Bush responds to bin Laden video

George Bush has used Osama bin Laden's first video appearance in three years to reiterate the need for a US presence in Iraq.

In the video, which emerged on Friday, the al Qaeda leader accused Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of a "flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings" and urged Americans to turn to Islam.

But he made "no overt threat" against the US in the video, which appeared to have been made as recently as this summer, according to US officials.

Speaking in Sydney, Australia, Mr Bush said: "Iraq is part of this war against extremists. If al Qaeda bothers to mention Iraq, it's because they want to achieve their objectives in Iraq, which is to drive us out."

Mr Bush made the rare move of speaking about an al Qaeda video during a photo opportunity with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.

The two leaders are in Australia for the annual summit of 21 Pacific Rim nations.

Mr Bush said the tape was "a reminder about the dangerous world in which we live, and it is a reminder that we must pull together to protect our people against these extremists who murder the innocent in order to achieve their political objective".

In the video, bin Laden named former Prime Minister Tony Blair, current Prime Minister Gordon Brown, President Bush and French president Nicolas Sarkozy as he criticised the leaders of the West.

He said that capitalism and democracy had caused problems not only for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan through war, but also for people in Africa through displacement and mankind through global warming.

"This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerating fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives," he said.

"And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West - especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown - still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings.

"So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves before from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system."

The video came ahead of the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

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