Zawahiri Struggles to Rally Troops

The 3-minute video, which was posted on Thursday on a Web site often used by militant groups, showed Osama bin Laden's right-hand man speaking directly to the camera with an automatic rifle propped up behind him.

There was no indication when it was made, but its posting coincides with some of the bloodiest violence in Afghanistan since U.S.-led forces toppled the Taliban government in 2001, with almost 1,000 violent deaths this year, including 47 American troops and 18 other foreign soldiers.

``Muslim brothers in Afghanistan, and especially in Kabul, stand as one with the mujahideen (Muslim fighters) so that the invading forces might be expelled,'' he said, referring to the Islamist militias such as the Taliban and al Qaeda that are battling U.S. and other foreign troops in Afghanistan.

``Don't trust these infidel invaders or their agents who want to transform you into oppressed, enslaved people,'' he said.

``Therefore, I call on the Muslims in Kabul and Afghanistan, to stand united for the sake of God before the invading forces ... I urge them to confront the infidel occupation and to do their duty toward defending their faith and honor.''

An international force led by NATO is preparing to move into the southern heartland of the Taliban, which will allow the United States to pull out about 3,000 of the 23,000 troops it has in Afghanistan.

In the video, Zawahri cited unspecified U.S. ``aggressions'' in Afghan cities as examples of foreign ``crimes against Islam'' and mentioned what he called the ``ridiculing of our holy Prophet by the Italian, Danish and French,'' referring to the caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad which caused an uproar earlier this year.

Zawahiri has been taking a much higher profile as of late considering that Zarqawi is roasting in hell and al Qaeda has been taking quite a beating in both Afghanistan and Iraq. He's trying to rally Afghans to his cause in Afghanistan, claiming that they should rally around to fight the foreign fighters - claiming that they don't respect Islam.

Sorry, but many Afghans see al Qaeda as foreign fighters as well, who have done nothing but bring misery and suffering to their country. Al Qaeda has sided with the Taliban who are desperately trying to make a comeback, but are failing in spectacular fashion - losing every single engagement with coalition and Afghan forces. A very large percentage of the aforementioned 1,000 dead in Afghanistan have been al Qaeda and Taliban, which the Times is underplaying in the story.

All Zawahiri can do at this point is try and convince someone, anyone really, to fight under his banner, and it simply isn't happening.

Also, this message appears to be nothing but recycling the same message delivered by the disembodied voice of Osama exhorting jihad against peacekeepers in Darfur and the Horn of Africa.