In Newly Released Audio Tape, Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri Says Iraq Brought Only ‘Failure and Defeat’ for White House

Al-Qaeda’s No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri Says...
Iraq Brought Only ‘Failure and Defeat’ for White House
Friday, April 18, 2008

CBSNews.com had this article up early this morning and it starts off like this... Al Qaeda's No. 2 man claimed in a new audiotape released on a militant Web site early Friday that that five years of U.S. occupation of Iraq brought only "failure and defeat," which the Bush administration will pass on as a "problem" to the next American president... In the recording, Ayman al-Zawahri alleged that by acting on the advice of his top commanders in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, and halting further U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq until after July, U.S. President George W. Bush was "covering up for the failure" of his Iraq policies...
Al Qaeda Deputy: Iraq War Is A Failure

* IHT.com has this take on the Audio today... Al-Qaida's No. 2 said in an audiotape released Friday that the United States will lose whether it stays in Iraq or withdraws, and he sneered that U.S. President George W. Bush just wants to pass the problem on to his successor... The message from Ayman al-Zawahri released early Friday on a militant Web site appeared to be one of the most quickly prepared tapes produced by al-Qaida...
Al-Qaida's No. 2 says US will lose in Iraq whether it stays or goes

* LauraMansfield.com should have the new audio tape posted up shortly HERE (Check back later if it’s not up yet)

File photo courtesy of CENCOM