Dubai: Al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden on Wednesday accused US President Barack Obama of "antagonising Muslims" and said his Pakistan policy has generated "new seeds of hatred and revenge against America."
In the tape broadcast on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language TV network, shortly after the US President touched down in Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, accused Obama of following his predecessor George W Bush's policy of antagonising Muslims.
"He has followed the steps of his predecessor in antagonising Muslims ... and laying the foundation for long wars," Bin Laden said, referring to ongoing military offensive against Taliban and Al Qaeda militants in the restive Swat valley in Pakistan.
This message comes ahead of Obama's visit to Egypt tomorrow where he is to make a major speech to the Muslim world after eight years of fraught ties under Bush.
It also comes shortly after Bin Laden's number two Ayman al-Zawahiri urged Egyptians to shun Obama, saying his Middle East trip was at the invitation of the "torturers of Egypt" and the "slaves of America."
In the tape, Bin Laden cited strikes, destruction and Obama's "order" to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari "to prevent the people of Swat from implementing sharia law."