send America to "the dustbin of history."
The Taliban statement comes one day before the U.S. marks the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and on the Pentagon, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
The statement accuses the U.S. of using the attacks as a pretext to martyr innocent Muslims.
The Taliban gave al-Qaida a safe haven in Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks, allowing the terrorist group to set up training camps for would-be terrorists, and refused to hand over bin Laden to the U.S.
U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan, then under Taliban control, in early October 2001, the start of an effort to track down al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Ground forces soon followed.
That effort ousted the Taliban from power and helped weaken al-Qaida, forcing Osama bin Laden and other top commanders into hiding.
U.S. special forces tracked down Osama bin Laden, killing him this past May in neighboring Pakistan.
U.S. forces remain in Afghanistan, but the U.S. is expected to complete a withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan in 2014.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
