The second highest ranking man in the al-Qaeda terrorist network was seen on a video Friday praising the planned reduction in American troops in Iraq and calling it 'a victory for Islam.'
Ayman al-Zawahri said on the videotape aired on the Al Jazeera satellite television network that 'Bush, you must confess that you have been defeated in Iraq and Afghanistan and you will be too in Palestine soon.'
Zawahri wore a white turban in the video and sat in front of an assault rifle. The tape was apparently made some time in late November or December as it bore the date of the month of the Muslim calendar that ended in December. Zawahri spoke in Arabic but Al Jazeera broadcast the tape with English subtitles.
'I congratulate the Muslims on Islam's victory in Iraq. I said more than a year ago that the Americans departure from Iraq is only a matter of time,' Zawahri added.
Zawahri is the second most powerful man in the al-Qaeda terrorist network behind Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden has avoided capture since he masterminded the September 11 attacks against the United States more than four years ago.
The White House had no immediate response to the broadcast.
